Alma Mater

by Rita Mae Brown

Hardcover, 2001

Status

Available

Call number

FICT-L Brow

Genres

General Fiction

Romance

Collection

Michael C. Weidemann LGBT Library at Gay City

Publication

Ballantine Books (2001), Edition: 1, 272 pages

Description

Sex makes monkeys out of all of us. If you don�??t give in to it, you wind up a cold, unfeeling bastard. If you do, you spend the rest of your life picking up the pieces. . . . At the start of senior year at William & Mary, the six-foot-tall, raven-haired beauty Victoria �??Vic�?� Savedge finds her future mapped out in detail. She will marry Charly Harrison, the son of one of Virginia�??s most prominent families. Though branded by a fiery streak of independence, Vic hasn�??t really considered any other options. Until she meets a woman named Chris. A transfer from Vermont, Chris is new to Southern mores and attitudes. Though instantly captivated by Vic, she is also drawn to the entire quirky but charming Savedge family. But the young women�??s friendship is not your basic college-girl variety. For neither can resist their mutual attraction�??an attraction that erupts into a passion that will forever change the course… (more)

Media reviews

Kirkus Review

Sketchy characterization and desultory writing don’t exactly fill in the blanks between sex scenes, and the college-lesbian romance seems awfully dated—when not embarrassingly rapturous.

— 1 more

Publishers Weekly

Brown's tendency to tell rather than show ("Raised in a judgmental family, Chris had survived by nourishing her sense of rebellion. She didn't know what she was looking for until she met Vic") and filler dialogue ("Sit down. It's my turn to give you a Coke" and "Mother, do you want a refill?" "No,

thank you. But you may clean the ashtray") wear on the reader, and the one-dimensional characters and soap opera story line provide little relief. Brown's good-natured humor and exuberant treatment of her themes may satisfy her fans, but she's unlikely to pick up new readers this time around.

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User reviews

LibraryThing member shelley582

Although I am a fan of Rita Mae Brown, this one left me cold. Ended up in the recycle to the used bookstore box.

3 more

LibraryThing member amberwitch

A story in the same vein as Rubyfruit Jungle and Southern Discomfort, merging the homosexual themes of the former with thesouthern atmosphere of the latter.
Vic Sevedge is starting last year of her bachelor, with a longterm boyfiend and a large social circle when she meets Chris and falls in love.

This is complicated by her father having lost his money, everybodys expectations that she marry her rich boyfriend , and Chris being a woman.
Vics family is endearingly excentric, and the southern atmophere created in the book goes a long way to justify the archaic behaviour and perceptions of the characters.
This is a nice little story of growing up, describing a romance that is untraditional without becoming too mired down in the details of the romance, instead letting it develop against a backdrop of the Sevedge family saga, in between the crises that their odd family and neighboors causes.
The thing I found the most trying about the book was the way Brown writes scenes; describing a charactes action, then tacking on a description of the characters feelings. So during a conversation the reader gets the conversation and the interactions, and the internal emotions/ observations of several of the participating characters.
The epilogue seemed rushed, and I wonder what the purpose of letting Vic become one of the "Old Boys" is?
The southern excentricity may seem a bit forced and intentionally 'cute', which reduces the storys impact.

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LibraryThing member Darrol

Both too long and too short. I kept thinking: Break up with Charley already. The characters are funny and could have lived with them in sequels (are there any?). Instead there is an epilogue.

LibraryThing member AmeKole

I enjoy this author, as she puts a face on what has been underground, lesbian literature. She does not sanitize it for heterosexual consumption, but writes a story (or fairy tale) as it progresses. The characters are a bit idealized, as is the epilogue. It is the Disneyfication of lesbian love.

Rarely are any love stories so happily ever after. In a way, it would make a better movie than book. I expect more torment in my books. It would be interesting if there was a sister-book told in Chris's perspective. She seems a more complex character, but the author does not delve into her life story as much. I believe that would be much more interesting, and perhaps less fairy-tale. A quick read - read it in one afternoon/evening.

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