Reviews with content warning for Racism - Rubyfruit Jungle

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

36 reviews

scarroll178's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I loved the MC; I don’t think I’ve ever read a more independent female character, much less in a book as old as this one. She’s also kind of an asshole, which again, I love lmao. She really embodies all the traits male characters are often applauded for, and she exposes the goofiness of heteronormativity along the way? Hell yes. Sexuality, race, and even family are all social constructs.

I thought the ending was a bit rushed, but

it wasn’t really an ending, was it? The MC’s story is ongoing.

It really should go without saying that I don’t condone any of the bad things the MC does. Yes, the SA was bad; the incest mention was bad - but books aren’t made to be morally correct, they’re made to deliver a story and a theme. Failing a book on the basis of some morality test is a waste of your time, and doubly so if it’s a book that was written during a time when society’s morals were completely different than they are now.

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joensign's review

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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julessssss's review against another edition

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challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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allymute's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Rita Mae Brown's seminal 1973 novel is delightful and subversive. I get why Molly Bolt is canonical - she is a strong-willed and dynamic character. Unfortunately, I wanted more substance, and the novel's structure was all over the place. When the story hits its stride, it is too close to the end. I still think it's worth reading, but I was left wanting more.

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livia_jewel's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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t_rex_'s review against another edition

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emotional funny informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This book was outstanding! Rita Mae Brown has such a way with words, it flows off the tougne and makes pure serotonin drip off you. Molly (the main character) has such an interesting and complex personality that is perfectly portrayed and is so refreshing to read, and her take on the world is strong and powerful! Highly, highly recommend!

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catcherinthepi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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ilse23's review against another edition

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dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

Had van dit boek wel wat meer verwacht, zeker als aangewezen klassieker binnen het genre. Kwam wat over als satire, maar doordat het dat niet was heb ik toch vaak gefronst over de gebeurtenissen. Het boek is natuurlijk wel 50 jaar oud en misschien geschreven vanuit een vooruitstrevend beeld, maar nu,50 jaar later, is de wereld toch niet zo aan werken en komt het des te meer over als arrogant en zelfs een beetje gestoord. Incest, ongelijkheid, respectloos gedrag, allemaal prima blijkbaar.

'You have to do some of the things everybody does or people don't like you.'

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james1star's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

In many ways I really enjoyed this book and is definitely one I’d recommend, there are some negatives that I’ll discuss at the end but overall it was a very decent read. In ‘Rubyfruit Jungle’ we follow the main character of Molly from around ten to twenty five so is very much a ‘coming of age’ novel. She comes from a poor family in Pennsylvania and later moves to Florida just like the author Brown did so in a few ways it can be read as autofiction as other parts relate to her real life as well. The book chronicles many of Molly’s firsts in life, friendships and relationships and the like but the primary topic is her coming to terms with and acceptance of her queerness. The book is hailed as early lesbian fiction, first published in 1973 and I think despite its flaws the topics mentioned and messages shared are for sure what make this book a star read for me. It was so new for the time it was written, filling a space that was needed and allowing for many queer women to gain representation in books that was otherwise not readily (or ever) available. The discussions around the use of and need of labels was also very interesting and super modern for the time I’d say, Molly is clearly attracted to women despite having iaisons with men and does call herself a lesbian within the book but also she sometimes asks on what’s the point of labels rejecting them so I’m trying to call her queer - side note: I think Brown also isn’t too keen on labels thinking we’re all somewhere on the bisexual scale and I kinda love that but labels do still have their place and importance for some people.

Molly is a very developed character throughout this book as well and this is something I loved. She’s certainly not perfect but knows what she wants, is determined and at her heart I’d say does things for the good. I admired her ‘get up and go’ attitude to things, not wanting to be like other girls - and this is in general, not just because she’s queer but because she wants to see the world and make a name for herself, to rise above the circumstances she was born into - and she was also just really funny. I can picture homophobes reading this in the 70s being shocked at the outward queerness but finding it hard not to laugh out loud too, it’s honestly hilarious at times and Molly is just so damn cunning it’s pure gold. Many other characters were also quite developed, Molly’s mother Carrie definitely fit this bill despite how she may come across, her cousin Leroy too but his character didn’t have as much as a hold on me as the book developed. Her friends throughout were fun and interesting to see like Leota (her first love), Connie, Caroline, Fay, Kelvin (Awgh I wish he stayed for longer I kinda wanted a whole book about his character/storyline), Holly, Polina, and a few others. The writing was decent I’d say, I listened audibly so can’t say for sure but it flowed and I did find the pacing to be done exceptionally well.

I have a few problems and I think I’ll bullet point them.

Fatphobia - there sees to be quite a few references to certain characters (most notably Leroy at the start of the book) being fat and this is viewed in a negative light, it’s also not addressed as the book (and Molly) develops
Anti-butchness (is that a word?) - I did find Molly to view the Butch lesbians in a more negative way and once saying something like what’s the point when you could be with a man, it did develop to be a bit more nuanced and I know the author portrays herself as not the most feminine so it’s likely just the character and reflective of the time
Ageism - Molly seems to not really like or appreciate the older queers all that much, I get most younger people don’t and we leave her around twenty five so obviously her opinion will change but it’s a point
Rape & incest - the parts with Polina and later her daughter Alice were quite uncomfortable to read, when Molly manages to get Polina to have sex with her it’s quite forceful despite her later enjoying the act and it being done to release something she’s been repressing, that being said it’s still not right, later Alice thinks her mum wants to have sex with her and this whole discussion around incest was just totally unnecessary, weird and not handled the best I feel

With these issues being aired I do still think this was a very good book for the time and when I think about it in that context I am confident in my rating and recommendation. It’s obvious that times, expectations and standards have changed and there is now an abundance of more ‘correct’ lesbian/queer female literature but this still deserves its place and I did enjoy it.

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olivkeene's review against another edition

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funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Very atmospheric, definitely made me laugh too. There is a lot of period-typical racism and homophobia.

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