HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule
Loading...

Desert of the Heart (original 1964; edition 1991)

by Jane Rule

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
6071238,522 (3.68)38
Classic Literature. Fiction. HTML:"A landmark work of lesbian fiction" and the basis for the acclaimed film Desert Hearts (The New York Times).

Against the backdrop of Reno, Nevada, in the late 1950s, award-winning author Jane Rule chronicles a love affair between two women.

When Desert of the Heart opens, Evelyn Hall is on a plane that will take her from her old life in Oakland, California, to Reno, where she plans to divorce her husband of sixteen years. A voluntary exile in a brave new world, she meets a woman who will change her life.

Fifteen years younger, Ann Childs works as a change apron in a casino. Evelyn is instantly drawn to the fiercely independent Ann, and their friendship soon evolves into a romantic relationship. An English professor who had always led a conventional life, Evelyn suddenly finds all her beliefs about love, morality, and identity called into question.

Peopled by a cast of unforgettable characters, this is a novel that dares to ask whether love between two women can last.

.
… (more)
Member:acarritt
Title:Desert of the Heart
Authors:Jane Rule
Info:Talon Books (1991), Paperback, 224 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:fiction

Work Information

Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule (1964)

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 38 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 11 (next | show all)
The film, Desert Hearts, is much better, although the book has a better ending and the characters are more fleshed out in the book.

This is a very dense, philosophical book. It just gets bogged down and it's only 225 pages. It also a different ending than the movie, which I found interesting. But, other than that, stick to the movie. ( )
  EdGoldberg | Feb 28, 2021 |
Subtle, philosophical, beautiful, hopeful. Characters I was curious about and frustrated by, that I argued with and rooted for. So much better than the movie (Desert Hearts) that it's kind of ridiculous. ( )
  elenaj | Jul 31, 2020 |
I had read this book years and years ago, and quite liked it then. I was rather afraid to re-read, because often lesbian fiction that I liked in the old days doesn't hold up. I think that back then I was just excited to read books that reflected my life, so I wasn't super critical. The other thing is its just hard to remember, in 2016, how much things have changed, and how hard it was to be a lesbian just a generation ago. I was talking just the other night with a friend about the movie Carol. She was kind of complaining that the movie left her feeling so sad. I had to remind her that for that time, that was a happy ending.

In [Desert of the Heart], there were times when I felt that the characters were way to serious and melodramatic for the situation. I had to remind myself that, for the error, the drama made sense. There was very little room, and that time, for an independent woman, and absolutely no room for an out lesbian to live safely. That said, I do think that at times Rule is just to serious and philosophical. But she is a good writer, I think, and the story is interesting. Evelyn Hall comes to Reno to get a quicky divorce. This is back when divorces were harder to get, and so it meant staying in Reno for 6 weeks and pretending that she was establishing residence there. She meets a quirky younger woman, Ann Childs, who works in a casino, and has her own struggles with intimacy. The book is interesting also for it's descriptions of Nevada, the casinos, and that whole world.

So the book has a happy ending--hooray! I thought it was worth my reading time... probably 3 1/2 stars, maybe 4? ( )
  banjo123 | Feb 27, 2016 |
i wanted to like this, but it's a mess. it tries to be way too many things and ends up being a jumble that often doesn't quite make sense, with these spots of clarity (and lovely literary references) that could have been so much more. i found this annoying more than anything else, while reading. the characters and their interactions aren't even a little believable, and the main relationship even less so, even before you get to the ending. a book about ann and silver, that i might have liked.

"You had to love the whole damned world to love anyone at all." ( )
  overlycriticalelisa | Feb 23, 2016 |
Definitely a better-than-average specimen of the "LGBT classic" - a thoughtful, well-written and not too predictable lesbian romance with lots of interesting period detail about the Nevada gambling industry. As a few others have mentioned, there's also plenty of entertainment value in trying to spot places where the 1985 film actually used part of the book. (Apart from the setting in Reno and the occupations of the two main characters, there isn't much overlap between the two.) ( )
  thorold | Dec 8, 2014 |
Showing 1-5 of 11 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Jane Ruleprimary authorall editionscalculated
Bosco, LeslieTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kay, JackieIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Wepster, CorineTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
for Helen
First words
Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Conventies hebben, evenals clichés, nogal eens de neiging zichzelf te overleven.
Quotations
Last words
Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

Classic Literature. Fiction. HTML:"A landmark work of lesbian fiction" and the basis for the acclaimed film Desert Hearts (The New York Times).

Against the backdrop of Reno, Nevada, in the late 1950s, award-winning author Jane Rule chronicles a love affair between two women.

When Desert of the Heart opens, Evelyn Hall is on a plane that will take her from her old life in Oakland, California, to Reno, where she plans to divorce her husband of sixteen years. A voluntary exile in a brave new world, she meets a woman who will change her life.

Fifteen years younger, Ann Childs works as a change apron in a casino. Evelyn is instantly drawn to the fiercely independent Ann, and their friendship soon evolves into a romantic relationship. An English professor who had always led a conventional life, Evelyn suddenly finds all her beliefs about love, morality, and identity called into question.

Peopled by a cast of unforgettable characters, this is a novel that dares to ask whether love between two women can last.

.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Set in the late 1950s, this is the story of Evelyn Hall, an English Professor, who goes to Reno to obtain a divorce and put an end to her disastrous 16-year marriage. While staying at a boarding house to establish her six-week residency requirement she meets Ann Childs, a casino worker and fifteen years her junior. Physically, they are remarkably alike and eventually have an affair and begin the struggle to figure out just how a relationship between two women can last. Desert of the Heart examines the conflict between convention and freedom and the ways in which the characters try to resolve the conflict.

VIRAGO EDITION:

Evelyn Hall, an English professor, is in Reno to obtain a divorce and put an end to her sixteen-year-old marriage.
During her six weeks' stay at a boarding house, she meets Ann Childs, a free-spirited casino worker and fifteen years her junior. Evelyn is about to be overwhelmed by more than just the staggering spare beauty of the Nevada desert...
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.68)
0.5 1
1 1
1.5 1
2 6
2.5
3 38
3.5 8
4 23
4.5 6
5 25

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

Talonbooks

An edition of this book was published by Talonbooks.

» Publisher information page

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,228,719 books! | Top bar: Always visible