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carmentoft's review against another edition
4.0
I read a portion of this book as a freshman in high school for a potential oral interp piece. When I asked my coach if I could read the whole book, she hesitantly agreed, but told me that I couldn't tell anyone she gave it to me. Let's just say that the cute beginning is not a precursor to the explanation that "Ruby Fruit Jungle" is a body part.
roobydooby_boo's review against another edition
3.0
i wanted to like this more bc gay but i wasn't v into it... just wasn't swept up at any point.
sfrobb's review against another edition
4.0
maybe i just read this book at the perfect time because i was in a huge reading slump, but i genuinely ate it up. more a collection of loosely tied anecdotes than a straightforward plot, and the writing was super accessible. and molly was such a vivid and interesting character! i didn't want to put it down which caused issues for the completion of my finals... it was so funny i found myself laughing aloud but then i'd be crying 10 minutes later? that's a sign of a good book if you ask me.
p.s. go lesbians!
p.s. go lesbians!
inuyasha's review against another edition
3.0
despite my thoughts on this book i was reading this at an outdoor table at a gay bar in new orleans and then had the best convo ever with a dude who read this book back in the 70s and then told me he was going to a honky tonk to play video poker and like.... what an invaluable experience.
unsure how to rate this... loved the first half but didn't feel very satisifed by the ending, and that's as someone who is a holden caulfield-esque Plotless Journey of a Character Enjoyer (tm). took a star off for the weirdo comments about butch women and butchfemmes bc i hear enough of that in my personal life and im SENSITIVE about it perhaps
unsure how to rate this... loved the first half but didn't feel very satisifed by the ending, and that's as someone who is a holden caulfield-esque Plotless Journey of a Character Enjoyer (tm). took a star off for the weirdo comments about butch women and butchfemmes bc i hear enough of that in my personal life and im SENSITIVE about it perhaps
blarsen720's review against another edition
4.0
Kept me engaged. Really liked the story. Didn't give me the ending I wanted but an ending that made sense.
nella580's review against another edition
4.0
I don't even know what to rate this. I read this book forever ago, but I didn't remember much, so this was really like a first reading.
On the one hand, the main character is too simple. She is who she is and she's fine with that, it's everyone else with the problem. And this is explained with the mere fact that she's smart. Well, lots of very intelligent people still have internal struggles. I wish Molly would have been even a little imperfect or unsure. The character is designed more to drive the message of the plot home rather than to stand as a believable person on her own. Furthermore, everyone else in the book is a total idiot, a sellout, a traitor, a bigot. None of the characters develop much through the story and seem to represent ideas rather than people.
But on the other hand, for this book to be written at a time of such massive social change and to say some of the things it says, I can see how Rita Mae Brown displayed some major balls. The message is relevant even now, 40 years later. The ending represents well that there's much work to be done even now, which makes this book so timeless.
I think I'll rate this well. This is a classic feminist piece and I can see why it's lasted so long.
On the one hand, the main character is too simple. She is who she is and she's fine with that, it's everyone else with the problem. And this is explained with the mere fact that she's smart. Well, lots of very intelligent people still have internal struggles. I wish Molly would have been even a little imperfect or unsure. The character is designed more to drive the message of the plot home rather than to stand as a believable person on her own. Furthermore, everyone else in the book is a total idiot, a sellout, a traitor, a bigot. None of the characters develop much through the story and seem to represent ideas rather than people.
But on the other hand, for this book to be written at a time of such massive social change and to say some of the things it says, I can see how Rita Mae Brown displayed some major balls. The message is relevant even now, 40 years later. The ending represents well that there's much work to be done even now, which makes this book so timeless.
I think I'll rate this well. This is a classic feminist piece and I can see why it's lasted so long.
in_libris_speramus's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
daisyvb's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Kind of fun for the "first lesbian novel" to also be a damn good read. Molly Bolt is a great protagonist, and its nice that she stays true to her guns, guts and girls the whole way, even when it might make her life a whole lot easier to conform or tell a little fib to get out or into a situation. Its also cool that we don't see her suffer any real awful traumas, as you might expect from a book about being a lesbian in that period. Obvious there are some tired old things said in this book, given the era it was written/set in, but on a whole, it's got more drama and flavour than most modern TV think they are getting away with.
bananatw1n's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75