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Bye Bye Blondie
Bye Bye Blondie | Virginie Despentes
5 posts | 4 read | 16 to read
In a wrecked modern version of a romance novel, acclaimed French writer Virginie Despentes pokes at the simultaneous ecstasy and banality of love in an age of psychiatry and punk. Gloria lives in seething rage, lashing out at everyoneparticularly, a string of bewildered boyfriendsat the local bar. But when her latest explosion leaves her out on the street, she unexpectedly runs into famed television personality Eric Muir. Incidentally, he's also her teenage boyfriend, and the one who started it all. Once upon a time, Gloria and Eric met while institutionalized, and then became a mascot couple for those homeless and high on a noisy mix of drugs, music, and counterculture. Now, twenty years later, Gloria is enamored by youthful love resurrected and determined to immortalize their story by writing a screenplay. Whisked away to Paris, she's transformed from a provincial loose cannon into an urbane party guest. But navigating life and love isn't any easier for the middle-aged. Cutting deep to unearth the marriage of institutional violence and heterosexual relationships, Bye Bye Blondie illustrates how young women are continuously dragged down and neglected, and then dangled false offers of fame in lieu of real, redemptive recognition.
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batsy
Bye Bye Blondie | Virginie Despentes
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#AlphabetGame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Letter B

A raucous, angry, fiercely feminist tale about a working-class woman's ascent to what is seen as "success" in the "real world"—having to succumb to capitalist norms. Infused with a wild punk energy that I really enjoyed. Plus, I'm always game to read more about middle-age feminist rage.

Thanks for the tag @TheRiehlDeal ! Tagging anyone who would like to join in!

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Cool cover! 💜🖤 2y
BarbaraBB I didn‘t know she wrote more than 2y
TrishB I will have to have a look at this. Sounds like me! 2y
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batsy @BarbaraBB Yep, quite a few more! I became a fan when I first read her nonfic/manifesto 2y
batsy @TrishB It's very relatable in terms of the anger expressed towards how capitalist society works 👌🏾 2y
BarbaraBB I have to look them up! 2y
62 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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batsy
Bye Bye Blondie | Virginie Despentes
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Gloria is poor and down on her luck, seething with anti-establishment rage that stems from being institutionalised in her teens. Currently in her "middle age", she bumps into her first love from her punk days who is now famous and rich, and he helps her get a foot in the film industry. As she finds herself among the moneyed and the polished, she thinks, #IAmAPoseur and is horrified ... and starts to push back. Great book ⭐

#FierceFeb @Cinfhen

batsy Just scrolled down and saw that one of my early posts on Litsy was about this book ☺️ #LoveVirginieDespentes 7y
Reggie This sounds great!!!! Stacked. 7y
batsy @Reggie It seems like something you might like, I hope you do 😊 7y
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erzascarletbookgasm Interesting, never heard of this book! 7y
RohitSawant Interesting! Stacked. 7y
readordierachel This sounds fantastic. She sounds like an interesting author. 7y
LauraBrook I have another by this author, received as a gift, and I‘m worried I won‘t like it. Your review of this one, though, makes me think I‘ll be okay. 7y
batsy @LauraBrook Which one do you have? 7y
batsy I have that one too @LauraBrook but yet to read it. Despentes is philosophical and there's a touch of existentialism to her work, but the characters in Bye Bye Blondie are also brash and dgaf-types. It's an interesting juxtaposition but hard to tell if you're going to enjoy her until you've read a few pages, I think :) 7y
77 likes5 stack adds10 comments
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katedensen
Bye Bye Blondie | Virginie Despentes
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Today's mini #bookhaul from McNally Jackson: Atlantic Hotel (Hotel Atlântico) by João Gilberto Noll (translated from Brazilian by Adam Morris) and Bye Bye Blondie by Virginie Despentes (translated from French by Siân Reynolds).

merelybookish Whoa! That's a cover! 8y
33 likes1 stack add1 comment
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JessClark78
Bye Bye Blondie | Virginie Despentes
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LauraBrook Didn't know this was out! #stacked 8y
48 likes1 stack add1 comment
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batsy
Bye Bye Blondie | Virginie Despentes
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Just started; expectations are high so I'm a bit nervous! (So far, witty and engaging)

6 likes2 stack adds