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Pissing in a River
“An honest and genuine DIY punk-rock lesbian love story.” — Kirkus Reviews
Amanda moves to London with nothing but her guitar and her collection of punk music as the soundtrack to her every move. With the company of a few friendly voices in her head, she looks for—and finds—a best friend and new lover. She forms a band, Lesbian Raincoat, and completely rewrites the story of her life. In this irreverently funny yet profound novel, Amanda risks deportation, recalls the fervor of AIDS activism in the United States, connects to the class struggle of punk, and finds redemption in love. But she also must confront her own mental illness, her lover’s rape, and the violence of post-9/11 politics. Pissing in a River captures the glee and turbulence of surviving the cacophony of modern life.
“A love letter to the obsessions that captivated an outcast punk, politics, passion, and provocation.” —Maria Raha, author of Cinderella’s Big Women of the Punk and Indie Underground
Amanda moves to London with nothing but her guitar and her collection of punk music as the soundtrack to her every move. With the company of a few friendly voices in her head, she looks for—and finds—a best friend and new lover. She forms a band, Lesbian Raincoat, and completely rewrites the story of her life. In this irreverently funny yet profound novel, Amanda risks deportation, recalls the fervor of AIDS activism in the United States, connects to the class struggle of punk, and finds redemption in love. But she also must confront her own mental illness, her lover’s rape, and the violence of post-9/11 politics. Pissing in a River captures the glee and turbulence of surviving the cacophony of modern life.
“A love letter to the obsessions that captivated an outcast punk, politics, passion, and provocation.” —Maria Raha, author of Cinderella’s Big Women of the Punk and Indie Underground
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 19, 2014
About the author
Lorrie Sprecher
3 books8 followersLorrie Sprecher is the author of Pissing in a River, Sister Safety Pin and Anxiety Attack. She was a member of ACT UP/DC, has a PhD in English and American literature, and resides with her dog Kurt in Syracuse, New York. The punk song “It’s a Heteronormative World, No!” recorded by her band Sugar Rat appears on a compilation put out by Riot Grrrl Berlin.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 10, 2015
I liked this book in theory: punk lesbian chick-lit! Pissing in a River tracks the American protagonist Amanda as she finally meets the “women in [her] head” and creates a life for herself in London. The novel contains many essential elements of feminism, such as chosen family, safe spaces, shared power, and the fight against violence towards women, as well as LGBTQ and AIDS activism. Lorrie Sprecher is refreshingly successful at subverting the stereotype within the chick-lit genre of the co-dependent woman. Amanda displays many characteristics akin to co-dependency, but her behavior is a facet of the anxiety that stems from her mental illness, not a display of antiquated heteronormative gender roles. Less successful is the attempt to subvert the damsel-in-distress trope within the meet-cute.
The writing itself is the weakest aspect of Pissing in a River. While mental illness is adequately represented in the novel, much of the prose is corny, cliché, and frustrating. Sprecher and her protagonist are clearly well educated on all things punk, but when the characters talk about music, they simply LIST their favorite bands in block text, rather than actually having a discussion about the music, artists, and performances. After grazing over these passages, I felt as though I had cut down the length of the book by half, and that this approach to name-dropping created a hugely missed opportunity for nuance and metaphor. While I enjoyed the concepts and themes of this novel, I was not able to appreciate these aspects until I completed the much less enjoyable task of reading it.
The writing itself is the weakest aspect of Pissing in a River. While mental illness is adequately represented in the novel, much of the prose is corny, cliché, and frustrating. Sprecher and her protagonist are clearly well educated on all things punk, but when the characters talk about music, they simply LIST their favorite bands in block text, rather than actually having a discussion about the music, artists, and performances. After grazing over these passages, I felt as though I had cut down the length of the book by half, and that this approach to name-dropping created a hugely missed opportunity for nuance and metaphor. While I enjoyed the concepts and themes of this novel, I was not able to appreciate these aspects until I completed the much less enjoyable task of reading it.
