Author- Melissa Grey
Valiant Ladies is a sapphic romance following two protagonists Eustaquia “Kiki” de Sonza and Ana Lezama De Urinza. This novel is set in 17th-century Peru in the city of Potosi, and our two leading ladies fight to save their city from the corrupt forces that have taken root and struggle to understand their place in the world.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I think there were a lot of elements of the narrative that were compellingly written. I think our main characters were very interesting and I loved following their blossoming romance. I would consider this a slow burn so if you are not a fan of slow burns this book is probably not for you but this story will have you kicking your feet and giggling at every romantic moment. There is a lot of pining and there are a lot of queer issues that are present within the book such as being stuck in a position that doesn't allow you to fully be yourself and the hard sting of rejection when others don't want or aren't ready for you to be out. And if you are experiencing any of these issues and would like someone to talk to, the LGBT National Help Center provides multiple avenues to talk to fellow community members who will provide support and a listening ear. Furthermore, the book is incredibly descriptive and I appreciate a descriptive narrative because it helps me get into the mindset of the characters and it immerses me in the world. I think that if you are a fan of descriptive writing this is a good book for you to pick up and to read. Lastly, the author's acknowledgments were a wonderful addition to this book that deserves my praise. After reading the author's note and acknowledgments, I have since learned that our main characters Eustaquia and Anna were real people and at the end of the book, author Melissa Grey provided multiple resources if you want to learn more about these women or learn more about the city of Potosi which is handy and a nice touch. You can tell that the author put a lot of time and effort into creating this narrative and I think you can tell that this was a labor of love. To me, reading is a labor of love so I love reading things where you can feel the excitement, interest and love that a creator feels when they're making a piece of art, and you can feel it with this book.
With that being said, there are some elements of the story that I wish had been expanded on or were more prevalent. For example, one thing I liked about this book is the discussion of intersectionality. The author Melissa Grey touches upon how the intersection of class and gender affects people's lives, specifically how those identities influence what is expected of you and the areas of society that you are allowed to occupy. However, I wish that there was more discussion of this idea. When we are introduced to the characters we can tell that Anna has had a significant impact on Kiki’s thinking both in her personal life but also in the way that she sees her role in society and the roles of those around her but I had hoped that the analysis of power dynamics went further than just as a woman you are meant to be seen not heard and how the class you are born into determines your value because there are other elements of colonial institutions that I would have been interested in seeing that weren’t given as much prevalence or thought. Such as how indigenous populations are affected by colonization and industrialization. I understand that the point of this book is to entertain more than to educate, however, I think that some readers might have maybe been able to reevaluate their own lives and their positionality regarding systems of power. I think that recognizing and understanding the systems that affect our lives is paramount. I appreciate how this book has interwoven this broader idea of systemic power, specifically how systems are used to disadvantage some while benefiting others but all the while placing limits on everyone because everyone has their right place, but my biggest issue is that it is mentioned but it's never thought of outside of an individual level. As readers, we see how these systems are affecting our protagonists and those they are trying to save but the application stops there. And while I am happy that Anna and Kiki can have their sapphic happily ever after, the truth is that even if you can achieve some individual level of freedom or acceptance or privilege as great as that is, it's still not enough. As happy as I am for Kiki and Ana, when I finished the book a part of me couldn’t help but feel sad about the fact that individual victories do not guarantee long-term systemic and worldwide change and I think that celebrating individual victories is very important for making sure that you don't get burned out and for keeping nihilism at bay but at the same time I think that if we take too much time to applaud individual victories instead of looking at how our triumphs can then help us to further the cause of abolishing harmful systems then our work is incredibly nearsighted. I believe that the author wrote the story she intended to write a love story about two revolutionary bad-ass lesbians who fought against all odds but this story left me with the question “Ok, but what do we do now?” And while I do not think it is a shortcoming of this book or Melissa Grey for not delving into that question at the end of our tale I do think it would have been a benefit to the reader. Especially young queer readers of today.
This book was found at the local library so if you are interested in it, check yours it might be there too! And if you too are thinking about your journey forward you are welcome to talk with one peer support volunteers on the LGBT National Hotline: 888-843-4564 .
