Theresa Thadani was born in San Francisco in 1960 to a South Asian father and Japanese mother. She learned photography through community college classes and continues to learn by doing. Her photos appear in a variety of publications including The Femme Mystique, The Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader, and the covers of her friend and former lover Chea Villanueva’s books.
Portrait of Thadani; Asian/Pacific Lesbians at the Chinese New Year Parade, 1994; Kitty Tsui: Competition Body Builder, 1992; Chea Villanueva from the back cover of The Chinagirls,1991.
I’ve been trying to diversify up my reading selections and finding lesbian books that take place outside America/Europe has been quite the struggle… Which Munir cited as part of her inspiration to write a lesbian novel set in India. Tara Dixit has not had a romantic relationship since a college fling because she believes there’s no place for her to fall in love in India. When Sameen Siddiqi jumps into her cab one rainy day she’s first annoyed by the bubbly and persistent woman, then finds in her a new best friend, and then falls hard. It just figures that the woman who’s sworn she could keep herself from loving again falls for a woman with a live-in boyfriend. Their romance seems like a lost cause, and nothing’s even happened yet. At its barest bones, this is a sweet romance with a happy end. More than that, though, is that this book is woven through with food and culture that makes it a unique read from any other wlw book I’ve posted about before. Tara and Sameen’s initial friendship is based on going out for momos and dosas and other street snacks that had me craving while I was reading (and drooling over some images, to be honest). There’s also so much humor woven in with Tara’s mother’s relentless quest to find a potential husband her daughter won’t reject and the lengths Sameen goes through to keep her boyfriend’s parents knowing that they live together. And while I of course love a good romantic end, the scene where Tara’s mother tacitly accepts that her daughter will not ever be choosing a husband touched me even more. So all in all, a classic romance that hits the rom-com tropes without being cheesy, set in a region that wlw publishing has severely neglected. Also, the cover is just gorgeous.
