Passing Strange

Passing Strange by Ellen Klages, 219 pages

In 1940 in San Francisco, six intelligent women gather for an evening of pizza and wine. They're all lesbians, and they're all professionally hindered by their gender, but beyond that, they're all just loosely connected friends. But by the end of this short novel, they're all part of a lifelong pact. This is a wonderful exploration of female friendship, of love, of prejudice, and of San Francisco of 1940. I very much enjoyed this brief tale, though I wish there'd been more of it. But isn't that the mark of a great book?