Rubyfruit Jungle
Ratings19
Average rating3.8
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 the tub and loses her virginity to her girlfriend in sixth grade.
As she grows to realize she's different, Molly decides not to apologize for that. In no time she mesmerizes the head cheerleader of Ft. Lauderdale High and captivates a gorgeous bourbon-guzzling 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 greatest filmmaker that ever lived.
Critically acclaimed 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.
From the Paperback edition.
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For some reason I can't seem to resist a good gay coming-of-age story, so when I spotted Rubyfruit Jungle at the local rummage sale I knew we'd be spending the night. Published in 1973, the book follows the adolescence and early adulthood of Molly Bolt, who identifies as a lesbian at a young age and boldly embraces her orientation despite the prejudice she faces in the dirt-poor South and later in scintillating NYC. The storytelling is rushed and strains credibility at times (nearly every woman Molly encounters turns out to be a latent lesbian), but the voice is so vibrant and witty that the reader can forgive the structural missteps and sometimes stilted dialogue. Author Rita Mae Brown (the same RMB responsible for those Sneaky Pie cat mysteries – who knew!) is adept at making the reader feel the wild injustice felt by women, both straight and gay, in the 1950s and 60s. I cringed when characters called Molly a “smart-ass” rather than just plain “smart.” Though the book lacks the resonance and complexity of other classics that followed it (Bastard Out of Carolina, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit), Molly's devil-may-care attitude won me over.
