Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Rubyfruit Jungle
Book Review: A little dated (but then it IS 26 years old)
Summary: 3 Stars
This is my second reading of Rubyfruit Jungle. I read this one back in the mid-80's, right around the time I heard Rita Mae Brown speak at Gay Games II in Kezar Stadium, San Francisco. Back then the book was considered a landmark. But reading it now it is not hard to see how far the gay movement has come. I have often thought that in the 50's, 60's and 70's nearly any book written by anyone on the subject of "coming out" saw publication, and this book confirms my thinking. If Rubyfruit were published today, it would probably be dismissed as so much drivel. It feels like entire sections of the book were written in a flurry of activity, or perhaps were dictated, then transcribed later. No colors, no descriptive phrases, no style. Just a constant of "he said", "she said", "I did this", "she did that". The book is not without merit, however. The character of Molly Bolt is able to transcend the sloppy writing. She rings true, and her sense of self-worth, along with her fierce determination, are encouraging and refreshing.Book Review: A marvellous coming-of-age story.
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't normally care all that much for coming-of-age stories, nor for overly realistic books set in the backwater south (ie, Faulkner, Steinbeck). But this is a very character-driven novel, and while there is only one interesting character in it (the heroine, Molly Bolt), she is more than interesting enough to grab and hold the imagination. Sort of a cross between Holden Caulfield and Randle Patrick McMurphy, only as a lesbian.Yes, some of the scenes in the second half of the book, after she moves to New York City for college, are somewhat cartoonish and caricatured; still, it was impossible to give any book that gives us Molly Bolt less than five stars. And since I assume that the book is at least somewhat autobiographical, and since Ms. Brown has had a very successful writing career, I'm glad to see that "Molly" did, indeed, get to "make her movies."
Book Review: A novel about being proud of who you are
Summary: 4 Stars
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!
Book Review: A window into another kind of life
Summary: 3 Stars
I picked up this one on the recommendation of my wife and after reading Rita Mae Brown's writer's manual. I wanted to see how she had put into practice what she was preaching.Jill had said that it read like a first novel, and it does, but that's not to take away anything from it. Like most first novels, there is a certain exuberance here that is sometimes muted or even lost in the works of more mature authors. There's also a refreshing sense of difference here--this is a novel written by someone whom you've never met before (that is, at the time of publication), and who is baring herself for the first time. And bare all, Brown does. Like some first novels, it feels highly autobiographical, as if Brown was saying my life is something like this, only not quite as exciting, so I'll liven it up in prose. Along the way is a fun time.
What makes this unique among other first novels in that autobiographical sense si that Rubyfruit Jungle is about a lesbian. But to describe it that way is to stereotype it. Perhaps more applicable is that Rubyfruit Jungle is a novel about the life of a woman who turns out to be a filmmaker, except that wouldn't be accurate enough either. The lesbian connection has to be mentioned because that's where the conflict arises in the book (along with the examination of a certain amount of sexism). While I found it hard to agree with a basic tenet expressed in the book--that sex between two woemn is inherently more intense than that between the opposite sexes--I nevertheless enjoyed the view of life from an entirely different angle.
Brown went on to write both mysteries and "mainstream" stories that have been more popular, but this first book stays in print for a reason: sometimes the things you slip when you're unsure of yourself (or unselfconscious) are more powerful than the heavily edited work.
Book Review: All I can say is 'wow'
Summary: 5 Stars
Rubyfruit Jungle isn't shocking in 2002, but when it first hit the shelves in 1963 it must have been revolutionary, eyebrow-raising, and a inspirational for a whole generation of women--not just lesbians. The main character, Molly Bolt, defies all gender roles and traditional expectations of women. She announced as a child that she would never marry any man, but she later considered marrying her 6th grade girlfriend. Rita Mae Brown mastered the art of compare/contrast; her inclusion of several "good girl" characters made Molly's determination all the more delightful and refreshing. Molly's strengths go beyond the simple fact that she was gay and proud. You go, girl!!