Although gay people had to be closeted in the 1950's, the author's sparse clues to Sylvia's emerging sexual identity seem unnecessarily meager. Also, there are some passages in which characters narrate others' actions and thoughts that they couldn't possibly know. Austin, in particular, a thoroughly snobbish, nasty man, is just not credible when he explains the motivations of people who are otherwise beneath his notice. As Audre Lorde famously said, it's the oppressed who have always had to understand their oppressors in order to survive, not the other way around. Schulman's solution would be to integrate the writing of lesbian and gay authors with mainstream authors in the marketing of books, at readings, and in book reviews.
Shimmer offers another solution.
It is a novel by a lesbian author whose subject reaches far beyond lesbian concerns while still embracing them. At the same time, it directly addresses the choice between producing art for one's own community and creating work for a larger audience. Your talents will bring you to your goal. If your work is good, it will provoke people's feelings, feelings about themselves. And they will love your work and support it.