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Though it is not a young adult novel, Elaine Dundy's The Dud Avocado will appeal to a certain type of teenager. I was definitely that type of teenager, though perhaps it's for the best I wasn't aware of the book at the time because it might have put ideas in my head of running off to Paris right then instead of waiting until college. Then again, I never had a rich uncle to finance such a thing.

Anyway, what to say about this book, which apparently comes back into fashion every decade or so? At first I couldn't wait to get my hands on it, Francophile that I am. Then once I got into it I started to become annoyed with Sally Jay and her manic flightiness and her seemingly misguided promiscuity. Finally, my feelings circled back by the end with what I felt was a satisfying conclusion. I'm not sure I understand why this book is so lauded and continually regarded as a lost classic, but I did find it to be purely enjoyable. How can you not love a protagonist who gets lines like, "I just love sexy fat men. I really do. They make me feel so--oh gosh I don't know--so feminine. Anyway, he's a real jazzy kid, this Stefan. Full of beans."

There are certain dated aspects to the book. The above lingo, for example, contributes to its charm. The undercurrent of casual racism is an unflattering document of the past. What I'm really interested in, though, is the impact the book had when it was first published in 1958. The fore-and afterwords proclaim that it was a smash, but was Sally Jay's openness about her sexuality shocking at the time? All the sex occurs off-page, and the number of sexual partners she lists is mild by today's standards, especially for a single woman who is over 21. But for a young woman unashamedly engaging in sex without love in the uptight 1950s? There are also forays into gay bars that indicate that the relationship between the homosexual and dramatic arts communities goes way back. Was its blatant inclusion a scandal at the time? And what part was acceptable by virtue of taking place in Europe vs. America? I'm genuinely curious.

All in all, it's not my favorite book, but--the occasional librarian bashing aside--I did like it and, as I said before, there is a certain subset of teenager (girls and boys) who will just love The Dud Avocado and appreciate it for its adventurous spirit and humor. I enjoyed it for those reasons, as well as the way the protagonist redeems herself somehow in the end without the obligatory moralizing-- a grown up notion that I feel is often the true differentiator between adult and YA fiction. Sally Jay gets to continue having sex without consequences (albeit with one man) and still have a happy ending.

As for Sally Jay's quickie marriage to Max in the end, I don't think is as tidy as it seems, or that that it "saves" her. Rather, I think it's a stop on the way to her becoming who she is, an experience she will have as she changes and grows in a way that stays true to the woman the reader comes to know who goes after what she wants and lives a life without regrets.

Written material © 2007 Dawn Emerman

Comments

[emeraldtiger]

omg, I LOVED the Dud Avocado! I only discovered it a few years back, on the recommendation of someone I knew who did an exchange semester in Paris. I may, in fact, have written about this, somewhere around May or June '03. Around that time, I discovered that another blogger I knew was totally into this book, and appreciated it as a rare treasure. I know this book finally became available in print in the US early this year, and I have long heard of plans to make this into a movie, though that's old news. Anyway, I enjoyed reading your thoughts on this book...