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becksusername's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Deadnaming, Death, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
el_wheel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content and Abandonment
Minor: Deadnaming
frogknitting's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I wanted to like this book so, so badly. It's a trans historical fiction, it's supposed to be in the style of Pale Fire, it's funny and academic, but none of these really worked in the text and, as such, didn't work for me. The main thing is that this book doesn't use theory as a way to drive a story, but a story as a way to explain theory. This could work, if the story was tight enough and enjoyable so the reader could really appreciate the theory. This is not that story — both of the stories were all over the place, and I never felt like any of the characters were very fleshed out. Jack is a trans swindler who loves having sex with childhood trauma — but what is he like? Is he funny or suave; is he challenged in any way with his worldview? Not really. Neither are any of the side characters. I wanted to like Bess so much, but she also had little outside of her backstory and relationship to Jack: no personality or character. I saw a reviewer say that the characters in this are more dolls to move around so that the plot can progress forward and then the theoretical discussions can continue, and I agree with that.
This book is also just very, very sexual. I'll admit I'm somewhat of a prude, but mentioning how good you are at having sex and how much you want to have sex every other page (not an exaggeration) is such a bore and an annoyance. The way that both Jack and Dr. Voth talked about women headed into the misogynistic, objectifying zone, and although I certainly don't think they needed anyone to finger-wag and say "This isn't good!! You need to stop this!" having both of your main characters approach women the same way without their views ever fluctuating is pretty grating.
There's also certainly something to be said about how every character of color exists only to support Jack and risk their lives for him, without any seeming reason. I think it's good that they didn't have any "oh the white character is learning to not be racist anymore :) isn't he great?" parts, but in refusing to flesh out the characters and give them personalities and deep backstories (aside from Bess), the book is still tokenizing them to an extent, at least in my opinion.
Oh, by the way — if you're squeamish around urine, do not read this book. There's a lot of discussion of urine, both sexual and medicinal.
I saw a lot of complaints about
I know throughout I kept referring to other reviews, but I basically had to make sure I wasn't the only one who was being driven absolutely crazy by this book. I think its publicity coasted a lot on "trans historical fiction! Academia and theory!" but it doesn't have much else (nor is the theory done well enough to feel like it's not a hobbling-together of different ideas).
Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Deadnaming, Racial slurs, Sexism, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Murder, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
- CONFESSIONS OF THE FOX is one of the strangest, most fascinating books I’ve ever read. I loved the structure, with the body of the book being the “lost manuscript” and the footnotes being the professor telling his story alongside the manuscript.
- There is so much going on here, I hardly know where to start. Everything from the historical erasure of trans people to the prison industrial complex is pinpointed and torn down in a frenzy.
- For me, things got a bit muddled at the end of the book, but overall this book is well worth the trip there. Do pay attention to those content warnings though, as it’s pretty grossly graphic throughout.
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
katiewhocanread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Medical content
Moderate: Deadnaming and Racism
Minor: Mental illness and Racial slurs
perpetualpages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Blood and Medical content
Moderate: Death, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Deadnaming and Vomit
bookishkoala's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Deadnaming and Transphobia
bookstolivewith's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I wish this was a book that had been taught in a college course — and I would urge professors, especially those who teach classes that involve discussions of gender and sexuality, to teach it. There is an unbelievable amount to discuss here.
On one hand, it’s a “found” novel that explores the concept of communal writing and memory. It also unpacks sexuality and gender, both in the 18th century and in the 2010s. The footnotes not only include real-life and modern references, but jointly tell the story of the “transcriber” and their struggles alongside the struggles of the fictional characters they’ve found. The manuscript explores the rise of capitalism in England and how it insidiously twists inside every single aspect of life, even death itself. No stone is left unturned here, and all of it is done through beautiful written prose that is as emotional as it is intellectual.
I would highly recommend reading this one, although I will warn you that the manuscript itself can be tricky to read, full of English cant and old words. I’m still trying to figure out the right words to express how I feel about Confessions of the Fox, and in some way, I suspect that it’s the author intention to have the book defy labels and summaries and something so simply said as a single word. However, I do feel that it will probably be one of the most important books I’ve read in a while.
Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Vomit