Rating: 
Summary: A novel about being proud of who you are
Review: Molly Bolt was just another dirt-poor little girl growing up in Coffee Hollow, just outside of York, Pennsylvania. Pretty much a tomboy, she could beat up her cousin Leroy and wouldn't take lip from anybody. She also lost her virginity to her girlfriend in the sixth grade."Rubyfruit Jungle" is a chronicle of Molly's life, told from her perspective, from the poor area of Pennsylvania to the somewhat nicer area near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to her hitchhiking to New York to become a film director. Along the way, she learns that she's the bastard child of a woman named Ruby and some unkown, married Frenchman, and she also must contend with the societal pressures of the 1960's and 70's of marrying a man to secure your future and that wanting to be a film director is easier than becoming one. Molly Bolt is a strong-willed, self-suficient, incredibly proud character. She's a lesbian and doesn't care what anyone thinks about it. (I like that she's so matter-of-fact about herself.) She's determined and nothing is going to stop her from fulfilling her dream of becoming a director, even if she isn't able to make her film until she's 50. I think that she represents the kind of person that we would all like to be: strong, no-nonsense, and comfortable with ourselves. The only item I didn't like about the book is that every woman Molly meets -- with the exception of her family -- falls in love with her: cheerleaders, New York socialites, college roommate. That just seemed a bit too farfetched to me. But, it doesn't detract from this incredible novel about remaining true to yourself. I highly recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: I found this book repulsive
Review: I was repelled by the personality of the book's narrator. My disgust centered on two events: First, when the narrator was a child, she avenged herself on someone she didn't like by filling a raisin box with rodent droppings for her enemy to eat. Later, when she was a grown woman, she avenged herself on a co-worker she didn't like by putting dog dung in the woman's desk drawers. This isn't humor, it's vicious bullying. I don't expect every book I read to be all sweetness and light, but I dislike books that leave me feeling contempt for the characters.
Rating:
Summary: Profane. Overrated.
Review: This book is heralded as a masterpiece of lesbian fiction. On the back, the author is compared to Mark Twain and people proclaim that it made them laugh and cry. Well, I doubt Mark Twain published anything that comments on the human condition by resorting to sentences like 'f*** this s***'. It's not even dialogue either. I didn't think the heroine was very likable at all, and had a penchant for scatalogical retribution. Everyone's creepy and sex-obsessed. She has her goals but you never see her reach them, so that's annoying. That said.. if you go into it expecting some smut, then it'll be passable. I read the whole thing in about a day, because it's not like it's Jane Austen or anything. There's a lot of man-bashing in it, and some really pathetic male lover types. Most of the chicks are screwed up too, though, so if you want dysfunction and disrobing, this is your book.
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