August 3, 2014
Generally pretty awesome - the story is told by a lesbian punk with OCD, so obviously I was all about it. The amount of music nerdery is lovely. The writing and plot in the first half of the book was excellent, but the second half honestly read like a mediocre fan fiction it was so romantic and mushy. Which I still kinda loved, but it made me laugh out loud with how cliche it was pretty frequently.
January 11, 2015
love it when i read a book that makes me almost miss my subway stop because i'm so focused on the story! If you like dyke punk novels you won't want to miss Lorrie Sprecher's Pissing In A River! + It's probably the best writing about OCD/Intrusive thoughts/worry that I've ever read!
January 25, 2020
This book was pretty good overall. I don’t know a lot about punk rock so I didn’t know a lot of the reference. But the book felt like a story draped over the history of punk rock.
I loved the references to guitar gear. She mentioned the Boss DS-1 several times, which is one of my favorite pedals. But then she called the Ibanez Tube Screamer by the wrong name and it left me scratching my head. Sure, minor detail, and probably just a typo, but since I’m a musician and not a lesbian, it’s the only thing I can critique with any authority.
I loved the references to guitar gear. She mentioned the Boss DS-1 several times, which is one of my favorite pedals. But then she called the Ibanez Tube Screamer by the wrong name and it left me scratching my head. Sure, minor detail, and probably just a typo, but since I’m a musician and not a lesbian, it’s the only thing I can critique with any authority.
July 2, 2020
There was a lot about this book for me to like: the narrator's life span was roughly the same as my own, and the soundtrack that was constantly playing in her head included many of the bands and songs that I have loved over the years. But I had problems with some of the characters' motivations and actions, and there was a lot of the book that could have been excised, I thought. I'd give it a 3.5 rating, rounded down to 3.
January 14, 2017
This book really could have been so much better. The story line was interesting, but the writing was like a cross between a 14 year olds diary and listening to a drunk punk who really wants to convince you she's way more punk than you.
September 2, 2018
This was a great book about becoming comfortable with yourself and finding your place in the world, even if it does come in the form of hearing voices and diving deep into the punk music scene.
February 11, 2023
I promised the women in my head that I would get to England even if it killed me.
That’s the kind of sentence that rivets a reader, and that’s how Lorrie Sprecher opens her novel, Pissing in a River (the title is taken from a Patti Smith song). The novel follows Amanda, the woman with voices in her head, as she builds a life for herself as an activist and a musician and covers the period from the beginning of the AIDS crisis through George W. Bush’s war in Iraq.
The women in Amanda’s head are brown-haired Melissa and another, darker haired woman whose name Amanda doesn’t know. Both have British accents. They are supportive voices, by her side during times of crisis, and she moves to England twice—first as a study abroad student and later on a tourist visa with plans of gaining residency—at their urging.
The first part of the novel covers Amanda’s time as a study abroad student, her return to the U.S. and the years during which she pursues a Ph.D. in Literature while participating in early ACT UP demonstrations. The narrative arc here isn’t particularly strong, but it gives readers a chance to become acquainted with Amanda, to see her drive for justice, love of literature, obsessive thinking about (among other things) Old Testament themes, and her deep commitment to the art and politics of punk rock.
The novel picks up in the second half as Amanda builds relationships with both a best friend and a lover during her second stay in England. These three women are survivors of violence and who have turned to one another for the love and support that allows them to carve out space for themselves in a world determined to ignore or denigrate their political values and their identities as lesbians.
The punk rock that Amanda loves serves as a sort of sound track for the novel. She quotes lyrics and emulates the playing of her favorite guitarists. Long passages of the novel list bands, albums, concerts:
I had [my friend in London] listening to the Dils and X from Southern California; M.I.A. from Las Vegas; the Dead Kennedys, Rancid, Romeo Void, and the Avengers from San Francisco; Hüsker Dü and the Replacements from Minneapolis; Dag Nasty, Minor Threat, and Bad Brains from Washington, D.C., and the first REM album.
