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