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Lone Women

Victor LaValle

Start date: August 1, 2024

Finish date: August 31, 2024

Discussion: Book Discussions

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What Members Thought

Apr 15, 2023 Dee (Hiatus through mid-Sept.!) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2023

4 shining stars - WTAF did I just read?? A horror, western, feminist, LGBTQ+, revenge fantasy?? While I’m not quite sure "what" to categorize it as, I really enjoyed the heck out of it! 🥂 to all the “Lone Women” everywhere!!
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Nov 29, 2023 Joy D rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed, subdue, american-west, women, xaucc, zzck, historical-fiction, north-america, horror

This book is an unusual mix of historical fiction and horror. Set in the early 1900s, a woman leaves behind a terrible scene in her family’s home in California. She takes her mysterious steamer trunk with her, and heads to Montana, where she becomes a homesteader. Her neighbors include other women who are on their own for various reasons.

I enjoyed the first half. To me this would have made a great novella or short story. The second half seems pretty silly to me. It is one of those books that st ...more

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Jan 04, 2025 Stormie ~ Book Dragon ~ rated it really liked it

(I am writing this after returning the book to the library.)This book was a bit confusing for me. I live close to Lucerne Valley, CA, and know some of its history, so it's nice to read about a place you know. They are still mostly rural and have a"General Store", Cafe 247, a library, a museum, and schools. So, the confusing part was what was in the "trunk." I am not sure I would label this genre as horror, but it was certainly horrific. Adelaide travels from Lucerne Valley to Montana because of (I am writing this after returning the book to the library.)This book was a bit confusing for me. I live close to Lucerne Valley, CA, and know some of its history, so it's nice to read about a place you know. They are still mostly rural and have a"General Store", Cafe 247, a library, a museum, and schools. So, the confusing part was what was in the "trunk." I am not sure I would label this genre as horror, but it was certainly horrific. Adelaide travels from Lucerne Valley to Montana because of what was in the trunk. Folks in the Valley called them "queer" because of how they acted, (this was in the late 1800s), not because of their lifestyle. They mostly kept to themselves, because of what was in the trunk. So what was in the trunk killed Adelaide Henry's parents, so she put them in their beds and set the house on fire. I think it took more than 6 hours to get to the Port of LA authority back then because all they had were the trails, but anyway, I will come back and add more on that later.
So she gets to Montana with the trunk, and this "demon" as they now call it, gets out sometimes and attacks people, but what can you expect, being locked in a trunk for about 30 years?
So she went from homesteading in CA to homesteading in Montana, and what happens there is where it becomes confusing. Part two of this book identifies the trunk's contents as a "demon", but it's not until Part three that we learn that this is Adelaide's twin sister, Elizabeth. Now, I don't remember if the book says what had happened to her, such as if she was disabled or whatnot, but I can imagine being locked in a trunk can make a person go crazy and do horrible things.
The place they were in Montana, Big Sandy I think it was, had a rich family with a controlling woman who was a feminist who thought it should be her way or no way and everyone should do what she wanted. Even though she led the suffragists, most of it was how "her town" should be run.
Elizabeth had escaped a few times and hurt and sometimes killed people, but Adelaide had a change of heart and started treating her like a person. but they wreaked havoc on the town and the goody-two-shoes there. A few of the women were on the side of the sisters and they all ended up going to another desolate area and becoming the "Lone Women."
This book is on my to-be-purchased list because I want to re-read and annotate it. If you like Historical Fiction, I would recommend this book as I found it enjoyable even though I was a bit confused in some parts. ...more

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May 23, 2025 Sherri rated it liked it

Shelves: e-books, library-new-orleans

In Lone Women, Victor LaValle crafts a gripping gothic novel that centers on Adelaide Henry, a resilient Black woman who escapes California in 1915, carrying a mysterious steamer trunk that conceals a dark and terrible secret. As she embarks on her journey to Montana, where she dreams of becoming a homesteader and leaving her past behind, the stage is set for an unforgettable and chilling tale.

The unforgiving Montana landscape mirrors the turmoil within Adelaide, and her hidden truth leads to ha ...more

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