Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen [Mass Market Paperback]

Alix Kates Shulman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1997

Twenty-five years after its initial publication, this landmark book continues to fascinate readers with a frank, sardonic look at one woman's intellectual and sexual awakening. Reprint."

Editorial Reviews

Review

The ex-prom queen of the title is Sasha Davis, a rebellious Midwestern girl who becomes one of the few women in her high school class to make it east for college. In grad school, she marries a fellow student, then trades school for clerical work. Trapped in a loveless union, Sasha has affairs, divorces ... meets a new love, marries him, has two children and finds this second, more "l;modern" union as difficult, in its own way, as her first. The book made a big splash when it was first published in 1969.... -- Entertainment Weekly

About the Author

Alix Kates Shulman is the author of three other novels, the award-winning memoir Drinking the Rain, two books on the anarchist Emma Goldman, and three children's books. She divides her time between New York City and Maine.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140265716
• ISBN-13: 978-0140265712
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #447,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We only wish it felt dated., August 3, 2004

By 

Amanda (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen (Mass Market Paperback)

This is my favorite book of all time. I was suprised to read the other reviews, as they suggest that the women's movement has corrected all the injustices described in the book. Unfortunately the situations the author speaks of are almost as real today as they were then. While women have more financial options than in the past, those who think these situations won't resonate with 'the pretty girls' of today are living in a dream world. Plus, it's a great read.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book For Every Women, March 4, 2005

By 

AMLeClair (Lake Grove, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm 21 years old and was given this book to read for my U.S. Women's History class that I knew I'd hate (the class, not the book) because I'm no history buff, as this class was an unfortuantely forced elective. I was merely looking forward to reading some of the literature that the professor mandated, such as Work by Louisa May Alcott and Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs; however stumbling onto Memoirs Of An Ex Prom Queen, I opened up to a random page and read a little bit to see what I was getting myself into. This was unlike any other female writer that I've read and did read in that particular class. I knew that ending the semester, this book would still be in my head and hands. I started from the beginning and couldn't put it down with my mind swarming inside and out of the words that dive further and further into Sasha's world of sexuality and ambition. As an English: Creative Writing major, I found this to be my literary muse. Of course, I've always found creative inspiration in plays and poetry, but this work of fiction opened up my eyes to new depths of writing as the woman that I'm growing to be. Everything that Alix Kates Shulman touched on was clever and thought-provoking, relatable and enticing, as well as genious and raw. It reminded me a bit of Sylvia Plath's The Belljar (although that's much heavier and serious to take on) because of the brutal honesty and irony that Sasha expresses in scrutinizing herself and relationships. As a young woman approaching the age that Sasha starts at in the beginning of the novel, all of those qualities and characteristics of the story are amplified to me, although I'm not married, in an anonymous mid-West town, or in a post World War II society. She writes with such gripping reality that could truly touch every woman. For those who are strongly against promiscuity, this perhaps is not the book for you, but if you have an open mind and are willing to hear her philosophies of intimate relations that are both viable and provocative, meet Sasha Davis. I've read this book twice already and know that whenever I need inspiration or to have a little laugh, this is the book to turn to. Even though I know what happens at the end and in the beginning of her story, reacquainting myself with Sasha is stimulating, rewarding, and entertaining. For the holidays, I know that I'm going to give this book to every friend of mine. I've read a variety of talented "dead-white-male writers" like Jack Kerouac, the recently deceased Hunter S. Thompson, William Faulkner, and Ernest Hemingway and they write like men write, but Alix Kates Shulman rivals those classic writers, epitomizing how a real woman tells a story about a real woman.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true classic, August 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the most well written piece I have read since dabbling in the American cannon in my college literature classes. It is very frank, sexual and revealing. And the language is abosultely edible! Sasha is raw and on the edge of profound feminine insights, yet is battered again and again by the male-ism that dominates her culture. Women who have had few lovers may find this a difficult read, but that's the challenge. This book was not only a delight for the time period it represented, but I also appreciated the disturbing and yet real male/female scenarios that, although "dated," have given me a insight into raising raising my own young boys ... different from their grandfathers.