Saturday 15 August 2015

Myra Breckinridge by Gore Vidal

"But sex does not seem to be the hangup with this crowd."

The novel that formed the basis for the Racquel Welsh film of the same name is a strange beast. Myra was not born a girl but now boasts amazing breasts thanks to talented surgeons and skilfully fashioned silicone. When not teaching Posture and Empathy to students of the Academy for Aspiring Young Actors and Actresses, she enjoys breaking up relationships, taking drugs, going to orgies that sort of thing in an overblown swinging sixties, "oh look isn't this shocking", kind of way.
I found it a little boring and written in a strangely quaint fashion. The orgy scene is fleeting and even the controversial dildo scene hardly made me raise an eyebrow. Perhaps I am not easily shocked, or perhaps because I knew it was coming.
Myra falls for Mary-Ann, who likes her but wishes she was a man. A fortuitous car accident returns Myra in many ways back to her Myron days, albeit minus a fundamental piece of equipment..."Where are my breasts?". What girl wouldn't want a eunuch? That's a rhetorical question by the way.
High camp but not nearly as entertaining as The Valley of the Dolls or anything Jackie Collins might deliver. Good news is that this ticks off another 1001 novels list and is also featured on Bloom's Western Canon, I do love ticking off lists.


3 out of 5 ugly men are swingers according to this book.

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