Girl [Maladjusted]: True Stories from a Semi-Celebrity Childhood

by Molly Jong-Fast

Molly Jong-Fast grew up in a town house with a pink door and paintings of ladies playing naked Twister. There were world-famous therapists living in her cellar, a secretary with a brain tumor, a nanny who was a numbers runner, and grandparents who revealed that they had sex on their first date.
Leading therapists a normal childhood.
In Girl [Maladjusted], Molly Jong-Fast takes us on a tour of her big fat Jewish bohemian upbringing. With the same keen insight, effortless cool, and buoyant wit that won her legions of devoted readers in Normal Girl, she offers a riotous and affecting coming-of-age story that is both uniquely weird and weirdly universal.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2005

Reviews

[Madelyn Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was not one that I enjoyed. Not at all. The only reason I wanted to read this book was because I bought a bunch of books from this author, and this was next on my list. But, I wanted to also read an autobiography, so hey, here is my review.

This book was interesting, but not a good book. It really put a lot of information in on Jong-Fast's life, though and was quite fast paced. The book has a few funny elements but still didn't replace how dull parts of the end were.

This book didn't seem to be very "deep"or have a real meaning to it seemed to be just a "listy" book that just described Jong-Fast's life and the life of her as a "somewhat celebrity" when she was a child. because she was the daughter of Erica Jong.

If anyone is in need of a biography with a bit of some "mature content" then this book is a good choice for you. However, I did not enjoy this book. It was just a bit boring for me. Happy Reading!

-Madelyn

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Download to iPhone through Kindle.

If I had to hang out with Molly Jong-Fast for more than about fifteen minutes I would probably want to strangle her vapid, entitled neck. The book was amusing, though.

[Monique · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. The sad fact is that Molly Jong-Fast did not hold my attention with this book. She seemed to be more concerned with being perceived as funny or witty than with actually telling any type of story or revealing anything about herself through her personal narratives. I'm sure she has had to live and deal with comparisons to her famous mother all her life, but given that, she should know that sometimes the acorn falls from the tree and rolls onto an entirely different lawn. Figure out something else to do with your time, Molly.

I could not even finish this book. The author tried too hard and failed. One star just because negative stars aren't available.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny book about a privileged NYC girl's young life with a famous mom. Somewhat snarky, witty essays on private school, her mom's multiple romances and marriages, dealing with famous people, drugs, dysfunctional family, etc. She's self-aware enough to know that the behavior she's describing is at times ridiculous, so the tone is right. Enjoyed reading about all her escapades.

[Susan's Sweat Smells Like Literature · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really mean 3.5
Slight, charming, funny.

[Laurel-Rain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Molly Jong-Fast’s memoir chronicles her childhood and young adulthood as the daughter of famous writer Erica Jong (Fear of Flying) and grandfather Howard Fast (Spartacus), with all the aspects, good and bad, of that celebrity existence. Living in a “townhouse with a pink door and paintings of ladies playing naked Twister,” her childhood also featured many visits to therapists, numerous nannies, and private schools where she felt like a misfit most of the time.

Much of what she describes is told in a wry, self-deprecatory fashion, and she habitually renames her celebrity acquaintances and therapists (like calling one woman Adolf Hitler), allegedly to avoid lawsuits, but I also think she enjoyed the comic value of such renaming.

Some parts of “Girl (maladjusted)” were enlightening and enjoyable, while other sections seemed so uneventful as to be irrelevant. I skimmed these sections, I must admit. With most of this book seemingly dedicated to what it was like to be the daughter of a celebrity, there were surprisingly few descriptions of mother/daughter interactions. In fact, the few descriptions that did come across seemed like footnotes to the real story, whatever that was supposed to be.

This book was only mildly interesting, which is why I’m awarding it three stars.

[Medeia Sharif · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more rereading it. The first time it was a 3-star book for me, but the second time I had a better appreciation of the humor and wacky situations. What bothered me both times was the acute brevity. There were several spots that begged to be expanded, with more detail to flesh out the author's memories of her interesting, eccentric family members. Despite this flaw, the book was a wonderful glimpse into a semi-celebrity childhood. I liked the bits about her mother's ex-boyfriends, Joan Collins, her seventh grade friend Sophie Dahl, and the sex doctors in the basement.

[Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because it is an autobiography (and I am hoping to read more autobiographies this year) and because Molly Jong-Fast is the daughter of Erica Jong.

It was an interesting fast-paced read. Jong-Fast is, at times, very funny (and knowledgeable of pop culture...) and a good story-teller, but the book lacked depth.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A maladjusted semi-celebrity childhood sounds exhausting, and sometimes reading the volley of one-liners in this book is as well. But it is also engaging, funny and interesting. Molly Jong-Fast is still quite young, but shows the potential to fill the literary shoes of her mother --Eriica Jong, to whom she is never resentful in print--as well as those of her grandfather, Howard Fast..

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bit manic in the beginning, but there's some funny stuff in there. Molly is the daughter of Erica Jong, who wrote Fear of Flying, if ya didn't know. She has some interesting tales because of it. And oh, her grandfather wrote Spartacus. Quick read.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny as hell.

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to give this book a 5 because it was so funny and just what I needed after reading so many sad memoirs and books about slavery that made me cry over the horrors our Black American sisters and brothers have had to go through for way too many years. I really got a kick over the author's sense of humor all the way through her story of growing up as Erika Jong's daughter. Of course, I knew about Fear of Flying but, for some reason or other, I never got around to reading it. I probably should have because she certainly lived a colorful life with all her husbands and travels. The good thing is that she truly loved her daughter and her daughter knew it.

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as enjoyable as Normal Girl, but I did enjoy some of the stories.

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know Molly from Twitter & thought I'd try this.
Read a few chapters & did not want to keep going.

[Joy Markel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unreadable. As in: slogged through about 15 pages and decided life is too short to read any more.