Review of Damsels in Distress (2012) by Judith R — 06 May 2012

This was a tongue-in-cheek look at what it means to be sophmoric...a word I haven't heard in a while...and the fumbling for identity that defines young adulthood...and the suicidal impulse that accompany less than successful attempts at finding that identity.

Things I particularly liked: Violet's (the main character) complete breakdown when her loser boyfriend dumps her--it really captured the complete despair you feel when someone you feel completely superior to dumps you---if even HE can't love me, then WHAT? I LOVE the Indian girl with the British accent who thinks every man is a phony player manipulator turns out to be a complete phony herself.

Brilliant. I liked the character (Heather?) trying to figure out the world by dividing women into two camps: those who have hips and those who have no hips. Women with hips, she opines, have morals, whereas women with no hips have none.

I thought that completely captured the searching in the dark for meaning that young adulthood is and I find myself, even this morning, wondering how long that character will define the world like that until one day she shakes her head violently and says, "what on earth was THAT all about?" I found the suicide cult hilarious, but that's probably because I am far beyond that.

If I were thirty years younger it probably would cut too close to the bone. I liked the dresses that the friends exchanged as easily as their personalities. I liked the male characters search for identity, too: the flit-lit class, the weird religious cult.

I had a hard time telling the male characters apart, however, but maybe the casting of a certain type was done on purpopse. Overall, I'm still thinking about it and the questions it raised. Quite enjoyable.