The Girls in 3B

The afterword does a fine job of explaining the significance of the book in the context of feminist discourse of the second and third wave, in the context of homophobia and misogyny of the period’s pulp fiction. And that is all commendable, but I can’t add to that.

I can say that for me personally pulp fiction is precious for being defined by details and mannerisms rather than plot or ideation. And this book is as precious as it gets, with its feedsack and terry, percolators and davenports. But in addition to that, thanks to the treatment of feminist, lesbian and race issues, it is fresh rather than stale — that staleness being something that is usually forgiven to old books for no good reason.