These constant references to both U.S. and European bands can be enlightening, but they can be demanding as well. Readers will want to pause repeatedly to hunt down samples of these artists’ works, which adds texture to the reading experience, but also feels a bit disruptive.
My feelings shifted often as I read this novel. At times I was moved by it; at other times the first-person narration felt more like summary than memory. But, having finished reading it, I find my assessment of the novel is steadily improving. Sprecher, through her characters, has wrestled with significant challenges of our time, particularly the challenge of being represented by a government one disagrees with and feels powerless to change.
The fact that the three women at the center of this novel create a family among themselves is nothing short of a triumph. This accomplishment doesn’t mitigate the violence and injustice of contemporary life, but it does affirm for readers the possibility of finding a source of support that makes acknowledging and responding to this violence and these injustices possible.
That’s the kind of sentence that rivets a reader, and that’s how Lorrie Sprecher opens her novel, Pissing in a River (the title is taken from a Patti Smith song). The novel follows Amanda, the woman with voices in her head, as she builds a life for herself as an activist and a musician and covers the period from the beginning of the AIDS crisis through George W. Bush’s war in Iraq.
The women in Amanda’s head are brown-haired Melissa and another, darker haired woman whose name Amanda doesn’t know. Both have British accents. They are supportive voices, by her side during times of crisis, and she moves to England twice—first as a study abroad student and later on a tourist visa with plans of gaining residency—at their urging.
The first part of the novel covers Amanda’s time as a study abroad student, her return to the U.S. and the years during which she pursues a Ph.D. in Literature while participating in early ACT UP demonstrations. The narrative arc here isn’t particularly strong, but it gives readers a chance to become acquainted with Amanda, to see her drive for justice, love of literature, obsessive thinking about (among other things) Old Testament themes, and her deep commitment to the art and politics of punk rock.
The novel picks up in the second half as Amanda builds relationships with both a best friend and a lover during her second stay in England. These three women are survivors of violence and who have turned to one another for the love and support that allows them to carve out space for themselves in a world determined to ignore or denigrate their political values and their identities as lesbians.
The punk rock that Amanda loves serves as a sort of sound track for the novel. She quotes lyrics and emulates the playing of her favorite guitarists. Long passages of the novel list bands, albums, concerts:
I had [my friend in London] listening to the Dils and X from Southern California; M.I.A. from Las Vegas; the Dead Kennedys, Rancid, Romeo Void, and the Avengers from San Francisco; Hüsker Dü and the Replacements from Minneapolis; Dag Nasty, Minor Threat, and Bad Brains from Washington, D.C., and the first REM album.
These constant references to both U.S. and European bands can be enlightening, but they can be demanding as well. Readers will want to pause repeatedly to hunt down samples of these artists’ works, which adds texture to the reading experience, but also feels a bit disruptive.
My feelings shifted often as I read this novel. At times I was moved by it; at other times the first-person narration felt more like summary than memory. But, having finished reading it, I find my assessment of the novel is steadily improving. Sprecher, through her characters, has wrestled with significant challenges of our time, particularly the challenge of being represented by a government one disagrees with and feels powerless to change.
The fact that the three women at the center of this novel create a family among themselves is nothing short of a triumph. This accomplishment doesn’t mitigate the violence and injustice of contemporary life, but it does affirm for readers the possibility of finding a source of support that makes acknowledging and responding to this violence and these injustices possible.
