Hers 3: Brilliant New Fiction by Lesbian Writers - Softcover

Amidst an outbreak of great new anthologies, including its companion volume of gay short fiction, Hers 3 more than holds its own, from the nearly flawless opening story by Pat Schatz, in which a young woman rides the Tokyo subway in rush hour for the thrill of bodies pressed against her, pushed in tightly by the white-gloved conductor, to Ellen Hawley's painstakingly realistic account of the night her protagonist's niece was beaten by her boyfriend, to Carrelin Brook's dreamy but precise evocation of otherness in "The Butcher's Wife." A few well- known writers are included, such as Donna Allegra, Barbara Wilson, the art critic Catherine Lord, and Emma Donoghue (who edited 1999's Mammoth Book of Lesbian Short Stories), but most are newer voices. Readers who haven't noticed the astonishing improvement in lesbian fiction in the past five years would do well to indulge themselves with this latest volume in the Hers series. --Regina Marler

Terry Wolverton is the author of Bailey's Beads and Black Slip. She has co-edited numerous literary compilations, including the Lambda Literary Award-winning series His and Hers. She lives in Los Angeles, where she teaches creative writing.