Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae BrownMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
RubyFruit Jungle, Rita Mae Brown, 1973
Not the book I expected, but glad it turned out so. Don't let the words "feminism" and "lesbianism" others use to describe this novella be the main deciding factor if you want to pick this book up or set it back down. Yes, it's a coming-of-age story of a poverty-stricken lesbian; yes, there is lesbian sex, and yes, there is a lot of talk of vaginas (see title). But it's so much more than that. It's an autobiographical novel written in 1973 and considered remarkable in its day for its explicit portrayal of lesbianism. The filter of time hasn't "dated" the writing or the subject matters. If anything, it was ahead of its time and maintained relevance in today's landscape of equality (job).
The book starts with an outrageous scene with mischief only kids can cook up. From there until halfway through the book, we follow Molly, the main character, through her teen years into adulthood. And it wasn't until then that I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I was delighted and giddy with some chapters and laughed loudly at others.
I rate this book 4.85 out of 5.00 stars.
#feminism #lesbianism #lgbtq
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