To Smithereens

by Rosalyn Drexler

When Rosa, a depressed and drifting twenty-something, meets Paul, a middling art critic, an off-kilter romance commences. Paul longs to be dominated by physically powerful women and convinces Rosa to fulfill one of his fantasies: that she become a wrestler. Soon, Rosa joins a women's wrestling team and embarks on a tour of the South, befriends her horny teammates and their jealous boyfriends, and learns to hold her own among a crew of seedy coaches and greedy promoters. Through wrestling, Rosa learns to articulate what kind of life she wants, and to wriggle free of Paul's attempts to possess her.

Genres: Fiction, Novels, New York, Feminism, LGBT, Literary Fiction, Queer

200 pages, Paperback

First published May 20, 2025

About the author

Rosalyn Drexler, a painter, playwright, and novelist, has been on the scene in several arts for many years. She is well known in Soho art galleries, infamous off-Broadway, and highly regarded as a fiction writer.

Reviews

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rosalyn D, pioneer of the “spandexual romp,” offers up a classic in the genre, alongside Manny’s favourite, Submissions of a Lady Wrestler. The heroine is a witty free-spirited street-girl sidelined into the sleazy denizen of amateur female wrestling by a dreamy arts columnist named Paul, and—as Drexler did in her youth—takes to the ring as Rosa Carlo, the Mexican Spitfire, fighting scary “bull dykes” and Sapphic freaks. The story, not lacking in street-smart fizz and erudite crackle, isn’t particularly well structured and despite strong and funny scenes, and literary-ish doodlings from the unexciting Paul, finds itself pinned to the mat and KO’ed in round four (i.e. p86 or thereabouts). Rambling comedic vignettes and throwaway dialogue, mixed with lazy or out-of-date jive-talk, fail to lift this book into the charming and outrageously clever female wrestling comedy classic it could have been. Ding and ding.

[Kat]

to smithereens gotta be one of the worst ways to get blown

[John Caleb Grenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and outlandish romance of sorts in NYC in the 70s. Definitely not like anything else getting published today. Felt a little bit like a thrown-together collage at times, mostly in the second half. Some really great sentences and dialogue, but in the end the characters and story won’t stick with me.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️— Book is weird. Goes between a man and woman, he’s a horny freak and she’s a fool. She gets into wrestling and he’s weird about it. Love the sapphic aspects ofc and love weird books but not the best writing style.

[Izzy Cotenoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

an absolutely bizarre piece of literature, i ate it up

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally hilarious. Early on a character refers to a shit stain in his underwear as "hard-edge expressionism". Drexler's writing is just SO FUN to read and I want more of it immediately.

[Esteé Hallatt · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - a third of the way in, I could not stand it anymore. Perhaps I just did not get it, but what a load of crap.

[Jason Diamond · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's wild this hasn't been considered a classic since it came out in the 1970s. A perfect weird little book.

[Eliza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. Read like a Chris Krause knock off with a transatlantic accent and buying in even more to the nyc who’s who

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Men are gross. Rosalyn Drexler did what any artist would, she capitalized on that. At first glance her characters are gritty, unhinged and perverted. As the story unfolds you see societal norms of the 1970s take shape and merge with the outcasts and weirdos of the art world. The women depicted in this story are deeply flawed yet not quite as disgusting as the men. Disgust is a powerful emotion for an artist to elicit and if that means you walk away hating this book, great. Drexler did her job. She created art.

[Joey Shapiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

So funny and so wacky and delightful, I think maybe everyone I know should read this? Reminded me a lot of the Holly Woodlawn movie they showed at the music box earlier this year, Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers— just like a long string of unhinged cartoonish encounters with huge personalities, some of which involve women professionally wrestling.

[bunnyrat3000 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh I don’t know, maybe more of a 2 1/2 but it was a fun way to spend a few hours I suppose. I did not really come to understand the characters whatsoever which is the most frustrating part, because they were interesting and weird! Loved the scene of her first match in Florida though, felt like I was in the stands….so that brings it up to the 3

[Peter Landau · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is fine art missing? Wrestling!

[Eve]

not for me sorry

[Olivia Zerger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely wild ride

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

My recap of my experience with this book: a fun, vibey story about a woman who gets into professional wrestling at the behest of her art critic boyfriend. It’s a weird, pervy, arthouse NY in the 70s vibe. I feel like I’m missing 80% of the cultural context to truly enjoy this book.

