Oreo

Pros: 1. Half-black, half-Jewish female protagonist who's brilliant, tough, and empowered. 2. Vocabulary-expanding; full of language games and puns. 3. Lots of insane, almost magical realist stuff happens, but since the plot is anchored by parallels to the story of Theseus and the Minotaur it never......more

Reissued in 2015 from New Directions, this early-seventies punnilinguistic mistresspiece deserves a broader readership. An anarchic comedic romp, abounding in ambidextrous wordplay, mixing black and Jewish slang with technical and mathematical language, this novel is a brassy performance, sadomasoch......more

A picaresque novel from the 70's with a Black Jewish female protagonist who roams the streets of New York sporting a cane while seeking her father (much like the mythological Theseus)? Yup, journalist, writer an comedy author Fran Ross has created a wild, experimental mixture of genres and text form......more

This book was too smart for me. I was left feeling pretty "lowly" for not "getting it". I enjoyed the parts that clicked but most of the book was chock full of fanciful language that I didn't have the time to bother looking up each sentence (just to feel included in the joke). I completely understan......more

I loved it when I first read it June 2015, loved it more this time. I laughed so loudly as I read it that my family kept thinking I'd broken my toe or something. Not just a great book. It's one of a kind.......more