Considering Venus by D. Gisele Isaac

Publisher/Date:  Seaburn Publishing, June 1998
Genre(s):  Romance, Mature Lesbians
Pages:  144

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Even as the lines appear, the hair turns a little lighter and the all the children are gone, a woman still needs love.

That’s the underlying message of CONSIDERING VENUS, D. Gisele Isaac’s story of love between two middle-aged women.

Antigua-born Cass is the lesbian who falls for Lesley after they reunite at their 25-year high school reunion. Only one problem: Lesley is a straight woman recently widowed with three adult children. Seems unlikely that they’d fall in love–but they do–despite the fact that Lesley hasn’t figured out if she’s gay or straight, that she was married to a man for 23 years, and her grown children are very dependent on her.

They pursue a relationship in spite of all the barriers. Everything seems wonderful at first. Cass knows this is love, and while anxious and unsure at first, Lesley relishes their time together. That is until her children discover their affair; they selfishly scold her for becoming a “lesbian”–a badge they scorn her with like a scarlet letter–and accuse her of forgetting their father.

An interesting thing about Considering Venus is that Lesley’s sexuality is never defined. It’s just love between two women–with no barriers.

Isaac has written a lovely book, with just the right fusion of prose and poetry make it a joy to read.

Reviewed August 2005

4 thoughts to “Considering Venus by D. Gisele Isaac”

  1. I loved this book. It is one of the few lesbian stories that I have read and can honestly relate to. Cass and Lesley, two friends from school, come across each other 25 years after graduating HS, spend the night in each others’ company without sex and, and fall in love. The issues they both deal with are real-life. The story was amazing. Gisele paced this book exceptionally well, letting us meet and get to know both women, their situations and then watch them work through their problems. I’m not trying to retell the story, just express what the book meant to me. It will forever be one of my favorites. I tire of reading about young, blond, white women with the firm body who has a dog and goes camping to relax from her high power 6-figure career and the girls who throw themselves at her. Of course she is unhappy and wants real love and not endless sex. Pu-Lez! Fabulous Job, Gisele, I look forward to any future endeavors. Stories relative to mature Black women are rare in lesbian fiction. Plausibility goes a long way. I have passed this book on to 7 other friends and they all love it. The book is still making the rounds. One last thing…the fact that Brooklyn is my hometown was a special treat for me. I knew all the places in the book. Again, Gisele did a wonderful job on this book. Thank you.

  2. I loved this book. I have read it several times. The characters are simply complicated but at the core is this love that simply just is.

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