Reviews with content warning for Addiction - A Dream of a Woman

Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

A Dream of a Woman by Casey Plett

9 reviews

cailynreadsbooks's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A collection of short stories, each featuring a trans woman main character. Most of them focus on relationships and sexuality. They're all really good, but the standout for me was "Obsolution," a story that's cut up into several parts and is revisited throughout the book. The second-to-last story, "Enough Trouble," was unfortunately a bit of a slog to get through, but you may attribute this to my inability to focus. I found the main character of that one likeable & somewhat relatable (for better or worse), and it all came together in the end, so I'm not complaining.

A lot of stuff in these stories hit pretty close to home for me (which is something I often don't get out of fiction), and it quickly became obvious that this is not something I could read at work (crying while at work is a bad look, as it turns out).

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finnthehuman217's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Casey Plett is a great example of how to write fiction as a trans person. She writes characters who are complicated and have issues with alcohol. The interesting thing is that Vera who is portrayed in Obsolution and Sophie who is portrayed in the story Other Women, have both experienced nonconsensual sexual encounters with cis women sexual partners and it seems to be a theme that repeats throughout Plett’s writings, cis women are just as bad as cis men when it comes to fetishization.

The focus of Enough Trouble, Gemma is a complicated person who struggles with sobriety and her failing memory. I love Gemma because she is so honest and her scenes with Olive and Holly are so perfect because with Holly she is able to be the drunk girl with the shared faith and the similar upbringing and with Olive, somebody else who loves Ava as much as Gemma does but in a sisterly way. The mini family is so sweet and the way Gemma and Ava end up happy is my favorite ending!!!

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dazzle_spider_reader_1212's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

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booksjessreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

A Dream of a Woman is a short-story collection, largely about trans women trying to live their best adult lives, navigating complicated friendships, relationships, identity and the idea of home. I really enjoyed the way that Absolution was a longer story and intertwined throughout. For me, this was an incredible coming-of-gender story with great character arcs and developments and multi-dimensional, believable characters.

I thought Plett told her stories so vividly and the imagery used to convey thoughts, feelings and behaviours was so striking, graphic and raw. Plett does not hold back on anything - so do bear in mind that there is graphic love/sex, transphobia etc. so do check out the content warnings. In places, I also thought the audio did some of the stories incredible justice - listening to these made it even more immersive. There is absolutely no doubt that Plett is a really talented writer and writes very evocatively.

I think the thing that most let me down was the format with which I listened. Despite the audio working really well in places, I felt really disjointed between all the stories at times and I only really followed what happened with Absolution and the first story or two. Towards the end, I definitely lost the flow of the book and felt a print book would have afforded more clarity to me, personally. I think I would like to re-read this in a different format to see if my thoughts are still the same.

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thewoodlandbookshelf's review

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emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.25

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jayisreading's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

An intimate novel that explores the messiness of gender identity, I really appreciated how Plett depicted the lives of trans women in her short stories with such care and nuance. It’s as much a celebration of being trans as it is a recognition of the struggles that come with it.

I was particularly taken to the short story, “Obsolution,” which was actually broken up into parts and told between other stories, following the protagonist’s arduous journey towards discovering herself. It was a complicated story, too, that didn’t shy away from complicated topics and how this particularly impacts trans women, ranging from gender dysphoria to toxic relationships (platonic and romantic).

Something that needs to be highlighted is that this collection is very heavy on sex content, though it’s not smut. I read all these scenes more like Plett wanting the readers (especially cis readers) to get over the discomfort of trans women having sex and that it’s as much a part of their lives as it is for others. It’s not an educational moment; it’s more a coming-to-terms moment.

Much to think about in this collection, but it’s definitely an impactful one.

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pizzasprite's review

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Plett is a master of creating intimate, personable characters revolving around both cozy and challenging situations. Her characters are deeply flawed, but also so lovable and sympathetic. If I have one criticism, it's that all the short stories began to blend together after a while. I think Plett's writing really shines when she carves out enough space for her characters to really flesh themselves out, such as in Little Fish. I really enjoyed the interspersed stories of Vera, and almost wish the whole book had been just that.

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teainthelibrary's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

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abigailkokitus's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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? Yes

4.5

As is the case with all short story collections, I liked some stories better than others, but they were all lovely and very well-written. Beautiful glimpses of love, sex, intimacy, grief and loss, growth, addiction, and hope.

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