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Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown - ¥700 (Between Oji and Nishi-sugamo)
condition:
fair
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LGBTQ+ literature of the 1970s exploded with vibrant self-definition, radical politics, and a surge in openly queer storytelling following the Stonewall riots.
This book is one of the most famous, until perhaps the movie _Kiss of the Spiderwoman_.
Personally I also see this as a feminist book overall, though sexuality is central, female predetermined roles and lack of access to most professions is at least an equally strong theme.
Many consider it a humorous book. But looking back at the AIDS scourge and the complete lack of Presidential leadership (Ronald Reagan and Dr. Anthony Fauci) at the start of those terrible years, I have trouble laughing.
These are my fellow human beings, and they have had everything thrown at them that a culture and a society that claims to honor individual freedom can throw at them.
ISBN 0-553-27886-X
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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.
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
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