Product Description

Bawdy and moving, the ultimate word-of-mouth bestseller, Rubyfruit Jungle is about growing up a lesbian in America--and living happily ever after.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26426 in Books
• Published on: 1983-05-01
• Released on: 1983-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
"I found myself laughing hysterically, then sobbing uncontrollably just moments later. A powerful story ... A truly incredible book."
-- The Boston Globe

"Molly Bolt is a genuine descendant -- genuine female descendant -- of Huckleberry Finn. And Rita Mae Brown is, like Mark Twain, a serious writer who gets her messages across through laughter."
-- Donna E. Shalala, former Secretary of Health and Human Services


From the Paperback edition. -- Review

Review
"I found myself laughing hysterically, then sobbing uncontrollably just moments later. A powerful story ... A truly incredible book."
-- The Boston Globe

"Molly Bolt is a genuine descendant -- genuine female descendant -- of Huckleberry Finn. And Rita Mae Brown is, like Mark Twain, a serious writer who gets her messages across through laughter."
-- Donna E. Shalala, former Secretary of Health and Human Services

From the Publisher
Rubyfruit Jungle is the first milestone novel in the extraordinary career of one of this country's most distinctive writers. Bawdy and moving, the ultimate word-of-mouth bestseller, Rubyfruit Jungle is about growing up a lesbian in America--and living happily ever after. Born a bastard, Molly Bolt is adopted by a dirt-poor southern couple who want something better for their daughter. Molly plays doctor with the boys, beats up Leroy and loses her virginity to her girlfriend. Molly decides not to apologize for that. In no time she mesmerizes the head cheerleader of Ft. Lauderdale heiress. But the world is not tolerant. Booted out of college for moral turpitude, an unrepentant, penniless Molly takes New York by storm, sending not a few female hearts aflutter with her startling beauty, crackling wit and fierce determination to become the when first published, Rubyfruit Jungle has only grown in reputation as it has reached new generations of readers who respond to its feisty and inspiring heroine.

Customer Reviews

A hilarious and touching coming-of-age story
Rita Mae Brown's novel "Rubyfruit Jungle" had me laughing out loud by the time I reached page 5. The book tells the life story of Molly Bolt, a poor girl who comes from rural Pennsylvania. Molly narrates the book, which follows her to her adolescent years in Florida and to her life as a struggling film student in New York. Along the way, Molly lives her life as a sexually liberated young lesbian.

Molly is a wonderful character: a witty, intelligent combination of artist and trickster. The book is full of humor and satirical outrageousness. Molly is surrounded by a colorful cast of characters, most notably her strong-willed mother. The narrative as a whole is well-structured, and Brown brings Molly's story to a very satisfying conclusion.

As funny as "Rubyfruit" is, it also has some relevant insights on a number of issues: mother-daughter relationships, anti-gay prejudice, sexism in academia, socioeconomic barriers, etc. Molly's desire to be a filmmaker is a key theme: she is a creative individual who wants to tell relevant stories about "real people," and not just impress some pompous group of cultural elites.

Brown's prose style is excellent: muscular, sexy, lively, humane, down-to-earth, and always enjoyable. For a good companion text, try Audre Lorde's "Zami," a moving narrative of African-American lesbian life.

Simple words for simple wording
I have been reading all of the customer reviews, and it seems that they have been missing the whole point of this book. By no means is this a "lesbian" book, or a book that completely focuses on dealing with "coming out". Nor should this book be read exclusively by lesbians. It's a book that simply follows a unique, strong young woman from when she was a kid to when she grows up into her 20's. Futhermore, the simple style is the essence of the book; more complicated wording would not embody the character of Molly nearly as well. The point is that Molly, who is sassy and a shamelessly cut-and-dry lesbian, does not think that things should be overanalyzed and obsessed over. She sees everything as obvious and blatant. Hence the simple language. It is an unapologetic, extremely funny book, and it is hard to put it down. It pulls you in from the beginning and continues to stay exciting throughout this girl's tumultuous life. In some ways she grows, but in others she never does compromise her gutsy, fiery self. I loved it.

Very down to earth and hilarious!
I loved this book! I read this book when my sexual self was beginning to open up. I love how the main character views herself. She sees nothing wrong with who she is and the way she is. She is growing up and just happens to be a lesbian and it's NO BIG DEAL to her. She doesn't morph into a caricature of her lesbian self. I loved how she considered herself NORMAL and didn't try to create a separate lesbian world to live in.