I read such great reviews on this book, I was really looking forward to reading it...but it was a huge disappointment. I kept reading the book waiting for something to happen, but it never did. I also didn't like the way the author misspelled words to make it look like a southern conversation...very hard to figure out at times what the characters were even trying to say. ( )

100/2020. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll kiss Florence King's ass, goodbye! And if that's your type of humour then you'll enjoy this witty confessional memoir (although how much is strict historical truth is open to question):

"No matter which sex I went to bed with, I never smoked on the street."

(If you have the Virago edition then I recommend skipping the intro by Sandi Toksvig as it's an unedifying performance of trying to position a fave as The First Woman Who Did X by erasing all the other women who also did X, in this case apparently neither Dorothy Parker nor Mae West, for example, were ever truly funny writers. Sigh.) ( )

Fun, easy read, nothing I could really relate to, but certainly a good beach book. ( )

Synopsis: Florence King was the daughter of a woman who didn't fit into a mold. She held a job in a time when married women were supposed to be at home; she swore; she played baseball. Her father was a Brit who played in bands and worked as a bartender; when not working he read widely and extensively. Florence's grandmother made it her goal in life to make this child into a 'lady'. Florence lived through this rather schizophrenic parenting and tell about her life from childhood through a few years after college.
Review: This is a most entertaining book. The first and third portions have you laughing out loud; the middle third is a bit plodding but still enjoyable. So much of what she writes about is still true in the deep south to this day. ( )

This book made me laugh so hard I wept. I am indebted to her for the expression Ovariad which is the propensity some women have for giving detailed descriptions of their gynecological problems. Her poltics are funky though - don't go there. ( )