Twilight Girls

By Paula Christian

Features two classic full-length novels following stewardess Val MacGregor as she loses her heart to passionate and caring Toni Molina, and comes to terms with her lifestyle in order to live and love with wild abandon.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0758203136
• ISBN13: 9780758203137
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Kensington Pub Corp
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 1.0" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Two very different stories.

The first story in this collection is an astonishingly good coming-out story, the story of a woman's first realization that she is a lesbian. Well-written, with excellent characterizations, plotting, pacing, and remarkably (for its time) spot-on in its portrayal of the emotions involved. The second story alleges to be a continuation of the first, but the characters have a very different feel to them; if it were read as a stand-alone, it would probably be a very strong story detailing the emotional unsettlement that comes from having a relationship (particularly a taboo relationship) go sour. But given that it is written as a followup to the first, it suffers from seeming unfaithful to the personalities that have been established before. Also, while it is a very well-written and emotionally powerful story, it is likely that many who enjoy the romantic first story will find a story focusing on a nervous breakdown and the psychoanalysis that follows to be a much less interesting and attractive story, and if it avoids the cheap, trite ending that I was afraid that it was heading towards, it still leaves me feeling somewhat unsatisfied. So I give the first story a solid five stars, the second a mixed-emotion three stars, and the combination a compromise four.

Pleasant Surprise

Being a fan of retro literature and its parodies, I picked this up thinking it was pure camp. Remarkably, Twilight Girls is quite serious and only occasionally melodramatic. The first story is the basic "coming out" story with Val discovering "what she's missing" in Toni Molina. The sequel is the follow through in their relationship. More than romance, Twilight Girls also paints a vivid portrait of 50's America, the airline industry and even a glimpse into animation. The descriptions of Val's stops along her odyssey are palpable, yet don't stray into verbosity. Christian seems way ahead of her time and I kept checking the copyright date to make sure these stories were actually 40+ years old.