THE DIRTY GIRLS SOCIAL CLUB

i feel a tinge of guilt for documenting this book on work email. the one who recommended it to me is in a quite senior role there and had i known some of the content beforehand, i wouldn't have mentioned the title when i wrote and said i'd read the book.

at any rate, i'm happy to report that this was a refreshingly entertaining read. though i hesitate to pass judgment knowing i'm likely prone to make generalizations that could easily be criticized. racial stereotypes was a key theme and if i could tilt my head in uncertainty as i read some of the passages, then i could picture someone else doing the same with anything i might write. ok, this doesn't much make sense, does it? anyway, the race topic i have for sure much to write about but it doesn't flow so fluidly, so i guess i'll just make some comments about another major theme - womanhood.

i applaud the author's success in having crafted engaging stories of women, of minority women, of latina women, of women of a certain age... of their identity issues, their relationships, their careers... it's great fiction that could very well be real. of course, the trick is to have the reader relate, and that i did - with most of the characters, interestingly enough...

her unabashedness and lack of restraint, crazy with words (and actions) upon having imbibed a few... her strength, her issues, her relationship handicaps, her talent, her romanticism, her penchant for hot cheetos and pringles, and the color green, and bergamot oil...

her materialism that can be traced back to a childhood of wanting, her fear of love, her fear of abandonment, her generosity, her temper, her lack of appreciation, her vanity...

her capacity for disillusionment and stubborn denial allowing her to fall prey, her love for her children, her sarcasm, her sharp criticism of others, her preserved infant-need for the comfort of parental care, her awakening, her survival...

her desire for success, to be acknowledged and recognized as a professional, as an intellectual, as independent, as strong, as composed, as sensual, her desire to make a difference, to make money, to be both woman and individual, to find love, to find compatibility...her lack of rhythm!

her confusion, her curiosity, her beauty, her uniqueness, her dream of unleashing the poet within, her desire to chronicle her journey, her true immigration and the impossibility of turning back...

and bravo for the reading questions at the end. they were good questions, though not too difficult to answer, at least not for me, they did help provide insight to what some of the take-aways i assume the author wanted for us to have.

mmm... i am pleased.