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Dear Digby
An oddball newspaper editor advises eccentric readers--and reckons with her own painful past in this psychological thriller
Willis Digby is the letters editor at Sis (Sisterhood) magazine, a job that drives her mad. A Miss Lonelyhearts for feminists, Willis plows through correspondence that fluctuates from the predictable, boosterish boilerplate to letters challenging conventional notions of sanity, struggling to find a balance in her selections for publication in the landmark journal. Memorable letters include those from a woman who sprinkles cat food into her husband's breakfast cereal each morning, one from a woman convinced that the man on the label of her cleaning products is harassing her, and endless gender-specific descriptions of peculiar sexual proclivities.
As Digby strikes up an unconventional friendship with one of her correspondents, she also confronts a harrowing childhood incident that has come back to haunt her. At once witty and powerful, Dear Digby is a thrilling tragicomedy that explores the shifting borders of the self, or selves, that define individual sanity and conventional thought, and redefine communication among lost souls.
Willis Digby is the letters editor at Sis (Sisterhood) magazine, a job that drives her mad. A Miss Lonelyhearts for feminists, Willis plows through correspondence that fluctuates from the predictable, boosterish boilerplate to letters challenging conventional notions of sanity, struggling to find a balance in her selections for publication in the landmark journal. Memorable letters include those from a woman who sprinkles cat food into her husband's breakfast cereal each morning, one from a woman convinced that the man on the label of her cleaning products is harassing her, and endless gender-specific descriptions of peculiar sexual proclivities.
As Digby strikes up an unconventional friendship with one of her correspondents, she also confronts a harrowing childhood incident that has come back to haunt her. At once witty and powerful, Dear Digby is a thrilling tragicomedy that explores the shifting borders of the self, or selves, that define individual sanity and conventional thought, and redefine communication among lost souls.
208 pages, Paperback
First published April 18, 1989
2 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Carol Muske-Dukes
38 books19 followersCarol Muske-Dukes (born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1945) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, critic, and professor, and the former poet laureate of California (2008–2011). Her most recent book of poetry, Sparrow (Random House, 2003), chronicling the love and loss of Muske-Dukes’ late husband, actor David Dukes, was a National Book Award finalist.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 13, 2014
Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review. My review was not required to be positive. All thoughts and opinions expressed below are entirely my own. This review will also appear on NetGalley, Amazon, and my blog, Mediatron.
Willis Digby is not a boy, but she is the son her father never had. A feminist warrior on the frontlines of SIS Magazine, Digby cynically answers Letters to the Editor with a flick of her costume rabbit ears. When she strikes an unlikely friendship with a mental patient and letters from a potential stalker become threatening, Digby must confront the past that is keeping her from living in the present.
This book reminds me of my favorite author, Chuck Palahniuk in its unapologetically eccentric and profound storytelling. My copy was a temporary digital copy but I will need to get a physical copy for my bookshelf soon.
This book is so quotable that I had to pick just two instances where I laughed out loud, for fear that I would simply transcribe the novel in its entirety:
"...he was Born Again. I was not. I usually find that being born once is entirely sufficient for a person."
...he is still thankful that I am alive (as opposed to being, say, Republican)...
Hilarious, edgy, and unbelievably sentimental in the midst of 30+ mentionings of the term "seminal fluid," Muske-Dukes (herself a member of the hyphenated) illustrates the ways in which identity, sanity, beauty, and womanhood are all subjective.
Willis Digby is not a boy, but she is the son her father never had. A feminist warrior on the frontlines of SIS Magazine, Digby cynically answers Letters to the Editor with a flick of her costume rabbit ears. When she strikes an unlikely friendship with a mental patient and letters from a potential stalker become threatening, Digby must confront the past that is keeping her from living in the present.
This book reminds me of my favorite author, Chuck Palahniuk in its unapologetically eccentric and profound storytelling. My copy was a temporary digital copy but I will need to get a physical copy for my bookshelf soon.
This book is so quotable that I had to pick just two instances where I laughed out loud, for fear that I would simply transcribe the novel in its entirety:
"...he was Born Again. I was not. I usually find that being born once is entirely sufficient for a person."
...he is still thankful that I am alive (as opposed to being, say, Republican)...
Hilarious, edgy, and unbelievably sentimental in the midst of 30+ mentionings of the term "seminal fluid," Muske-Dukes (herself a member of the hyphenated) illustrates the ways in which identity, sanity, beauty, and womanhood are all subjective.
April 23, 2021
This creative and fun turn on the epistolary form gives us both sides of the mailbox. She managed to surprise me at the end, as I was half-expecting it to go a more traditional direction. This ending was better than I imagined, coming out of well-crafted characters and a twisting plot.
April 6, 2012
Nothing like a Miss Lonelyhearts. Letters to the Editor go from raw right into crazy. I almost quit, but she handled the story well. The main character has more to her than it first appears; some gratifying moments.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews