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A review by finesilkflower
Nevada by Imogen Binnie
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
An unusually structured two-part book. In the first part, a trans woman named Maria wanders around New York City on her bicycle, gradually accepting that her relationship, job, and time in New York are coming to a close, and musing about the condition of being trans in a way that is relatable/entertaining/validating for a trans reader (and probably educational for a cis reader, though that hardly seems to be the point; this is not a book that hand-holds, it's a book that expects you to keep up). This first section is a bit slow, although it contains some of the best imagery and philosophizing. In the second part, which takes place in Nevada, Maria meets an aimless cashier named James who reminds her of her younger self. I found the Nevada section more interesting and thought-provoking; it speaks to the trans desire to "go back in time" and convince our younger selves to realize we're trans sooner, but it also goes about as well as that probably would.
Reading this ten years after it was written, I was surprised by how modern and up-to-date it felt - trans women truly are on the vanguard of culture - and also how timeless. Although I no longer enjoy Catcher in the Rye, this book reminded me of what I loved about that book the first time I read it at age 16: it's written in a casual, chatty style, it's packed with highly specific detail, it is mostly about someone wandering around in New York, it is messy and angsty and difficult to pin down. But it's more deserving of being taught in schools.
Random Observations:
- One thing I loved but didn't note until Binnie noted it in the afterword of the 10th anniversary edition: this book is pointedly NOT about transition. It sketches, compares, and contrasts the condition of being post-transition vs pre-transition, but it doesn't cover the transition period itself. I love that because it resists cis expectations and demands, and in so doing gets to much more interesting truths than cis people can dream of.
- Also noted by Binnie, apologetically, in the afterword: the book contains some unkind swipes at trans men.
Reading this ten years after it was written, I was surprised by how modern and up-to-date it felt - trans women truly are on the vanguard of culture - and also how timeless. Although I no longer enjoy Catcher in the Rye, this book reminded me of what I loved about that book the first time I read it at age 16: it's written in a casual, chatty style, it's packed with highly specific detail, it is mostly about someone wandering around in New York, it is messy and angsty and difficult to pin down. But it's more deserving of being taught in schools.
Random Observations:
- One thing I loved but didn't note until Binnie noted it in the afterword of the 10th anniversary edition: this book is pointedly NOT about transition. It sketches, compares, and contrasts the condition of being post-transition vs pre-transition, but it doesn't cover the transition period itself. I love that because it resists cis expectations and demands, and in so doing gets to much more interesting truths than cis people can dream of.
- Also noted by Binnie, apologetically, in the afterword: the book contains some unkind swipes at trans men.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use