''Rat Girl'' is a memoir published in 2010 by

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Kristin Hersh Kristin may refer to: * Kristin (name), a Scandinavian form of Christine * ''Kristin'' (TV series), a 2001 American sitcom * Kristin Peak, Antarctica * Kristin School, a school in New Zealand See also * Kristen (disambiguation) Kristen may re ...

, a guitarist, songwriter, and singer who has performed as a solo artist, and as guitarist/lead singer of the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Throwing Muses Throwing Muses are an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originall ...

. In the U.K., it was released with the alternate title ''Paradoxical Undressing''.

Synopsis

The book chronicles a year (1985–1986) in her life during which time Throwing Muses gained fame, signed a recording contract with 4AD, and recorded their eponymous debut album, ''

''. Other notable subjects discussed at length in the work are Hersh's friendship with actress

Betty Hutton Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg; February 26, 1921 – March 11, 2007) was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. Early life and education Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg on February 2 ...

, her much-publicized battle with a diagnosis of

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

and hospitalization, her pregnancy with her first child, and the experience of the band in the local music scenes in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

and Boston, Massachusetts at the time. The book provides further insight into Hersh's songwriting process, the internal dynamics within Throwing Muses in its first incarnation, and Hersh's childhood, including interaction with poet

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

and mythologist

Joseph Campbell Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American writer. He was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of the ...

Reception

Rat Girl was greeted warmly by critics upon release. Rob Sheffield described it in The New York Times Sunday Book Review as "''Sensitive and emotionally raw… it’s also wildly funny''". In a starred review in

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

it is described as a "''thoroughly engrossing work by an original voice''". In 2012

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

ranked it number 8 in their list of The 25 Greatest Rock Memoirs of All Time.

References

Music autobiographies {{music-bio-book-stub