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June 13, 2022Thought it was fine but I thought it could've lost all the deets about all the shirts everyone was wearing throughout the day. I don't live for clothing descriptions ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
July 30, 2015
Like other readers, I tore through this epic chronicle of friendship, love, politics, and punk music. The main character is both rebellious and full-hearted. Her complications and aspirations read as real and relatable. Behind her seemingly impulsive, radical actions is a chronically concerned and OCD-stricken woman. The three female characters have distinct personalities; however, they're similar in how real and fully-formed their personalities are. The novel is written in such detail--complete with wonderful outfit descriptions, like shirts that say NO ONE KNOWS I'M A LESBIAN--that it feels like nonfiction. I wanted to be friends with Amanda, Melissa, and Nick, and join them in the fight against homophobia, bigotry, sexism and violence. Like Amanda, the main character, says in the first line, I almost promised "the women in my head that I would get to England even if it killed me." Lorrie Sprecher provides a playlist on her website that brings the story even more to life, if that's possible. I highly recommend the music and the novel!
June 23, 2014
Pissing in a River is absolutely worth the read. I tore through this book because I didn't want to stop hanging out with the characters, a trio of queer women punks in mid-aughts London. Lorrie Sprecher treats mental illness, joblessness, sexuality, sexual assault, and friendship with compassion and complication. This is a story in which romance flourishes between women but does not crowd out other kinds of equally important relationships and aspirations. Sprecher's narrator is also hilarious and wonderfully in touch with punk music from the Patti Smith to current, less well-known artists, and her integration of music into the narrative really works. Read this if you want a story about women taking care of each other, love music, like narrators with an unusual perspective, feel a little nostalgic for early punk, or want to hear something about totally badass punks who aren't the typical be-safety-pinned man.
April 20, 2016
Lorrie Sprecher's novel is the story of Amanda, an Anglophile American lesbian punk with OCD, who vows to voices of the 'women in her head' that she would 'get to England even if it killed me'.
And so she does, studying Literature at Exeter University in the early 80s, and returning to London in the fraught augties where she not only meets the physical manifestations of her cranial voices, but changes her life.
Through it, the test is peppered with an encyclopedia of punk history, with bands, concerts, songs and lyrics referenced in such profusion that the temptation is to pause and try to track down the music!
I gave it 3.5 starts. I liked it more than I expected. Now enjoying the EP of Sugar Rat's music on Spotify!
And so she does, studying Literature at Exeter University in the early 80s, and returning to London in the fraught augties where she not only meets the physical manifestations of her cranial voices, but changes her life.
Through it, the test is peppered with an encyclopedia of punk history, with bands, concerts, songs and lyrics referenced in such profusion that the temptation is to pause and try to track down the music!
I gave it 3.5 starts. I liked it more than I expected. Now enjoying the EP of Sugar Rat's music on Spotify!
July 23, 2014
Pissing in a River is hilarious and full of heart. The novel is a great counter to the male punk narrative, following the lives of three queer punk women. Told through the narration of the main character, Amanda, deals with mental illness, AIDS activism and sexual assault. I devoured this book because I became so invested in the love and friendship of the women. It's also a great read if you're looking to up your punk trivia knowledge. The book is filled with references to musicians, specific concerts, and the punk scene.
March 27, 2016
1000% behind the theory of this book: I mean, punk lesbians?!
And I did generally enjoy it, especially the music references and the fact that it features several friendships among queer women, which I don't think we get enough of in books. But I was incredibly confused about the passage of time and the age of the characters, and when I figured out they were in their late 30s, they just weren't believable.
And I did generally enjoy it, especially the music references and the fact that it features several friendships among queer women, which I don't think we get enough of in books. But I was incredibly confused about the passage of time and the age of the characters, and when I figured out they were in their late 30s, they just weren't believable.
November 15, 2014
I loved this book! Lorrie Sprecher is a fantastic wordsmith. I really thought I was reading non-fiction. Like these characters really existed. I felt thier struggles. They would have you realize that people are people.
September 25, 2014
I liked it. I loved the politics in it
April 23, 2015
An entertaining amateur effort of which I am perhaps more tolerant than I ought to be because I share the author's/narrator's musical tastes.
November 30, 2015
Rating it a 5 although it mostly deserves a 4. I liked the activism and the constant references to punk bands. The plot was thin at best, however, but an easy read overall.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews