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The Girl Must Die: A Monster Girl Memoir
This is for the Real McCoy Monster Girls--not because they WANT to be--but because they need to be. For some it's a calling, their actions directed by an unknown force. For others, it's in their blood. The DNA that has been passed down from The Beginning of Time, back when tiny people lived in transistor radios, vaginas had teeth, and Neanderthal Monster Girls squatted through The First Supper, leading to the tantrums and quiet tensions of post-modern dinner tables of today.
This is for the ones who must white-knuckle it through polite society. We eat sugar-free nothing, for we are Granular. Unrefined. Evil. There's no "on/off" switch, no safety net, no do-overs or practice throws. You have one chance, and one chance only, like a fearless tightrope walker. One mis-step and you'll plummet into the gorge of mediocrity.
"More manifesto than memoir, Lopez is longing for another cultural shift, for our entire society to go through a rite of passage. 'The girl must die,' she tells us, so that the woman can live. Lopez wants the culture that is currently in love with girlishness, Brazilians and Barbie blondes like Paris Hilton, to rediscover the loud, inappropriate woman.
"The Girl Must Die is heavily illustrated with Lopez's artwork, mixing graffiti, tattoo and comic-book styles with wild abandon. Her writing is a similar amalgam of breathless tirade, stream of consciousness, aphorism and traditional autobiographical narrative. The result is a call to arms. 'Do whatever it takes to finally grow up and have a full slice of pie, because we need you and all that you know.' She wants to rally the monster that lives in every girl."
-Jessa Crispin, NPR
Erika Lopez wrote books like Flaming Iguanas for Simon & Schuster before she hit the skids and ended up on welfare. Some say it's because she's mean. Some say it's because she's loud. Some say it's because she told people to get her books at the library. Regardless, she's back and taking her rightful place at the head of the rickety kid's table with the prettiest little brick of a book she's ever made. Its existence is a metaphor for coming out of hell clutching a handful of flowers. It's about white-knuckling it through a seemingly endless tour of The Abyss, and realizing that whatever doesn't kill you will eventually turn you on.
This is for the ones who must white-knuckle it through polite society. We eat sugar-free nothing, for we are Granular. Unrefined. Evil. There's no "on/off" switch, no safety net, no do-overs or practice throws. You have one chance, and one chance only, like a fearless tightrope walker. One mis-step and you'll plummet into the gorge of mediocrity.
"More manifesto than memoir, Lopez is longing for another cultural shift, for our entire society to go through a rite of passage. 'The girl must die,' she tells us, so that the woman can live. Lopez wants the culture that is currently in love with girlishness, Brazilians and Barbie blondes like Paris Hilton, to rediscover the loud, inappropriate woman.
"The Girl Must Die is heavily illustrated with Lopez's artwork, mixing graffiti, tattoo and comic-book styles with wild abandon. Her writing is a similar amalgam of breathless tirade, stream of consciousness, aphorism and traditional autobiographical narrative. The result is a call to arms. 'Do whatever it takes to finally grow up and have a full slice of pie, because we need you and all that you know.' She wants to rally the monster that lives in every girl."
-Jessa Crispin, NPR
Erika Lopez wrote books like Flaming Iguanas for Simon & Schuster before she hit the skids and ended up on welfare. Some say it's because she's mean. Some say it's because she's loud. Some say it's because she told people to get her books at the library. Regardless, she's back and taking her rightful place at the head of the rickety kid's table with the prettiest little brick of a book she's ever made. Its existence is a metaphor for coming out of hell clutching a handful of flowers. It's about white-knuckling it through a seemingly endless tour of The Abyss, and realizing that whatever doesn't kill you will eventually turn you on.
- GenresMemoir
473 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2010
2 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 12, 2010
I'm soooo shocking you couldn't possibly understand me. I'm so shocking that all I can talk about is how much I want to be raped and how much I want to suck dick, and I'm damn good at it. I'm so shocking that I'm a middle class white man who turned into a half puerto rican girl on welfare. I am the fucking most shocking of the shocking and you just don't get me.
You know what's depressing about this book? Erika Lopez can write. She seems intelligent enough, well spoken, and well educated, but somewhere along the line she decided that she was one of those super cool street kids who while they might be completely normal on the outside they are so utterly and totally fucked up on the inside that no one gets them and it's just not fair. It's almost too bad it isn't a teen book because I think you might actually be able to sell the "I'm so different and no one really gets me not even my readers cause I'm so shocking" crap to teens. The problem with adults is that I look at that and I see a lie. Here is the thing, if you are different and interesting that will come through if you just tell your story as yourself. If you are busting your ass to try and seem shocking that comes out in overworked prose and distancing the reader.
In short, I think erika lopez hypothetically could write a really good book, but I don't think she will ever being willing to be exposed enough to do so.
addendum: props to Jeffrey Hicken the book is fucking beautiful.
You know what's depressing about this book? Erika Lopez can write. She seems intelligent enough, well spoken, and well educated, but somewhere along the line she decided that she was one of those super cool street kids who while they might be completely normal on the outside they are so utterly and totally fucked up on the inside that no one gets them and it's just not fair. It's almost too bad it isn't a teen book because I think you might actually be able to sell the "I'm so different and no one really gets me not even my readers cause I'm so shocking" crap to teens. The problem with adults is that I look at that and I see a lie. Here is the thing, if you are different and interesting that will come through if you just tell your story as yourself. If you are busting your ass to try and seem shocking that comes out in overworked prose and distancing the reader.
In short, I think erika lopez hypothetically could write a really good book, but I don't think she will ever being willing to be exposed enough to do so.
addendum: props to Jeffrey Hicken the book is fucking beautiful.
