Sweat by Bledsoe

Publishers Weekly

In an outstanding novella and (with a couple of exceptions) rich and satisfying stories, Bledsoe shows herself to be a smart and savvy writer. All of these stories are about lesbians, and many are about sports. In the sweet ``State of Grace'' the narrator recalls her youthful first love, a softball teammate, and compares falling in love to making a great play. A woman takes a ``Solo'' trip and mourns her often cantankerous and now dead mountaineering partner; and, in the title story, a high-school gym teacher contemplates taking a college job to please her more money-conscious lover and plays a late-night game of one-on-one with a student. The excellent novella, ``The Place Before Language,'' follows a woman who has just been dumped by her girlfriend of 10 years for another woman and is working as a park ranger for the summer. In this tender work, Bledsoe perfectly evokes the healing power of the outdoors and the fishbowl atmosphere of such a workplace. Occasionally, Bledsoe loses her footing, as when an older lesbian enlightens ``two adorable young things'' who disparage her generation in ``Sex Is an Ancient Practice,'' or when a lesbian includes her corporate boss in a kiss-out in ``The Rescue.'' Both of these are brief and seem more like settings for a few funny lines and obvious points than for telling stories. They are, however, the exceptions in this fine collection. (Sept.)

Library Journal

Bledsoe intertwines the themes of athletic competition and lost love (or lust) in the stories in Sweat. She captures a range of emotions, from the headiness of first love in the lead-off story, "State of Grace," to admiration for strength, speed, and endurance in "Teamwork," to jealousy in "The Place Before Language." She effectively maintains the stories' rapid tempo and the dramatic tension of the cycling, basketball, softball, and skiing contests. Bledsoe clearly knows the details of the sports she writes about and spices up this mixture with the erotic attraction some of the women athletes feel for each other. The thrill of the game is one thing, she implies, but the thrill of watching others play that game is something else again. Unfortunately, in one of the nonsports stories, "Sex Is an Ancient Practice," the author veers off into a preachy tone and a contrived plot. "The Rescue," a story that attacks right-wing politicians, also suffers from a contrived plot. But, overall, this is a bold, exciting collection recommended for most public libraries.-Lisa Nussbaum, Euclid P.L., Ohio

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