[Emily TarBush · Rating 2 out of 5]

entertaining but not memorable

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange little book, reminded me of a literary version of R. Crumb …and then the book mentioned R. Crumb.
The author’s bio fascinated me most. Probably intended for people already familiar with her.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

We take sex too seriously now

[Audrey Kalman]

vivid! Shoutout Avery for sending me this to read.

some lines I liked:

"I hated that pillow. I wanted to be his only pillow, but I was full of bones and resentment." (65)

“PAUL MADE ME SO NERVOUS. Even if I was just going around the corner to get a loaf of bread he’d kiss me and hold me in his arms, act as if I was going around the world and he might never see me again. It was that New York City apprehension that anything might happen the minute you step out the door” (69)

“’Just like in Vietnam,’ I said, before I could stop myself. I didn't really want to discuss politics with them.” (72)

“And I got the idea that for one week we would eat everything red: meat, apples, tomatoes, and cherries, and drink each other's blood.” (82)

“Gilda Richman dragged me into my room, kissed me on the mouth, sat me down on the bed and started talking. She lisped, which made her sound as if a tiny Gilda Richman inside the big Gilda Richman were speaking.” (87)

“Such simple needs and yet they must be arrived at intricately.” (135)

“Confusing? Damn right. Is he telling me that he is dead? Was he telling me that he was dead? I may be the victim of overthink.” (144)

“My hands wandered smoothly across a muslin landscape; I tried to follow the paths of many closely woven threads and got lost.” (178)

[Sam Leppard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nearly every relationship, friendship, or chance meeting in this book is best described as varying degrees of problematic, but it makes for an entertaining and eye-opening read. A succession of strong female characters nicely oppose the cast of unlikable male characters. Had this been a work of fiction by a male writer it would leave a bad taste (and a star or two less in my rating) but the semi-autobiographical nature of the book adds a layer of intrigue and the female-gaze of the author gives even the more sordid scenes and passages some extra weight - especially as half the book is written from the POV of the male protagonist, Paul.

[James Albaum · Rating 3 out of 5]

to smitherens is a re-release of an avant garde streetwise gritty funny novel. written be rosalyn drexler a key player in the art and literature movement in new york city in the 1980's, it follows the relationship between rosa rudinsky, a physically powerful single unemployed woman, and paul, a so-so art critic with quirks of his own. they meet in less than innocent circumstance in a movie theatre. this satricical escapade in the world of woman's wrestling takes off from there. the bluntly told story features everyday working people just trying to get by. it is a wild ride and a good time.

[Glen Helfand · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts with raunchy bravado: A groper in a movie theater gets the girl. As this was written in 1972, you can picture the Times Square sleaze, Midnight Cowboy settings. Warhol in the background-- and cinema becomes the elliptical thread in the end. There's a wild bonkers edge to the book as Rosa lands in the female wrestling realm, as Drexler actually did. It's sociological with a great verve, an original voice. But the book loses steam towards the end, the characters strangely not particularly realistic, which is odd as there is a sociological, autobiographical edge. A fascinating rediscovery.

[Mag · Rating 3 out of 5]

I respect this book.
Helpful to understand it is satire and written in the 60s.
Hated the first third, got into the groove of her writing, and in the end, enjoyed it.
There is no perfect story or specific plot.
But there is a theme and a message I think Rosalyn Drexler is communicating. And in some ways I found interesting.
Read for book club, and we all had so much to talk about. Definitely a great book club book; I never would have read it/finished it without that motivation.

Three stars, because I did enjoy, would like to give 2.5…. But 2 seems not enough.

[Michaela · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Know how the earth was formed? A big explosion. God was the first Weatherman. From the Big Bang, which blew everything to smithereens, new planets formed."

An interesting read by Rosalyn Drexler about the woman wrestler, Rosa. Not my favorite novel, but intriguing...

Drexler's history is impressive! So it is lovely to see her work span into her older age, writing this novel set in New York City in the 1970s. A different time, indeed.

[B.r. Stagg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really have much to say about this book. It's getting three stars instead of two because I think it has (and deserves) a cool factor. More people should read it, though I don't know if you'll get much out of it other than a greater understanding of the 70s art scene in New York. Not through the plot but through the vibe of the book and the fact that this is the kind of thing that was interesting to people at the time. Way more sexually explicit than I was expecting!

[Taylor Nemetz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. I struggled to find a rhythm at times but there are so many gem moments and vignettes throughout that demonstrate Drexler’s wit and social perspective. It felt very fresh, despite being written in the 1970s. There is a lot to love about this book, though it did feel a bit like short stories with recurring characters as opposed to a fluid novel.

[Nicole Schonitzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much - it does a very good job writing about sex and art in way that’s exciting/weird/not cringe - two very difficult things to do. And I love how the language shifts from the coarse 1970s New York speak to really vivid, more abstract language in the characters inner monologues. Thought provoking while still being kind of light and strange.

[Ben Shakey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious! but surprisingly the lady wrestler stuff was the least compelling. I loved how all the men in the book claimed to love strong women and then sought to control her - and the best defence that she had against them was not to fight and battle them, but to dismiss them.

I never heard of Rosalyn Drexler before so thanks to HAGFISH for putting this out.

[Grace Twomey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book club book. “Trouble was, everyone I knew was a creep and every situation I got into confirmed it.” A fever dream of a book filled with mad people but even (and especially) the crazy ones among us sometimes spout genius truths. I was pretty surprised to find out at the end that it was based to some degree on the author’s real life. 3.5 stars.