September 26, 2010
I've been waiting a good 10 years for Erika's return to novels, and this was more raw and "real" than anything I could have ever imagined. Some of the content had me gasping or cringing at some points, which just means it did its job at getting me emotionally involved and responding.
Not for the faint of heart, but when was Erika ever?
The approach to these past experiences is refreshing - no regrets, no victims, and a different way of acknowledging and accepting that our pasts and life experiences make us who we are.
Not for the faint of heart, but when was Erika ever?
The approach to these past experiences is refreshing - no regrets, no victims, and a different way of acknowledging and accepting that our pasts and life experiences make us who we are.
November 2, 2012
>This book isnt about being 'shocking' or controversial. Its about life treating you like shit and then turning around and selling that manure to farmers. Its about laughing at how shitty and uncontrollable life is instead of jumping into traffic. Its about aging and irrelevance.
Definitely not everyones cup of tea, but some of us prefer coffee anyhow
Definitely not everyones cup of tea, but some of us prefer coffee anyhow
April 22, 2021
The Girl Must Die is along the lines of a manifesto pressed on you in a less-opulent part of town by a person having a conversation with invisible interlocutors... only this manifesto is dirtier and possibly more artistic. The crazy-person vibe is probably one of the things the author was going for.
As for the point(s) Eriquita was trying to make, well, it remained kind of fuzzy. (Something about womaning-up, refusing to regret?) I'm unclear partly, I'm sure, because I did not have the patience to parse out the message betwixt all the absurd (yet often charming) metaphors and the filthy, filthy smut. I've been wanting to read this book for quite some time--I was an early admirer of Lopez's work--but I've always either been broke or unwilling to give Amaz0n money when I thought of it. I'm afraid The Girl Must Die does not live up to Lopez's earlier, more novel-like books. It's an excessively long rant. (While the previous works were fictional, they contained an acceptable low-to-moderate percentage of ranty content so it isn't exactly a surprise.) The illustrations are, as always, enjoyable. Perhaps a more fully comic-book-style format might work for Lopez (and also help her abbreviate some of the ranting).
As for the point(s) Eriquita was trying to make, well, it remained kind of fuzzy. (Something about womaning-up, refusing to regret?) I'm unclear partly, I'm sure, because I did not have the patience to parse out the message betwixt all the absurd (yet often charming) metaphors and the filthy, filthy smut. I've been wanting to read this book for quite some time--I was an early admirer of Lopez's work--but I've always either been broke or unwilling to give Amaz0n money when I thought of it. I'm afraid The Girl Must Die does not live up to Lopez's earlier, more novel-like books. It's an excessively long rant. (While the previous works were fictional, they contained an acceptable low-to-moderate percentage of ranty content so it isn't exactly a surprise.) The illustrations are, as always, enjoyable. Perhaps a more fully comic-book-style format might work for Lopez (and also help her abbreviate some of the ranting).
December 5, 2024
Glad that this book exists, and Erika Lopez persists.
And you too, you will find your place in this warped world. Hang in there.
Also glad that Fear and Loathing (and other works, but I definitely felt Hunter S flavor here) popped the cork on savagely steaming stream of conscious writings. I actually really dug her drawings, and as for the rantings....I think the latter half of the book sort of settles in, while still seething. And yes many times conflicting, conflicting with self and everyone else.
I did not call the phone number listed inside. But thought about it.
And you too, you will find your place in this warped world. Hang in there.
Also glad that Fear and Loathing (and other works, but I definitely felt Hunter S flavor here) popped the cork on savagely steaming stream of conscious writings. I actually really dug her drawings, and as for the rantings....I think the latter half of the book sort of settles in, while still seething. And yes many times conflicting, conflicting with self and everyone else.
I did not call the phone number listed inside. But thought about it.
December 27, 2012
Comics, rants, quotes, confessions, axioms - all organized under the banner of memoir - form a sweet little brick of a book that is capable of kicking your ass and then picking you up off the floor. If you're a creative person (especially a creative woman) trying to honor your art and your life and figure out what the hell you DO with all of that while everyone around you seems to be cracking up, giving up, or crashing and burning all around you, this book is literally capable of saving your life. At the very least, it will make you feel less afraid and insane, and will probably inspire you with it's audacity. If I had money, I would buy this book for every deserving woman I know.
Parts of it are "shocking;" but hell, so is LIFE. Shock tactics are useful for artists because they jar people and make them actually think.
Parts of it are "shocking;" but hell, so is LIFE. Shock tactics are useful for artists because they jar people and make them actually think.
Read
March 22, 2013DNF, no rating. I must not be the target audience for this, because it just came off as disorganised, self-contradictory babble. I can't really sympathise with the author's apparent struggles or the strange places she takes the tenuous thread of narrative.
Maybe it all got explained or wrapped up or tied together somewhere, but I simply couldn't finish this "book" (maybe "collection of loosely related beat poems" would be a more apt, if not concise, moniker for it).
Like I said, I'm probably just not "getting it", but that's most likely because I have a low tolerance for "art-house bullshit" that I can neither connect to nor be entertained by.
Maybe it all got explained or wrapped up or tied together somewhere, but I simply couldn't finish this "book" (maybe "collection of loosely related beat poems" would be a more apt, if not concise, moniker for it).
Like I said, I'm probably just not "getting it", but that's most likely because I have a low tolerance for "art-house bullshit" that I can neither connect to nor be entertained by.
January 20, 2011
Somewhat abrasive at times, but I enjoyed it.
May 15, 2011
"Whatever doesn't kill you will eventually turn you on." - Erika Lopez MY NEW MOTTO!
Read
May 29, 2011weird.
June 2, 2011
It just wasn't for me. It was interesting, but it didn't keep my attention for longer than a few pages at a time.
July 17, 2011
this book was universally hated by feminist book club
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews