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Judith Rossner

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Looking for Mr. Goodbar Kindle Edition

by Judith Rossner (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 411 ratings

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Based on a harrowing true story, the groundbreaking #1 New York Times bestseller, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, is a story of love, power, sex, and death during the sexual revolution of the 1970s.

Theresa Dunn spends her days as a schoolteacher whose rigid Catholic upbringing has taught her to find happiness by finding the right man. But at night, her resentment of those social mores and fear of attachment lead her into the alcohol-and-drug fueled underworld of singles’ bars, where she engages in a pattern of dangerous sexual activity that threatens her safety and, ultimately, her life.

Looking for Mr. Goodbar is “uncommonly well-written and well-constructed fiction, easily accessible, but full of insight and intelligence and illumination” (The New York Times Book Review). With more than four million copies in print, this seminal novel—a lightning rod for controversy upon its publication—has become a cultural touchstone that has forever influenced our perception of social rebellion and sexual empowerment.

Print length

291 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Simon & Schuster
Publication date

July 1, 2014
File size

2233 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Judith Rossner (1935–2005) was an American novelist, most famous for the bestseller, Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1975).A lifelong New Yorker, her books centered around the themes of urban alienation and gender relations.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00GEEB0FK
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Reissue edition (July 1, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 1, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2233 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 291 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1476774722

Best Sellers Rank: #257,357 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #516 in Single Women Fiction
- #719 in Classic Literary Fiction
- #841 in Classic American Literature

Customer Reviews:
4.1 411 ratings

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4.1 out of 5

411 global ratings

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Max Tomlinson

A powerful novel about the dark side of sexual liberation

Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2021

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Looking for Mr. Goodbar

The dark side of sexual liberation rears its ugly head in Judith Rossner’s 1970s novel about a schoolteacher whose nights spent cruising New York singles bars lead to fatal consequences. Based on actual events, Looking for Mr. Goodbar might seem familiar to Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood,” but the exception is that the characters remain sympathetic, even the murderer (somewhat), but most of all Teresa Dunn. Set up for a life of sexual exploitation by a predatory teacher early on, her self-confidence is further impacted by a physical disability that eats away at her, leaving her self-destructive and often cruel, particularly with her hapless suitor James. Even so the reader can’t help but appreciate her honesty, as brutal as it is at times. If it seems as if I’m giving too much away, I’m not: the story is set in classic noir structure with the murder upfront and Teresa’s story following, leading to a harrowing finish that I thought was masterful. The writing is strong and immediate, boiled down for maximum effect with no pretensions. The dialogue is real. A powerful novel and one that might not be written today, with its unblinking perspective.

7 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

A Must Read, If You Can Take a Big Dose of Reality

Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2016

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There is a lot of ambivalence surrounding this book, even into the second decade of the 21st century.

The writing is excellent. The straightforward telling of a fictionalized true story that was not easy to tell in 1975, with no bias, is amazing for a book written 40 years ago, let alone today. And a polarizing story it was and is. It seems that as soon as women and sex wind up together in any story, true or fiction, people take one of two positions: blame the victim, or point out the fact that she did a whole lot less than men of the era were doing, and paid a price that usually only women pay. Attitudes are much the same today as they were 40 years ago. (As in the posters that say "I can't believe I still have to protest this s**t.)

After seeing the movie when it was first released, I ran all the way back to my apartment located four blocks from "Teresa's", and locked all the locks. As the book makes clear, we lived in the birth-controlled twilight between Woodstock and HIV. Women were making our own livings, supporting ourselves, and living alone in numbers never seen in any previous generation. We had jobs that used to be "men only". Sex was often casual; we were entitled. But we also knew the realities of things that were not often discussed publicly - battering and violence against women, stalking (there was not even a word for that in 1975), character assassination from men who wanted to ruin our social standing and careers for whatever reason. We knew that we were not completely safe. The "summer of love" was over.

Teresa and her sister walk us through what was a frightening terrain at times as they both struggle to find the place where they fit into the world around them. It was much more likely that Teresa would have lived through all this, rather than being slaughtered. The fact that she did not, and the reasons why may be debated for many years to come.

7 people found this helpful

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Diann Mazurek

Great price

Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2024

Just what I expected

Not Much to Write Home About...

Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2018

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For many years, I’ve heard about Looking for Mr. Goodbar, which has since become a household phrase. I knew what it signified, or at least, in part, what I believed it meant. I was a kid when the movie came out and I had heard through the grapevine of those parents who allowed their children to venture to the silver screen to see it, that it was a true story of a woman who perused bars for men to engage in sexual activity resulting in one-night stands. Fast-forward to 2018—you can imagine my surprise when I saw this novel was listed on Bookbub and I decided to download it and read at a later date. Welp, that date was now. I couldn’t wait to find out what all the hoopla was about?

After getting into the story of Theresa, I quickly learned that Rossner took creative licenses and wrote a story based off the real-life murder of Roseann Quinn. Miss Quinn was a twenty-seven year old who did what Theresa did by hanging out in random bars picking up men and sleeping with them without any form of protection. And I have to say, I’m really not sure how I feel about this novel.

Of course, Looking for Mr. Goodbar was a critically acclaimed novel and New York’s Best Sellers back in the ‘70s bringing about much talk and discussion and then made into a number one movie starring Diane Keaton. I remember watching the film much later when I was in my late teens, and I thought it was exciting, but that was because I believed the movie adaptation I viewed was truly based on the story of Theresa. Well, that’s what I get for thinking!

Unfortunately, I didn’t like this book. I found it to be extremely boring and drawn out on the same ‘ole same. I found the story to be sort of ironic, especially seeing as how Theresa starts out as this good girl and too shy for her own good. It took her professor to bring her out of her shell and ultimately led to her sexual exploration, humiliation and untimely death. What really angered me with the story is the stupidity of Theresa. My goodness, how could she just sleep with any ole Joe Smoe without any protection whatsoever? And we wonder why Aids is prevalent in our society today and a countless other STDs floating among the sexual pool? Sheesh!

I found this story very lackluster. It wasn’t anything to write home about in my opinion. I’m not exactly sure how this book was ranked critically acclaimed? Perhaps because of its content in its hay-day, but I wasn’t amused. In all fairness to Rossner, based on the way we live today and the things we see on film and read in books, this story really pales in comparison. It’s almost corny, if you will. I think the biggest let down for me was learning this story I’ve heard so much about forever in a day turned out to be based on a true story. Hmm, not sure where I was at, but I was always under the impression this story was about a real person. Oh well, the message certainly wasn’t lost on me, though.

I’m not sorry I read the story. It had its interesting moments. I can at least cross this one off my list.

19 people found this helpful

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Brian St John

Dark and entertaining

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2016

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This is a classic piece of American literature for very good reasons. It's well written, yet accessible. It has complicated characters, yet the narrative isn't so dense as to leave the reader wondering.

It's a VERY dark piece of literature and not for the light-hearted. I love it and highly recommend it, but keep in mind that it's not a hopeful or positive book.

5 people found this helpful

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Zeba Attek

Don't expect this to be "True Crime"

Reviewed in Germany on February 18, 2024

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Rossner never talked to anyone who knew the real murder victim Roseann McQuinn. To be frank, I think it's highly problematic she used a real case as a hook for her novel.
Her book has a strong literary concept: to depict a young woman who doesn't thrive on sexual liberation. Hurt and wounded by her first lover (her professor at college) who coldly dropped her, she shields herself to never get hurt again. She yearns for sex and sleeps around but avoids anyone she might become attached to.
Alright, that's a portrait of a very special individuum (no peers, no friends) and Rossner has in mind to show her fatal search for one night stands. It's tragic to follow Theresa, the main character, spiralling down. Sex and weed is available in abundance but she's so fixated on keeping control and regarding the sexual act as a gymnastics exercise with benefits (orgasms) that she is in no way liberated or happy.
It is a sad story and in my eyes a clear testimony of the late 60s/early 70s where some women felt obliged to follow the zeitgeist and later felt abused.
Judith Rossner is a brilliant writer. It's brilliant how she writes about the intense ambiguous relationship between Theresa (ugly duckling) and her sister (swan) and about the egoistically calculating professor (although I didn't like this part one bit cause Theresa is victimized right from the start). That's why the book gets 5 stars although I bought it because it was supposed to be "based on a harrowing true story" and I expected something totally different. To put it straight: Apart from her faith, the number of siblings, her professional training, her scoliosis and her brutal death there is NOTHING based on the real case. If you want to read about the 70s in New York and how normal people try not to be square - go ahead. But hands off if you're a true crime fan.
Women who pick up men in bars sure are vulnerable and at risk - that hasn't changed over the decades. The rest of the plot is strongly time-related but a literary treat.

One person found this helpful