Book Review: Geezer Dyke and Other Stories of Bad Behavior

Reviewed by Samantha Hui

Funny, real, and unapologetically queer

How would a ship full of lesbians fare in a disaster? What are the prostitutes reading by the bus stop by the library? Having finally accepted yourself and liking what you saw in the mirror, what would a butch lesbian do if she woke up as a hyper-feminine teenager? Geezer Dyke and Other Stories of Bad Behavior explores these questions and more.

“I’d like to think that a ship full of lesbians would be able to pull together and cope with such a circumstance but no one knows….”

Becky Thacker’s Geezer Dyke and Other Stories of Bad Behavior is a collection of high energy, imaginative short stories about the antics and lives of an assortment of not so unproblematic lesbians. The stories pack a punch and subvert expectations. Often addressing issues of identity, gender, and races, Geezer Dyke is an elder lesbian’s reflection of the joys and pains of the queer experience without boiling down the characters to their queerness. Readers will be equal parts giddy, horrified, and hopeful, perhaps even in that order.

“She’s not sure who ‘Karen’ is, but she knows she doesn’t want to be her. She bets Karen isn’t a lesbian.”

A few of my favorite stories in this book are “Library Hooker,” “Last Tender to Blue-Moon Bay,” and “Fair Exchange.”In “Library Hooker,” the character of Polly is struggling to connect with her partner Jane. As their relationship strains, Polly develops a budding literary friendship with the prostitute LaKesha who is posted outside of the city library. In Polly’s attempt to support LaKesha’s literary endeavors, LaKesha in turn gives Polly the life advice she needs to be a better romantic partner. In “Last Tender to Blue-Moon Bay,”we follow a woman’s experience on a lesbian cruise as a pandemic begins affecting the crew and the patrons. “Fair Exchange”offers readers a Freaky Friday-like plot; Middle aged, butch lesbian Andree finds herself body swapped with girly, high school student Brittany. 

“Yet, old or nearly-old, women are even now willing to come home with her. Danny isn’t sure why this is, given that back in the USA, she was just a retired old dyke geezer with a part-time job and, after Ruthie, no self-respecting woman had the slightest interest in her.”

Thacker experiments with different writing formats throughout the collection. For example, “The Other Woman”is offered as a series of one-sided emails sent by the character of Stace to Chiqita. Readers have to parse out and assume for themselves Chiqita’s responses to Stace, but this format allows for readers to insert themselves into the story. Stace’s emails are mostly about the gossip surrounding their friend group; in only reading one set of emails, it almost feels as if we’re peering over the character’s shoulder and reading a private conversation not for our eyes. Additionally, in “That Women’s Musical Festival,” the story is told from the perspective of a conservative woman attending a lesbian concert (unbeknownst to her).

“For a few minutes I wondered if some of them might be those awful Gays you hear about, but I’ve seen the parades on the news, and none of these gals walked around with no shirts or carried signs with dirty words on them or stuck their tongues in each other’s mouth.”

While the stories are full and complete on their own, they also open up to larger stories that leave the reader excited to read more from Thacker. “Last Tender to Blue-Moon Bay”feels almost like a zombie story with mysterious disappearances and deadly illnesses; your feelings of terror and suspense are inevitable. In “Trash Trailers”the character of Alice is kidnapped and assaulted because a man mistakes her for another woman. The writing is visceral and descriptive. We fear for Alice’s life, and we’re deeply scared of what the man is capable of. The stories transition from slice of life, to science fiction, to horror without us once wondering which genre is the author’s strong suit or weakness. I’d recommend Geezer Dyke to anyone who appreciates good, varied storytelling.

“Lenore? Poe’s lost Lenore? Was this a literary mugging?“

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