Literary Lesbians
Sunday, July 20, 2008
MAY: The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse
Kira, Sal, Lisa, Loz, Lynnie, Sam and Ange (with a late appearance by Shar and special guest appearance by Laura) had a simply smashing time at this week's book group. It was a rather gay affair, and we all had a nutritious snack to calm the nerves and help us concentrate on the serious task of analysing this month's book.
Last month we all pretty much loathed the book. This month we had 100% agreement: this book was totally brilliant! We were initially caught off guard by its cheesiness but soon realised that this book was so, so, so, so much more. It’s very, very funny and extremely clever. Lisa really set the scene by calling on us all to “embrace our inner cheesiness”. Gradually, the sheer brilliance of the book crept up on us… as we read on we realised how deliberate and very witty Mabel Maney’s writing is.
There was something in this book for everybody….it was a hilarious piss-take on our favourite childhood books like Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden. In The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse, the main character was Cherry Aimless (based on another heroine from that era, Cherry Aimes) a dutiful nurse on her first vacation to visit her Aunt in San Francisco. Along the way she has many gay adventures and meets up with Nancy Clue, famous girl detective.
Sally tracked down a quote from the author, Mabel Maney, which we thought pretty much summed it all up: “For a long time I thought I wanted to be a nun. Then I realised that what I really wanted to be was a lesbian.” Slightly off topic, but fabulous nevertheless, was a similar quote Sally found by Kate Clinton, Americal political lesbian comedian: “Some women can’t say the word lesbian, even when their mouth is full of one”!
The book has a major uniform theme which appealed to our readers this month (especially Lynnie). There were nuns, nurses, policewomen.…and also a bit of detective bondage thrown in for good measure. Midge asks Cherry “How do you feel about girls in uniform?” and Cherry blushes, secretly thinking that she does find girls in uniform quite dashing! Lynnie was particularly taken by the “nursey stuff” (actually, I think we all like a good game of nurses and nurses!) Lynnie was also impressed by Cherry’s quick changes, and that she wore at least three different outfits every day!
For those of us obsessed with stereotypes and labels, there were lessons in ‘butch’. Poor Cherry, disguised in men’s slacks and shirt, was a little concerned about her cross-dressing experience. Midge explains, “No self-respecting butch would ever be seen with a purse.” “But where will I keep my lipstick?” Cherry gasped. “And who is this Butch person you’re always talking about?” Sal also loved the reference to the ‘big boned girl in a chiffon dress’ who she meets at the drag show.
Sal gave a great example of the book’s clever nuances, with veiled references to Doris Day and Greta Garbo. In one scene, Cherry recognises a woman in a bar as being a movie star, but can’t remember her name. Cherry exclaims “I know your face” as the actress gets a little fresh (or was her hand on Cherry’s thigh merely an accident?). As Cherry politely excused herself, the actress got the hint and said “Que sera sera.”
Ange loved the fact that Cherry is so naïve and yet so completely gay! She misses all the clues (no pun intended) that she is entering a world of lesbians. She just stumbles across women and finds them rather attractive, and doesn’t think twice about her desire to spend a lot more time with a number of girls she meets along the way. Sam identified with Cherry in this respect, reminiscing about her ‘very bestest friends’ from school, from whom she was inseparable. Lisa admitted that this keeps happening to her at work - visualise Lisa hanging around water cooler waiting for cute girls to come by! (Luckily Laura had not arrived yet to hear her girlfriend say this!)
Lynnie was in hysterics at all the things that Cherry carried in her purse (such as the handy rope she was able to produce just in time to tie up a bad guy). Lynnie joked that Cherry wasn’t gay, she was just ‘practical’! She loved how the nuns were all completely self-sufficient.
Lynnie also had a startling revelation: maybe her childhood hero, Trixie Belden, was gay too! Ange reveals that she always wanted to be Nancy Drew. Lynnie loved the way the girls rock up to Cherry’s mum’s house and they all hit the road, without a second thought.
Last month we all pretty much loathed the book. This month we had 100% agreement: this book was totally brilliant! We were initially caught off guard by its cheesiness but soon realised that this book was so, so, so, so much more. It’s very, very funny and extremely clever. Lisa really set the scene by calling on us all to “embrace our inner cheesiness”. Gradually, the sheer brilliance of the book crept up on us… as we read on we realised how deliberate and very witty Mabel Maney’s writing is.
There was something in this book for everybody….it was a hilarious piss-take on our favourite childhood books like Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden. In The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse, the main character was Cherry Aimless (based on another heroine from that era, Cherry Aimes) a dutiful nurse on her first vacation to visit her Aunt in San Francisco. Along the way she has many gay adventures and meets up with Nancy Clue, famous girl detective.
