Is This What Other Women Feel Too? (American Literature (Dalkey Archive))

Kate McGhee, the main character, is a product of her era. Coming of age, prior to feminism and the sexual revolution, Kate struggles with the issues of her identity, sexuality, and her place in the world as a woman. The story begins in 1954 as Kate, college student and literature major, explores her burgeoning sexuality as the mistress to a much older and married bookseller. When he dies, Kate is sent into an emotional tailspin. She changes her major, her career choice, her residence, and overall lifestyle. In an attempt to deal with the chaos of her ever-changing life, she seeks the help of Dr. Koltonow, a psychiatrist. As Dr. Koltonow delves deeper into her past, Kate is forced to reflect on issues far greater than her current dilemma. June Akers Seese's second novel is about books and the people who read them: it's about a rare-book dealer and his mistress, set in that era when words like "mistress" were still used, and recalling the years when Lenny Bruce, Edith Piaf, and Freud might share the same paragraph in an after-hours night spot. Seese writes movingly, tightly, without recourse to adjectives, from the gut and to the gut.