Girly [Paperback]

Elizabeth Merrick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 13, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0976880105 | ISBN-13: 978-0976880103

“Sharp, smart, and on the edge—Girly breaks all of the rules, deliciously.” –Hannah Tinti, author of Animal Crackers

Girly is Elizabeth Merrick’s acclaimed first novel, an epic exploring the realm of women’s spirituality and sexuality through the saga of Hart family that Tom Perrotta calls "an ambitious and moving first novel, an intimate family epic."

Racinda Hart survives her fundamentalist Christian upbringing and the tumult of her wild and dangerous older sister, Ruth. When Ruth disappears, Racinda rejects the Jesus of her rural Pennsylvania childhood to rush headlong into her sexuality and ultimately the exploits of a California rock band. Unmoored, and encountering several captivating adventuresses along the way, Racinda must discover the truth about her mother’s and her grandmother’s lives, as well as her own.

From a goddess who keeps an eye out for Racinda, to Racinda herself, Girly’s seven narrative voices form an intimate, lyrical journey into an irresistible world.

"In Girly, Elizabeth Merrick has rewritten the dictionary on desire of the female kind. A tasty, must-read debut!"--Holiday Reinhorn

Merrick, the editor of the forthcoming Random House anthology THIS IS NOT CHICK LIT, recently explained the genesis of this underground sensation of a novel:

"I wanted to read an epic, thoughtfully-written novel about the undercurrents of spirituality and sexuality I was hearing in Bjork, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, Sleater Kinney. That book didn’t exist, I couldn’t find it at the bookstore. So I wrote it."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in a suburban Sacramento version of Joyce Carol Oates's wintry upstate New York, Merrick's debut novel is harsh and complex. Racinda Hart's lifestory is told by seven separate narrative voices. Her absentminded, Jesus-freak mother, Amandine, and her violent, older sister, Ruth, darkened Racinda's childhood years and laid the rickety foundation for the bewildered, hard-drinking and hard-drugging life to follow. The only sympathetic adult in her family—her grandmother Button—lies comatose in a hospital. Left hopeless and empty after a bad acid trip, Racinda lies about her age and has herself committed to a mental institution, simply hoping to slow the world down and stop the pain for a while. Unlike the chipper cheerleaders and sanitized outsiders of much high school fiction, Racinda is a raw version of American adolescence; she is desperate, nihilistic, and bound by the misery that accompanies being a teenage girl. In occasionally jerky though energetic prose, Merrick, editor of the forthcoming Random House anthology This Is Not Chick Lit, has crafted a moody, gothic debut, which makes for a brutal, and cathartic, emotional experience. It's a nice start for Merrick and Brooklyn-based Demimonde alike.
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Review

A darkly lyrical, emotionally potent exploration of characters living in the shadowy margins of American culture. --Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children and Election

Merrick brings a new voice to American fiction: a story of love and kinship that will inspire you. --Robert Morgan, author of Gap Creek and Brave Enemies

Elizabeth Merrick has rewritten the dictionary on desire of the female kind. A tasty, must-read debut! --Holiday Reinhorn, author of Big Cats

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 524 pages
• Publisher: Demimonde Books (December 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976880105
• ISBN-13: 978-0976880103
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,927,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in Chester County, PA, where my family has lived forever, and which used to be beautiful and full of life and which still has some very beautiful landscapes(The natural abundance of this place, and my youth among some very intense Born Again Christians, provided much energy for my first novel, GIRLY.) I left at 14 and went to a New England boarding school, then on to college, California, and finally MFA school at Cornell where I finished my first novel.

When I moved to Brooklyn, I hankered for a literary community that was supportive, vibrant, smart and not snobby, and I didn't really find one--so I started one. I now run the Grace Reading Series for women writers--we put focus on serious literary work by women. I also run my own writing school, Elizabeth's Workshops, which is the exact opposite of most other writing workshops and where the amazing books of the next few years are currently being written by my dedicated, inspired students. I edited the anthology THIS IS NOT CHICK LIT (Random House, 2006) which includes some of my favorite writers at work today. RIght now I am working on a book of nonfiction and my next novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brave and Original Work, January 26, 2006

By 

Leora Skolkin-Smith "LSS" (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girly (Paperback)

"Girly" is a novel that plunges into areas of female sexuality, relationships and experience that few writers have gone of late. For me, this isn't at all a "dark" novel in that cliched sense of the word that seems to be used whenever fiction attempts to peer deeper and truer into our lives. I recommend Elizabeth Merrick's Girly for its epic stretch and startling originality. It's a story told by seven separate narrative voices and is uncompromising. A book about sisters in an American Christian fundamentalist family, Girly enchants the reader while bringing them raw and scorching moments of truth and vision. I highly recommend this journey into sexuality, family, and the margins of our American life.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a stunning debut!, January 25, 2006

By 

Felicia Sullivan (New York, ny United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Girly (Paperback)

Reviewed by Abigail Koons for Small Spiral Notebook

Girly, Elizabeth Merrick's first novel, tells the story of the Hart sisters' tumultuous childhood and the relationships that shape their personalities. From their early childhood in Pennsylvania with their aloof, absent Father to their later years in California alone with their Born Again mother, Ruth and Racinda develop amidst the strong presences of their mother Amandine and their grandmother Button. Their identity is as much who they are as who they aren't. After years of emotional pain and instability, Ruth finally leaves home, allowing her younger sister to emerge from her shadow and make her own mistakes. Racinda strives to define who she is in the absence of Ruth's violent, destructive outbursts, but the need to connect with her sister never leaves Racinda. Once she has forged her own path as a minor groupie for a band and later, as a self-admitted patient in a mental hospital, she reaches out to reconnect with the women in her family, discovering the truth of her family and the heartache and pain that forged them.

As this is a book about women, it only seems fair that men dominate the minor characters in Girly, acting as catalysts to the action. Ruth and Racinda's emotionally distance Father, Lyman, creates an absence so acute, that his final abandonment of the family goes unnoticed for days. Joey, his band mates, their grandfather Elmer, Michael -- most of the men in the story remain on the periphery, gently nudging the story in one direction. Rudy, hired to help bring Ruth home, comes on slick and manipulative, but even he is no match for Amandine, the apparent weakest of the Hart women. Racinda's friend Max is a beautifully written character who holds the promise of depth and complexity. Merrick's expert touch to hold back on Max proves her complete control over this novel and her characters. This story wasn't his, although it was interesting to learn, via an interview on Gothamist.com, that the novel grew out of a chapter told from Max's perspective.

Jesus, and religion, also have their fair shares of exposure in Girly. Religion, and the all-consuming faith of Born Again Christians, drive Amandine's actions. She discovers her faith and embraces the community with Racinda while Ruth's erratic behavior becomes worse despite her Mother's faith. At times, Merrick's portrayal of Born Again religion is scathing, but peace is made in the end. Amandine, although still prone to speaking in tongues, finds a place where she can accept both her painful past and her religion at the same time.

This story is about women. Three generations of the Hart family experience their own pain, suffering and growth. Women in every stage of their lives are part of this story, and although there are different personalities, aspects of Racinda, Ruth, Button, and Amandine are in every woman. Even Lisa, Racinda's friend who can be wicked and hurtful, has her own story to tell. Racinda learns what she can from Lisa and assimilates it into her future and her life. Button, one of the strongest women in the novel, is the stabilizing force in both Ruth and Racinda's life. When she slips away from them, they slip away from their world. The link to their past was Button, not their mother, and once the matriarch is gone, Racinda, Ruth and Amandine leave for California and their own time.

In a bid for perfection, this epic novel takes its time with not just the story, but the language as well. This is not a book to pick up when you have a few hours on a plane; it is one to dip in and out of, coming back to it when you can't get Racinda or Ruth off your mind. While there is no perfection in the Hart's world, there is an honest beauty that keeps the reader coming back. This character-driven novel explores the role women play in not just supporting one another, but destroying each other as well. Ruth's violence in Girly is a necessary part of the characters it touches, and as with many good "coming of age" stories, it is a catalyst for growth. Merrick has captured a part of the universal female experience that is rare in modern literature with statements like "...I also think, though I partly know it is not true, there would be a sister, a mother, a father, if I were beautiful." She captures the darker, more painful side of femininity from which beauty and strength grow. With a deeply satisfying ending, Racinda finally grows into the strong woman she was meant to become.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coming of Age in Rural Christian America, March 30, 2006

By 

Ms. KR (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girly (Paperback)

Move over, Holden Caulfield, time for a new era, a new protagonist, and a new voice - Elizabeth Merrick's. Her first novel tells the raw coming-of-age story of Racinda Hart. Riveting and lush detail reveal the novel's distinct multiple narrative voices, disturbing tensions, and family secrets. Merrick's highly original contribution in a literary landscape deluged by girl-meets-boy-equals-fulfillment fodder is revolutionary. Her unsentimental gaze into a disturbing yet very real world is a testiment to both her uncompromising talent and her promise as a novelist.