Shockproof Sydney Skate

by Marijane Meaker

Paperback, 1990

Status

Available

Call number

PS3561.E643 S56

Publication

Plume (1990), Paperback, 256 pages

Description

A uniquely witty novel exploring sex, freedom, and the process of growing up Sydney Skate considers himself shockproof. For as long as he can remember, he's known that his fashionable Manhattan mother is secretly a lesbian, although he's never let on that he knows. He spends his summer days caring for snakes at the local pet shop before leaving for college at Cornell, shrugging off his father's demands that he skip college and join the exciting world of swimming pool sales for suburbanites. Far from throwing himself into work, Sydney can't seem to keep his thoughts from wandering to women. He has memorized the sex scenes of every book he's ever read in order to better seduce the opposite gender. When he's called to help remove a snake from a bathtub that belongs to the gorgeous and sophisticated Alison Gray, everything changes. But nothing could prepare him for his glamorous mother sweeping the girl of his dreams off her feet. This hypnotizing coming-of-age story captures the timeless ecstasies and struggles of adolescence, and has been a classic of lesbian literature since it was first published in 1973. Hailed as the Catcher in the Rye of the seventies, Shockproof Sydney Skate exposes the confusion of its time and remains keenly relevant to the sexual absurdities of today. This ebook features an illustrated personal history of Marijane Meaker including rare images from the author's collection. … (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member kjharrison
This is a little known book that needs more attention. The story is original and very well written. Pick it up and give it a try.
LibraryThing member kylekatz
1972. This is a excellent book about a teenage boy whose mother is a lesbian. She tries to hide it from him, but he knows. And they're interested in the same woman, with hilarious consequences.
LibraryThing member indygo88
Odd title, odd book. Set in the 1970's, it's got the lingo, the clothes, the drugs, & the sex. It's apparently considered lesbian literature, but that's not why it didn't rate higher with me. I thought the characters were very shallow & there weren't really any that I liked. The frequent references
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& quotes from books were not at all familiar to me & I found them annoying & unnecessary. I wanted to shake Sydney (who is a male, by the way), who wanted so badly to be a stud, but who was so stupid when it came to girls. Honestly, I just kept reading so that I could make it to the end & be done.
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Language

Physical description

256 p.; 7.9 inches

ISBN

0452265398 / 9780452265394

Local notes

OCLC = 183
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