Vera's Still Point

by Ruth Perkinson

Book Overview

Vera Curran is in love with her own repression. She's a 40-year-old lesbian librarian from a rural county in Virginia who follows the same insipid routine day in and day out. Vera hasn't had sex for... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1883523737
• ISBN13: 9781883523732
• Release Date: July 2006
• Publisher: Spinsters Ink Books
• Length: 177 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Vera, a great read

I have noticed some reviews having issue with the beginning of the book. There is a lot going on in the first 20 pages, but I think you will find it is a great read. The story flows quickly from that point on, and I really like the characters and the writer's sense of humor. I actually found myself reading the beginning again and enjoying it more, kind of like playing your favorite song after you have listened to a new cd.

Highly recommended.

Vera's Still Point is a lesbian romance about rediscovering forgotten passions. Vera Curran, a forty-year-old Republican lesbian librarian, has lived alone in a comfortable, yet mind-numbingly boring routine for years, watching the world pass her by. She hasn't had sex in years and repressed the desire so thoroughly she has forgotten why she once desired it. When a brand new faculty member, Frankie Bourdon, dares to try to change the public school's curriculum by adding homosexual sex education, Vera begins to remember, and the two of them gradually forge a lasting bond. A powerful love story about both the connections that people forge, and the trauma and isolation that results when homophobic communities and family members exclude adults, teachers, and teenaged children who happen to be gay. Highly recommended. Mary Cowper Reviewer

Ellen DeGeneres Will Be Proud of This One

Vera's Still Point is an outstanding first novel for Ruth Perkinson. The story is accessible for all,no matter what their orientation. A great book to help even the most hard hearted understand the depth of true love and the real meaning of family. The book deals with gay civil union, but most deftly addresses the subject of teaching all sexual orientation in public schools, not just the traditional family values being spoon fed by our government under the potent influence of the Religious Right. Some readers will be surprised to learn that in 2006 it is still PROHIBITED to use the term gay or homosexual in many public school classroooms. Perkinson is very brave to put her reputation as a former Virginia public school teacher on the line in a red state where to even breathe being gay, much less speak to the greater concern of young teen age children stuggling with their identity, is reason for dismissal. This book bridges the very real gap that still exists in this country. Perkinson has done for Virginia, what Ellen has done for Hollywood. She has shined a real, and believeable, and loving light on the multi dimensional and beautiful faces of gay people. Putting who they are as humans, ahead of a label or stereotype. Ellen will be proud. So am I.

Like Yin and Yang, Opposites Attract

This delightful story is told as a series of flashbacks from the main protagonist's point of view. Kyle asks his Aunt Vera to tell him the story of life with her late lover Frankie Bourdon for his psychology assignment. Frankie was a former Navy pilot who came to teach PE at Vera's conservative high school and subsequently stirred the proverbial pot. Vera spent most of her life feeling like the ugly duckling and had not had a lover for several years. When the enigmatic Frankie shows up at a gay alliance meeting, then again at Vera's school, Vera's friends push her to get to know the PE teacher better. The teachers and their friends get to know each other better and begin to discuss Frankie's plans to start teaching gay sex education in addition to her regular curriculum. Complicating matters is the fact that Frankie's ultra conservative mother is on the school board and is very much against her daughter's plans. In the midst of the political turmoil, Vera is surprised about her growing feelings toward Frankie and the other woman's shared attraction. Their romance is a complicated one, made simple by the romantic Frankie. Their love is strong enough to last, but cannot defeat Mrs. Bourdon's conservative views. This is especially difficult during Frankie's lost struggle with cancer. (Note: This doesn't give anything away; Frankie's cancer is the subject of the first chapter.) This book is extremely well written. The characters are somewhat dimensional (as in, there is more to them than specifically what is in the book) and the story is never boring. The author keeps the reader anxiously awaiting the events on the next page. The quality of this story is such that I hope Ruth Perkinson publishes another soon

excellent book

an excellent novel - even more so given it's Perkinson's first... I love this book, and read it in two sittings... and in truth, I continue to reread many sections... it has a good story, great characters, humor, sadness, a sweet love story, and a good message... Perkinson's great writing draws the reader into her character's lives and emotions... you can expect to laugh and cry as the story unfolds for Vera, Frankie, and their friends... Vera's Still Point is a compelling and moving story which illustrates how one person can set the ripples in motion for change and instills its readers with the hope that love can prevail over prejudice and hatred... Vera's lesson is one we hopefully all learn - be true to yourself and share it with the world, whether you are understood and accepted or not... I'm anxiously awaiting her next novel, Piper's Someday, due out in 2007.