Alma Mater

by Rita Mae Brown

Sex makes monkeys out of all of us. If you don’t give in to it, you wind up a cold, unfeeling bastard. If you do, you spend the rest of your life picking up the pieces. . . .

At the start of senior year at William & Mary, the six-foot-tall, raven-haired beauty Victoria “Vic” Savedge finds her future mapped out in detail. She will marry Charly Harrison, the son of one of Virginia’s most prominent families. Though branded by a fiery streak of independence, Vic hasn’t really considered any other options. Until she meets a woman named Chris.

A transfer from Vermont, Chris is new to Southern mores and attitudes. Though instantly captivated by Vic, she is also drawn to the entire quirky but charming Savedge family. But the young women’s friendship is not your basic college-girl variety. For neither can resist their mutual attraction–an attraction that erupts into a passion that will forever change the course of both their lives.

Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Romance, Lesbian, Queer, Lesbian Fiction, Mystery

272 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2001

About the author

Rita Mae Brown is a prolific American writer, most known for her mysteries and other novels (Rubyfruit Jungle). She is also an Emmy-nominated screenwriter.

Brown was born illegitimate in Hanover, Pennsylvania. She was raised by her biological mother's female cousin and the cousin's husband in York, Pennsylvania and later in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Starting in the fall of 1962, Brown attended the University of Florida at Gainesville on a scholarship. In the spring of 1964, the administrators of the racially segregated university expelled her for participating in the civil rights movement. She subsequently enrolled at Broward Community College[3] with the hope of transferring eventually to a more tolerant four-year institution.

Between fall 1964 and 1969, she lived in New York City, sometimes homeless, while attending New York University[6] where she received a degree in Classics and English. Later,[when?] she received another degree in cinematography from the New York School of Visual Arts.[citation needed] Brown received a Ph.D. in literature from Union Institute & University in 1976 and holds a doctorate in political science from the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C.

Starting in 1973, Brown lived in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. In 1977, she bought a farm in Charlottesville, Virginia where she still lives.[9] In 1982, a screenplay Brown wrote while living in Los Angeles, Sleepless Nights, was retitled The Slumber Party Massacre and given a limited release theatrically.

During Brown's spring 1964 semester at the University of Florida at Gainesville, she became active in the American Civil Rights Movement. Later in the 1960s, she participated in the anti-war movement, the feminist movement and the Gay Liberation movement.

Brown took an administrative position with the fledgling National Organization for Women, but resigned in January 1970 over Betty Friedan's anti-gay remarks and NOW's attempts to distance itself from lesbian organizations. She claims she played a leading role in the "Lavender Menace" zap of the Second Congress to Unite Women on May 1, 1970, which protested Friedan's remarks and the exclusion of lesbians from the women's movement.

In the early 1970s, she became a founding member of The Furies Collective, a lesbian feminist newspaper collective in Washington, DC, which held that heterosexuality was the root of all oppression.

Brown told Time magazine in 2008, "I don't believe in straight or gay. I really don't. I think we're all degrees of bisexual. There may be a few people on the extreme if it's a bell curve who really truly are gay or really truly are straight. Because nobody had ever said these things and used their real name, I suddenly became [in the late 1970s] the only lesbian in America."

Reviews

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a frustrating book. The characters are portrayed with such life that they remain memorable, despite a rather large cast of characters for a novel of this genre. Brown has problems with the prose, especially with being clear about who and what people, animals, and places are when they are introduced. I could forgive those problems, however, and truly did until the last 80 pages. This charming romantic comedy begins a slow decay into melodrama around page 180, and continues to slide downhill until the last page, compacted by a hackneyed, eye-roll-worthy last ten pages followed by a truly horrendous epilogue. Unfortunately, this ruined the whole damn book for me, and I was immensely sad to see Brown ruin her characters with a rushed, unhappy "happy" ending. Four stars for the first part of the book, one and a half for the last.

[Carissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great storyline. Funny and realistic!

[Estrelas · Rating 2 out of 5]

„‚Würde man weise werden, indem man Bücher mit sich rumschleppt, dann wär ich die größte Leuchte weit und breit‘, dachte Vic, als sie an einem heißen Sommertag die letzte Ladung die drei Treppen hochhievte.“

Ich kann mir gut vorstellen, dass ich mich damals vom Cover und dem Ausblick auf die Darstellung des Universitätsalltags verleiten lassen habe, dieses Buch zu kaufen. Die Oberflächlichkeit war nur schwer zu ertragen.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough to rate. Some parts felt so forced, yet other parts felt very real. For example, a lot of the dialogue, especially at the beginning, caused me lots of eye rolling. But the character building made me like and invest in the trio at the center of the story. Some characters felt extraneous, like the old guy with the middle-aged daughters, though I admit I liked the bit with the cow. A real mix of good points and bad, so I'll stick right in the middle with 3 stars (though it's really a 2.5!).

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don’t waste your time. Got to a little more than halfway before needing to stop. The only redeeming quality is that it’s about lesbians. I’ve tried a few Rita Mae Brown books and aside from Ruby Fruit Jungle which I enjoyed, I just don’t think she’s for me.

Maybe I’ll try a re-read at some point to change my mind. I hate giving novels low scores.

[Lillie Nicholas · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you're looking for a book that centers sapphic relationships and treats them as legitimate, this is not for you. I was put off by the lack of legitimacy granted to WLW sex and relationships in this book. The majority of the book treats it as a hobby to spice up heterosexual life. Fatphobia is also a theme. The characters are hard to connect with and the family roles feel forced. Not for me.

[schmoozie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know what happened to RMB on this one. It was just awful. The writing, the story, all of it...blech!

[Milay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started this book but could not get over the poor style of writing, the immediate cliches, boring story and weak characters. Finally had to put it down, planning on returning it to the bookstore.

[R.E. Bradshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it, but not my fav Rita Mae

[Ashley Marshall · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written, kind of like a soap opera with the most bizarre ending in the epilogue. Jesus.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than it turned out I did. It ends kind of abruptly and though it had it's moments, overall it never quite clicked with me.

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess there's still a place for poorly written trashy lesbian novels in my life.

[Gillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author over-explained things. I am able to discern the nuances without being told what each character (even the dog!) is thinking.

[Kathleen Jowitt]

This felt distinctly dated, at least partly because the book was in fact set in the early eighties. But it was also because the narrative's attitude to cheating is one that you really don't see much these days, and I spent much of it wondering if I was becoming one of Those Prudish Tumblr Kids, because usually it doesn't bother me as much as this.

Vic is a senior student at a university in the Southern USA. She's dating Charly, the star football player. As the book opens, Chris transfers in from Vermont. This sets up a love triangle which goes on for... the rest of the book.

Actually, I think I'd have been less irritated by the cheating if the characters had been written more strongly. Charly was something of a cardboard cutout, and Chris didn't seem to have much of a personality at all. Vic made Hamlet look decisive, and spent most of the book stringing both Chris and Charly along until compelled by developments to make a decision. Between Chris's reluctance to confront Vic and Charly's obliviousness, Chekhov's gun stayed put on the mantelpiece and went off with a damp *phut* in the last chapter.

Also, a large proportion of the action took place at Vic's home, which allowed for a few lovely bits of description on the one hand, and some deeply unfunny supporting characters on the other.

SRC: 36 (sort of), 42, 45, 46

[Eden Gildehaus · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 7%

Okay kinda did this to myself but I also had some other icks. The writing is all over the place with what’s happening. The perspectives are so disjointed since there is no focus on one character and their thoughts. It’s also super repetitive saying the same things over and over again. Especially about how Vic is “young and beautiful” and she looks exactly like her mom. There are also unnecessary comments about the women’s bodies that add nothing to the story.

The book is also dated with some of its language and remarks.

The part where I really screwed myself is I accidentally read the epilogue. Vic and Chris have lovely love story just for Vic to CHEAT ON CHRIS. So what’s the point in even reading the book?

Ugh.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Rubyfruit Jungle, so I wanted to like this book. It was so meh that it massively wrecked my reading streak. This book is like trying to pull a story out of an old relative who keeps getting side-tracked and shares random, unrelated updates about everyone in the town you grew up in. The core of the story was, at some points, interesting. But the delivery was meandering, long-winded, and sporadic. I don’t need to be reminded every five pages about how beautiful the protagonist is—get back to the story!

[Jimyanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like so many of Rita Mae Brown's books, this one deals with the experience of a young woman falling in love with another woman, and realizing that she's a lesbian. What makes this story different from so many is that for a change, all of the characters are decent human beings and behave reasonably well, so that even though the experience is still difficult, no one is terribly hateful and the result is less trauma than we're used to seeing in similar stories. It's as if Ms. Brown is saying, "Here, this is how it SHOULD be done."

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 80's & sexual identity

It's the 1980s & a young college student is faced with figuring out her sexual identity… before it was understood or acceptable that she had a sexual identity to identify!
Its a sweet story, with interesting characters (The Wallace's are everything!!) that have depth, sincerity, introspection & authenticity that makes them easy to connect & relate to.

[Broccolo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jinx è proprio Jinx di arcane, questa è la sua villain origin story perché dopo aver fatto lo sfogatoio di quella disagiata di Vic per una vita puoi solo uscire di testa (lo stesso vale per Chris e Charly che sono due carta veline, la Donna Gay™ e l'uomo dildo che devono stare al culo di quella cretinetta) (che fatica sto libro raga)

[Ann Boytim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starting her senior year at William & Mary college Victoria (Vic) finds her future mapped out for her by her family and friends but this is not to be after meeting a transfer student Chris. Vic is supposed to marry Charly Harrison and finds herself in love with two very different people.

[Deni B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love RMB’s writing. I have since my first reading of Rubyfruit Jungle some 40 years ago. This is definitely not her best work but the characters seemed so familiar-it was a comfort read. Many books lately have been so heavy and deep. This bit of fluff was a breath of fresh air.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting a cozy mystery with cats. I did not get that 🤣
Didn’t realize it was a story about discovering lesbianism but no biggy 🤷🏻‍♀️
The peripheral characters need a much bigger book involving them.

[Nancy Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best thing about this particular novel was all the crazy southern ladies and their antics--maybe the worst part was Charly and his role.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish.

[Cindy Bellomy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved Six of One, which I read a million years ago, so I expected to love this too. There are moments of humor, but there is way too much preaching/telling me how to feel.

[Mariellen Defort · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually like RMB....but could have left this one at the used bookstore....very dated.......like a history lesson.i did like the epilogue tho.wrap up the characters

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book. A must-read for every gay William & Mary student.

[Rebecca Weinberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

truly exquisite...a must read for all w&m gays

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun! Quite the conundrum. Some good laughs and quirky characters. I was very happy for the epilogue that filled in how it all turned out years later.

[Bookend McGee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really badly written. And so stupid. Melodramatic. Very flat characters.