Ex Utero (Harvest American Writing) [Paperback]

Laurie Foos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 1996 | Series: Harvest American Writing

Laurie Foos-”the unholy love child of Franz Kafka and Erica Jong” (Philadelphia Inquirer)-gives us a “wonderfully deranged and stunning” novel (Fay Weldon, Los Angeles Times Book Review) about the hullabaloo that ensues when a woman somehow loses her uterus at the shopping mall.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this odd, hilarious parable, Rita loses her uterus. Uh oh. Off she sets to retrace her steps as though she's hunting her car keys. No uterus. Luckily, Rod Nodderman offers her a spot on his TV talk show -- and life will never be quite the same as Rita's plight is followed by a sympathetic, if bumbling, public.

From Publishers Weekly

Debut novelist Foos offers a satire about a woman who has lost her uterus.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (October 17, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015600464X
• ISBN-13: 978-0156004640
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,130,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laurie Foos teaches in the MFA program at Lesley University. Excerpts of her new novel, THE BLUE GIRL, have appeared in WRECKAGE OF REASON: XXPERIMENTAL WOMEN WRITING IN THE 21ST CENTURY and in the literary magazine, THE RAKE. Her story, "Moon Pies," another excerpt from the novel-in-progress, won 2nd place in the Italo Calvino Fiction Contest. THE BLUE GIRL is forthcoming from Coffee House Press. She lives on Long Island with her husband and two young children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, revealing, surreal---Definitely worth reading, March 26, 2002

By 

Jennifer J. Bailey (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ex Utero (Harvest American Writing) (Paperback)

This book was so funny I couldn't put it down--perhaps because I identified with the main character, a childess woman heading into the end of her fertile years. The book actually changed me--which is a rare and wonderful reading experience--especially if done while laughing out loud.

Despite the constant humor (ala Thomas Pynchon), the motivations of the each character's odd behavior(s) seemed very real and revealing to me especially when juxtaposed against lost uteruses, sealed vaginas that have "closed up shop" and a world full of erections.

It was interesting to see how people depend on each other in a whirlwind of craziness. The book isn't expensive and it's a small investment of your time too--big font on small pages and it starts out with a humorous bang immediately. DO IT! I'm following up by reading F/32, by Eurydice. It is also amazing and impacting.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Maybe I have no sense of humour, but..., June 24, 2006

By 

Akemi "Music Obsessed Person" (Rockland, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ex Utero (Hardcover)

I read this book ages ago. It drove me insane. I simply hate this sort of book where outlandish things happen that don't make sense and it's supposed to be symbolic somehow but the symbolism goes right over my head.

Perhaps if I read it again, i'd get it, but it really was just rather mind-numbingly dumb in a way. Especially the afflictions of the other characters. And the main character's husband. Dang, he was irratating.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Me dumb male. Not get funny book., June 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Ex Utero (Hardcover)

This book was recomended to me by a close friend who had the book assigned in a feminst theory class. She thought I might enjoy the interesting notion of a woman losing her uterus in a shopping mall. While I did find the book interesting in that aspect, and definetly orginal in its content, I just had a hard time getting into it. It seemed like it was over before it began, and it really didn't seem to go anywhere. It was a fun little trip, but very weird, and a bit too short.