Leni Zumas's writing crackles. Her books are sharp, bleak, funny, and possibly dangerous. When her collection of short stories, Farewell Navigator,...
Continue »
This novel was witty, well-written and contained an impressive amount of insight into both the minds of affluent teenage girls at a prestigious NY prep school (perhaps influenced in some ways by the school the author himself works for?) and the affect their half-conscious sexuality and childish enthusiasm (or lack thereof) have on their sometimes hapless, often insecure middle aged (or thereabouts) male teachers. Really fun read, and I'm glad I picked it up.
I've read many people complain about this book, about the writing style being juvenile (or "just not very good"), about the dialogue seeming forced and contrived, about the narrator's take on heterosexuality and monogamy having not aged well. And while there is some validity to all of those arguments, I think think that Rubyfruit Jungle is an interesting--and, more importantly, fun!--read, best taken in the context of the time during which it was written/published. It's an unabashed, unapologetic coming out story about a woman who not only doesn't struggle with her sexuality or herself, but flat out REFUSES to.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(2 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.
Don't Miss
Customer Comments
Ashley McCall has commented on (2) products.
Hummingbirds by Joshua A Gaylord
Ashley McCall, March 14, 2010
This novel was witty, well-written and contained an impressive amount of insight into both the minds of affluent teenage girls at a prestigious NY prep school (perhaps influenced in some ways by the school the author himself works for?) and the affect their half-conscious sexuality and childish enthusiasm (or lack thereof) have on their sometimes hapless, often insecure middle aged (or thereabouts) male teachers. Really fun read, and I'm glad I picked it up.Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
Ashley McCall, December 1, 2009
I've read many people complain about this book, about the writing style being juvenile (or "just not very good"), about the dialogue seeming forced and contrived, about the narrator's take on heterosexuality and monogamy having not aged well. And while there is some validity to all of those arguments, I think think that Rubyfruit Jungle is an interesting--and, more importantly, fun!--read, best taken in the context of the time during which it was written/published. It's an unabashed, unapologetic coming out story about a woman who not only doesn't struggle with her sexuality or herself, but flat out REFUSES to.(2 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)