Tapestries of Life

Aptheker ( Woman's Legacy: Essays on Race, Sex, and Class in American History ) avers that ``women have a consciousness of social reality that is distinct from that put forth by men,'' and her book seeks to define such consciousness ``as it is constructed in the artifacts of daily life.'' The exposition partially exemplifies her hope to locate a ``woman-centered'' way of thinking: the author considers the poems, fictions, testimonies and artwork of women and she outlines the experiences and conditions that inform her own point of view (she grew up in New York, in a middle-class, Communist, Jewish family; she married and divorced; she lives with her lesbian lover and their children)--but she withholds reference to the notoriety her politics have brought her. Commendably, Aptheker attempts to address the distinct needs of minority women; in doing so, however, she becomes patroniz ing. Similarly naive are her privileging of lesbian women (``A lesbian presence signals a potential for female independence'') and her colorless interpretations of the art she cites. (July)