eclair-d-amour

[eclair-d-amour]

I love lesbian fiction, mainly the romance. One thing i find interesting is examining the differences between the american and japanese cultures when it comes to telling a lesbian romance. Two great stories to compare are Girlfriends(a shoujo ai) and Her Name in the Sky(a lesbian romance book). Both have similar premises, the good old best friends turn lovers concept. I pick these two to compare because they are both favorites of mine and when i think of great lesbian fiction, these are the stories i think of.

What is interesting is the different approaches both stories take. Girlfriends is mainly about the two protagonists falling in love whereas Her Name in th Sky is about the two main characters coming to terms with their feelings.

Girlfriends is more of a simple friendship turns to love romance, with the real quality coming from the execution. We see how hard it is for Mari to understand her feelings and how it affects her friendship with Akko. Its a very straightforward story and a big part of what i like about it is it isnt a grand statement, its a love story and the reader can think about the story however they want. The reason i bring this point up is because i was personally moved by this story. I never really had a strong stance on the issue before reading girlfriends. But i remember very distinctly my reaction to the scene in the karaoke place when Mari says that her feelings were disgusting. I remember thinking 'why would anyone think that' and then it clicked for me.

What was great about it is it wasnt a preachy story, it was just a love story and the good writing is what showed me how obviously ok their love is. The story is realy just about the romance between the characters, which works for the story its trying to tell. Not the most complex story, but a definite favorite.

Her Name in the Sky also has that seemingly basic premise, but it takes it in an entirely different direction. While it definitely is primarily romance, i would say that a big part of the story is contending with being gay while also being religious. Unlike girlfriends, this story isnt about falling in love, its about the characters accepting their love for one another. From the start its immediately obvious that Baker and Hannah are in love with eachother. Its also obvious that they know they are in love with eachother, the conflict in the story comes in contending with their love within their own religious beliefs. There is alot more that goes on outside of the main couple and the story also has a more defined setting.

The last 1/3 of the book is more about being gay vs being religious. What was interesting to me were the discussions between Hannah and some of the older characters about it. What surprised me the most, being both religious and a member of modern society, was that the conclusion wasnt that religious life was evil. I was really ready for the characters to conclude that its all bad, but to my surprise it ended up being more focused around interpretation of gods will.

To be honest, the main reason for this is just to talk about both these stories again because i really do love them both. When i read girlfriends and Her Name in the Sky, i see two very different approaches. Girlfriends is a much more intamate story, which both focuses on two people befriending and eventually falling for eachother, but it also sets their friendship apart from the rest in the story. Mari comes to understand how temporary alot of friendships end up being and has to accept the fact that change happens, but it isnt a bad thing. This leads into her accepting that her relationship with Akko can change and it wont be the end of the world.

Hannah faces a similar circumstance in Her Name in the Sky, she doesnt know what to do after she graduates because she doesnt want things to change. She has a tight group of friends and doesnt want the ballance to be upset. I think part of her reluctance for accepting her feelings for Baker were because she didnt want anything to change. Girlfriends definitely had a more light hearted idea of this, in Her Name in the Sky, the resulting changes within the friend group werent all positive changes.

I love both stories, but if i had to pick one over the other i would probably go with girlfriends. Her Name in the Sky is much more heavy in terms of content, and it can be a bit heavy handed and over the top at times. At the same time i would probably say its the better story because it handles its ideas very well. It also has some of the best chemistry ive seen in any romance. I am just more of a straightforward romance kind of person.

I apologize for how all over the place this post is, i am tired but i felt like talking about these stories.