Switch

by Carol Guess and TurtleMe

Fiction. LGBT Studies. Finalist for the American Library Association GLBT Fiction Award. "Guess deftly performs the parlor trick of handling several different voices, switching fluidly from perceptive... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0934971609
• ISBN13: 9780934971607
• Release Date: June 1998
• Publisher: Calyx Books
• Length: 265 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Powerful, lyrical, and haunting.

Carol Guess's second novel, "Switch", is the story of a small-town diner and the lives - public and secret - that intertwine within its walls. The narration shifts among several women, but the main character is a waitress named Caddie, whose lover, Jo, has left her. Her friends are sympathetic, but Caddie takes little comfort in their condolences because none of them know that Jo is a woman. When the diner hires a new waitress, Caddie must confront her feelings for the new girl and accept her own sexuality."Switch" is a story of womanhood and sexuality, and learning to accept them both in yourself, whatever their form. But it is so much deeper, more involved, and more delightful than its synopsis. The prose is distinctive and profound; the novel's voice is so unusual and incisive you will find yourself thinking in the characters' words even after you've finished reading. The characters are bizarre but utterly human and believable; Guess has found a way to make the impossible plausible. The story exists in a realm of intuition where feeling is being, where reality is flexible. It is a realm that absorbs the reader and leaves an imprint on the mind. This is a book you will not want to reach the end of, and a read you will never forget.

Tidal

The novel revolves around a diner in the small town of Cartwheel, Indiana. Caddie, a waitress at the diner, had a very public affair with Jo, a worker at a local factory, until Jo just left her. No one outside of the lovers knows the true texture of their love affair because Jo never let on that he was really a woman. Selena, another waitress, has a secret of her own, as does almost everyone connected with the diner. "Switch" is an addictive novel of secrets, desires, and the sensual aspects of everyday life. The characters spring from the pages and take on lives outside the story. And by the time the final pages are reached, the reader wants to become a regular at the diner so as not to miss any moment in these characters' lives. Truly masterful storytelling.

Scintillating. Exquisite. Emotion Beyond this Realm!

If you enjoyed Seeing Dell, you won't be able to put down Carol Guess' latest work of art, "Switch". If you have yet to read either book, BUY BOTH! Ms. Guess shows amazing insight into the human mind. Her characters are real, alive, and quite intriguing. And the story of each character is told in their own words, in both books.The story takes place in the small town of Cartwright, Indiana just outside of the Ms. Guess' own hometown. The story is centered on Caddie, a youngish woman who makes her living as a waitress in a small, privately owned diner. Caddie tells the story of her dearest love, Jo, who left her one day with barely a note of explanation. Through Caddie we learn about Jo's true identity. Caddie is the only resident of Cartwright who knows Jo's secret body, and real name. The man everyone knows as Jo, or Joseph, is actually Josephine. A woman who left her true identity on the bus that took her to Cartwright, Indiana. Through! out the book Caddie struggles with her desire to tell the truth of her own sexuality and the fear of what that admission might bring to her life. She suffers in silence for years with no one else who she can relate to, although we soon find, that there are many people in Cartwright who share her burden of guilt, because their love also takes them from the acceptable boundaries of society. As each character adds their own narrative to the story, we learn each have their secrets from each other. Ultimately, each of these secrets surround love or passion and how they have lived their lives to ensure their hidden loves go forward unaltered. "Switch" shows the true complexity and depth of human desire and need. Its standing testimony to the fact that everyone, male, female, in any class stratification, of any sexual orientation, will do what they need in order to protect what is valued in their lives, and do so happily, in a world less accepting of their differ! ences. All in the name of love.This book was delightful! , fascinating, and captivated my attention for hours on end. It will stand on my book case for many years to come, and will be read again and again. Cheers to Ms. Guess!(If you are interested in seeing more reviews, please email me for the URL to my home page!)