- Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
- Publisher: Plume; Reprint edition (July 10 1996)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0452276772
- ISBN-13: 978-0452276772
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 14 x 3.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,005,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
Composed of an adolescence of small-town suffocation, an education of Ivy League respectability, a dropout into lesbian communalism and then a copout into matrimonial conventionality, Ginny's life promises to be the progress of a 1960's pilgrim with all the resoluteness of a cork on a stormy ocean....At the very end, when Ginny at long last takes a serious stand, we not only respect her position but we also finally take seriously all the clowning that led up to it. And feel thankful to Lisa Alther for a rewarding reading experience. -- Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times,Mar.16,1976
Book Description
Lisa Alther reels through the ups and downs of Ginny Babcock's coming of age in Hullsport, Tennessee, during the '50s and '60s. Ginny bounces from one identity to another,adopting the values, politics, lifestyle, even the sexual orientation of each new partner. In her wise, funny, and ultimately heartbreaking story, Alther explores the limited roles offered to women in the '60s -- from cheerleader to motorcycle moll, bulldyke to madonna -- each embodying important truths about the aspirations of the culture that created them. Alther's artful tale takes the reader into the heart and mind of an intense heroine who joins the ranks of Holden Caulfield, Jane Eyre, and Stephen Daedalus.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's Worth the Wait,
By
This review is from: Kinflicks 20th Anniversary Ed (Mass Market Paperback)
Alther's literary creation is 'feminist' in the most salutory sense of the word, but it doesn't contain the mandatory man-bashing that became so common a few years later. Instead, Alther invokes an avalance of wit and sharp observation that will provoke a healthy nostalgia in the over-40s, a realistic warts-and-all view of that decade in the under-40s, and a pretty darn good look at that pivotal time for young adult readers who pick up the book. (Perhaps you know an older teen who's 'into' the 1960s?) The plot takes our (at least partly autobiographical) heroine from little 'Hullsport' (read: Kingsport) Tennessee Up North to a good college, and gets her into the Sixties just at the point they get hot, hot, hot. Of the many virtues of this novel, two stand out to me: (1) Alther narrates the story in a moderate point-of-view, avoiding the twin perils of getting too immersed in the subject or too distant and 'snooty'; and (2) related to this, her lead character's voice (which reflects her personality) is good, clear and steady, no whining here. Not to mention the fact that the book is witty as all get-out. As you probably know by now, this kind of witty and zestful Baby Boomer's coming-of-age story is a glut on the literary market but in my opinion "Kinflicks" is *far* above the norm in quality. You probably already have your own favorite coming-of-age-in-the-Sixties novels; try "Kinflicks" and add another to your list. PS: Oh, Mr. Publisher!! Have you noticed that eight of us or so have gone to the trouble to review "Kinflicks," even though it's difficult to find through normal distribution channels? How about a reprint? I don't think you'd regret doing so. charless@ync.net
4.0 out of 5 stars
A '60's woman's search for identity,
This review is from: Kinflicks 20th Anniversary Ed (Mass Market Paperback)
Like many women of her generation (the 50s and 60s), Ginny Babcock is searching for her identity in an age when much is expected of women, but few opportunities and little direction is available. Being a wife and a mother is no longer the expected (and supposedly fulfilling) goal of all women of Ginny's generation, but what to choose instead . . .? Ginny tries a little bit of everything as she seeks for a role that thoroughly expresses her as a woman. Most of Ginny's experiments seem silly from the outside and end up as dissatisfactions and dead-ends, but often that's the only way we find our way through life. Counterposed with this is the lingering death of Ginny's mother and the struggle of the two women to bridge generational gap of two different generations and find some common ground. Ginny longs for some wisdom about life from her mother, but eventually sees that the only lesson available comes from simply living your life. I found this novel completely absorbing and sat up most of a night reading it. The relationship of Ginny and her mother touched a chord and has stayed with me.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Crikey Moses!,
By
This review is from: Kinflicks 20th Anniversary Ed (Mass Market Paperback)
What can I say? This is a crazy, crazy book. I read through it and thought, "Hmmm, interesting." Ginny goes through lots of phases in life, basically adapting to the people around her. She never speaks up for what she wants and the book never really goes anywhere. I guess that's the 'existentialism' ? side of it. The main message is 'Try everything in the world and be a chameleon and maybe you'll er...uh... end up at square one... a puzzling piece of fiction!
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