pedestrienne

The thing about this book is that sometimes Schulman will make observations/ drop truth nuggets like "You see so much more when you walk down the street alone. That's why people work so hard to avoid walking alone too often. What people see when they're alone can drive them mad." (p. 67) that please me to no end. But then she has her characters say things like "'What do you like best about me?' Molly asked. ' there is a sky below,' Kate said. 'And a pair of jeans, a calico rose in the middle of your skull. A red mask. A reg egg. A moonscape made of glass. Magnified tongue cells, salted spongy things, mountains of black. Gray hills.'" (p. 145). - They talk about "making love' and each other's "hot core"s and the earnestness makes me so uncomfortable. I am from a non-earnest generation. Her characters think a lot about what they are feeling instead of Schulman showing us situations that might let the reader decide for themselves what the character could be feeling. Though I enjoyed Girls, Visions and Everything much more, I wouldn't write this experience off. There are some really funny details, and other than the sexual earnestness, I liked reading about lives in activism during the time when it was so vital and happening. If I hadn't known about the Rent connection, I don't know if I would have made it - there are some similarities in situation, but I didn't see anything being ripped off wholesale.