Scan barcode
vonrxyes's review
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
as a trans writer, scholar, and comrade, it is so rare that an author gets trans fiction right. it’s so often tailored to the childlike fantasy of early transition (which is important, but singular and stagnant), or to the voyeuristic gaze of the cis reader. rosenberg perfectly captures the violent becoming of transexuality, as well as the hunger and softness of loving and being loved as one. his use of magical realism doesn’t fictionalize the trans experience, but rather gives voice to our interconnected, ancestral transcendence. to be an “other” is not fantastical, and our joy is hard fought and achieved with each other and those who love us. i wish i could read this for the first time again and again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Excrement, and Vomit
cisgender readers, this is holy groundstormagedon's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
becksusername's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Deadnaming, Death, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
infinite_harness9030's review
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
marioncromb's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
It's an impressive book, i appreciated the anticolonialist, anticapitalist, trans centred and affirming (albeit magically rather than plausibly optimistic) lens.
I wanted to love this as much as i loved LOTE, which has similar alternate-history vibes but I just didn't. i personally found the obtuse academic style prose referencing Derrida etc in the sort of language that is only understood by philosophers to be alienating and a bit of a slog to get through. I understand that it makes sense for the realistic characterisation of Voth, and is realistic for the metapremise of the novel, but still, I didn't really enjoy the interjections/the personal story within the footnotes. I know that you don't have to like the characters to like or appreciate a work of art but it was an issue for me here. I often love the tangents of footnotes (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell my loveeeee) and i did appreciate the ways in which the stories mirrored each other. However I was half-expecting from this mirroringthe manuscript to have been written /by Voth/ due to the sheer coincidence of finding this very relatable manuscript on a niche topic they study whilstthey are having a life crisis due to their breakup. which i guess in a metatextual sense it /was/, by /Rosenberg/, but it wasnt in the world of this book which made it lack in-universe plausibility. Or maybe it was just one meta- too far for me
Another personal issue i had with the book was its idea of queerness was often too easily found though queer sex, queer bodies, more than through all ways of being/loving/not-loving that are othered by society. As an ace person i just didn't relate to the horniness in the book that was often posited as some universally relatable and transformative queer experience. This is not to say that it shouldn't have been so horny, it is an important part of the characterisation and indeed of the queerness of the book.
I enjoyed more the stories within the story: enjoyed learning about the Fen-Tigers and enjoyed the imagined paradise society of the Maroons. The little details of Jack's woodworking/technical knowledge.
I wanted to love this as much as i loved LOTE, which has similar alternate-history vibes but I just didn't. i personally found the obtuse academic style prose referencing Derrida etc in the sort of language that is only understood by philosophers to be alienating and a bit of a slog to get through. I understand that it makes sense for the realistic characterisation of Voth, and is realistic for the metapremise of the novel, but still, I didn't really enjoy the interjections/the personal story within the footnotes. I know that you don't have to like the characters to like or appreciate a work of art but it was an issue for me here. I often love the tangents of footnotes (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell my loveeeee) and i did appreciate the ways in which the stories mirrored each other. However I was half-expecting from this mirroring
Another personal issue i had with the book was its idea of queerness was often too easily found though queer sex, queer bodies, more than through all ways of being/loving/not-loving that are othered by society. As an ace person i just didn't relate to the horniness in the book that was often posited as some universally relatable and transformative queer experience. This is not to say that it shouldn't have been so horny, it is an important part of the characterisation and indeed of the queerness of the book.
I enjoyed more the stories within the story: enjoyed learning about the Fen-Tigers and enjoyed the imagined paradise society of the Maroons. The little details of Jack's woodworking/technical knowledge.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Medical content
Moderate: Death, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
el_wheel's review
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content and Abandonment
Minor: Deadnaming
frogknitting's review
challenging
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I read this for one of my classes to write my final paper, analyzing how it is a retelling of historical 18th century documents. I think it's going to be difficult.
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.Also, the end of Dr. Voth's arc, in which he goes off into a parallel timeline-type world and is living amongst aliens is CRAZY. What are we doing here. I think just leaving him to deal with his own downward spiral and beginning to understand the collaboration of the manuscript could've been really interesting, but this "plot twist" is so strange that it threw me off immensely.
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 aboutthe top surgery scene, which I do admit seems to go into the "only there to support the white protagonist" trope for Bess, but I also thought the hand-waving after was absolutely so absurd, it was hilarious. Guy is randomly like "yeah I can give you an 18th century mastectomy in this brothel," faints, and the other guy's girlfriend does it perfectly and just by reading the manual. And then he jumps up and smothers the first guy with his bleeding chest !!! WHAT!!!!!! And then he's running around perfectly fine three weeks later. I want to study this book (and I am, but unfortunately not as critically as I would like).
ALSO the end! It's a cop-out! I know that's to be expected, but I didn't care enough about the characters to groan when I read it, instead of feeling relieved.
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).
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).
Content Warnings
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
felishacb's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
This novel is an experimental, wild ride. The story features a trans and/or intersex character and is told by a trans scholar and professor. The basis of the novel is the true legend of a historical figure, a white English man named Jack Sheppard whom I had never heard of. In CONFESSIONS, Rosenberg, a trans author, queers the story and imagines Jack as a gender-expansive thief.
Footnotes tell the story of the narrator of sorts who is translating and interpreting the tale. They are also dealing with a faceless entity who wants to control the translation and treats Jacks's transness with an otherness. These layers give Rosenberg the opportunity to comment on queerness, as well as class, colonialism, and power.
Another main character based on reality is Bess who in this book is an Asian sex worker. Bess offers a safe place for Jack and teaches him more about class revolution by sharing her own family's tragic story. Her lived experience could connect with Jack's own experience of class oppression (and queer repression) and inform him on how it intersects with racism.
Although it is fiction, this book serves as a powerful reminder that trans people (and people of color) have always been here and have always been the main characters in their stories even if their history is lost or never told.
Towards the last third of the novel, I did find myself not picking this up as much. But the authors voice and perspective kept me wanting to see how this story ended and what nuggets of truth they would share.
From the book: "All history should be the history of how we exceeded our own limits."
Footnotes tell the story of the narrator of sorts who is translating and interpreting the tale. They are also dealing with a faceless entity who wants to control the translation and treats Jacks's transness with an otherness. These layers give Rosenberg the opportunity to comment on queerness, as well as class, colonialism, and power.
Another main character based on reality is Bess who in this book is an Asian sex worker. Bess offers a safe place for Jack and teaches him more about class revolution by sharing her own family's tragic story. Her lived experience could connect with Jack's own experience of class oppression (and queer repression) and inform him on how it intersects with racism.
Although it is fiction, this book serves as a powerful reminder that trans people (and people of color) have always been here and have always been the main characters in their stories even if their history is lost or never told.
Towards the last third of the novel, I did find myself not picking this up as much. But the authors voice and perspective kept me wanting to see how this story ended and what nuggets of truth they would share.
From the book: "All history should be the history of how we exceeded our own limits."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, and Kidnapping
Minor: Grief
opossumble's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Racism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Slavery, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
cosypuck's review
4.5
I much preferred the narrative about Jack & Bess to the footnote narrative about Dr Voth, but the latter didn't spoil the book for me and in some places did add to it. I didn't like that the collective group of queer editors wasn't expanded on - for the sake of how much it was touched on it could have been left out, for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Blood, Medical content, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Transphobia