Sally tracked down a quote from the author, Mabel Maney, which we thought pretty much summed it all up: “For a long time I thought I wanted to be a nun. Then I realised that what I really wanted to be was a lesbian.” Slightly off topic, but fabulous nevertheless, was a similar quote Sally found by Kate Clinton, Americal political lesbian comedian: “Some women can’t say the word lesbian, even when their mouth is full of one”!
The book has a major uniform theme which appealed to our readers this month (especially Lynnie). There were nuns, nurses, policewomen.…and also a bit of detective bondage thrown in for good measure. Midge asks Cherry “How do you feel about girls in uniform?” and Cherry blushes, secretly thinking that she does find girls in uniform quite dashing! Lynnie was particularly taken by the “nursey stuff” (actually, I think we all like a good game of nurses and nurses!) Lynnie was also impressed by Cherry’s quick changes, and that she wore at least three different outfits every day!
For those of us obsessed with stereotypes and labels, there were lessons in ‘butch’. Poor Cherry, disguised in men’s slacks and shirt, was a little concerned about her cross-dressing experience. Midge explains, “No self-respecting butch would ever be seen with a purse.” “But where will I keep my lipstick?” Cherry gasped. “And who is this Butch person you’re always talking about?” Sal also loved the reference to the ‘big boned girl in a chiffon dress’ who she meets at the drag show.
Sal gave a great example of the book’s clever nuances, with veiled references to Doris Day and Greta Garbo. In one scene, Cherry recognises a woman in a bar as being a movie star, but can’t remember her name. Cherry exclaims “I know your face” as the actress gets a little fresh (or was her hand on Cherry’s thigh merely an accident?). As Cherry politely excused herself, the actress got the hint and said “Que sera sera.”
Ange loved the fact that Cherry is so naïve and yet so completely gay! She misses all the clues (no pun intended) that she is entering a world of lesbians. She just stumbles across women and finds them rather attractive, and doesn’t think twice about her desire to spend a lot more time with a number of girls she meets along the way. Sam identified with Cherry in this respect, reminiscing about her ‘very bestest friends’ from school, from whom she was inseparable. Lisa admitted that this keeps happening to her at work - visualise Lisa hanging around water cooler waiting for cute girls to come by! (Luckily Laura had not arrived yet to hear her girlfriend say this!)
Lynnie was in hysterics at all the things that Cherry carried in her purse (such as the handy rope she was able to produce just in time to tie up a bad guy). Lynnie joked that Cherry wasn’t gay, she was just ‘practical’! She loved how the nuns were all completely self-sufficient.
Lynnie also had a startling revelation: maybe her childhood hero, Trixie Belden, was gay too! Ange reveals that she always wanted to be Nancy Drew. Lynnie loved the way the girls rock up to Cherry’s mum’s house and they all hit the road, without a second thought.
Serious discussion about the role of men in the book. Sally asks “what’s with Cherry’s dad?” – he doesn’t even come and say hello when Cherry arrives home after a long absence. Kira noted that the men were all bad, unless they were gay. Loz was disgusted by how irritating Cherry’s dad was when he was sick. Ange pointed out that Cherry’s dad was probably typical of a man of that era. Lisa asked why Cherry’s brother had to be gay. Kira and Sam both agreed that it was simply because it was funny! We also cracked up about how Aunt Gert, 'who had never married', had a falling out with her brother (Cherry’s father) after she became fast friends with the town librarian, Miss Hathaway, and was found ‘napping’ with her one afternoon. Aunt Gert moved to San Franciso soon afterwards!
Some of our favourite parts of the book:
p.47
Cherry walks into a bar and tells a ‘handsome looking girl’ that she is looking for a telephone.
“I’ve got a telephone back at my place,” the girl replied, between puffs on her cigarette. “You’re welcome to it.”
“What a nice girl,” Cherry thought….A private telephone would certainly be more convenient.
“That would be great!” Cherry cried. “I don’t mean to be pushy, but can we go right now?”
The girl whistledlow under her breath. “I like pushy,” she said….
p.109
Cherry is getting up close and personal with a ‘rather attractive’ girl she has just met in a bar. The girl surveyed Cherry, looking her up and down. She whistled, a long, low appreciative whistle. Cherry dropped her coat.
“It’s a full moon,” the girl said. “You never know what will happen.”
A shiver went down Cherry’s back, for she was having that very same thought.
Cherry began to wish she has worn panties. She had decided against them so as to preserve the line of her dress, but they would be a big help right now.
The book was forgotten as Kira told us her terrifying (but funny in the safety of Australian lesbian-friendly society) story of her recent trip to Fiji with her girlfriend, when they were detained in customs after they found a dildo in their suitcase. The experience must have been really frightening, but we were soon in fits of giggles at the imagery and the ridiculousness of the whole situation. Lisa’s quote of the moment was “Hi, welcome to Fiji, and have a lei – oh no, they took that away from us!”
