A review by xymosfraoula
Mrs S by K. Patrick
5.0
2 ways to review this book
1. An incredibly emotional and thorough look at butch masculinity, lesbianism in general! What love is what QUEER love is. K Patrick's prose is DELECTABLE and the moments of romanticism they focus on feel so intimate and lovely I kept turning phrases over n over on my tongue. A book about navigating identity and the loneliness needing to be seen can be associated with, and what it means to grow thru that loneliness. "I am changing, I have always been changing" is a disgustingly profound sentence Especially delivered when it was delivered. The minimalistic punctuation works very very well as a literary choice. I may be biased (in a butch way) in saying this but I was so immersed in the story and the characters, they all felt so alive in their carefully detached description. Choosing an all girls school, the symbolism of the roses as a beacon of heterosexuality (keeping this review spoiler free but the early chapters and how the protagonist and Mrs S interact w them makes me go insane especially hard), the dead author and what she represents decided by others. The Housemistress and how her presence grew and shifted throughout the book. Her PRESENCE as depicted, in general. Queer teenage girlhood and the way society tries to hammer it into shape, unsuccessfully. Each chapter with its VERY OWN symbolism, nothing accidental, nothing out of place. Such a poetic novel I am deeply sad i finished it. Butch Masculinity that was so tender in its depiction it made me feel not alone. Beautiful.
Or
2. God, the fucking. Let me tell you about the fucking. Esoteric butch horniness at its best. Femmes and butches and they're FUCKING. Described in the most toe curling way possible. I read the back half of this book at the beach and there were multiple points I felt the need to hurl myself in the sea to calm down. God bless
1. An incredibly emotional and thorough look at butch masculinity, lesbianism in general! What love is what QUEER love is. K Patrick's prose is DELECTABLE and the moments of romanticism they focus on feel so intimate and lovely I kept turning phrases over n over on my tongue. A book about navigating identity and the loneliness needing to be seen can be associated with, and what it means to grow thru that loneliness. "I am changing, I have always been changing" is a disgustingly profound sentence Especially delivered when it was delivered. The minimalistic punctuation works very very well as a literary choice. I may be biased (in a butch way) in saying this but I was so immersed in the story and the characters, they all felt so alive in their carefully detached description. Choosing an all girls school, the symbolism of the roses as a beacon of heterosexuality (keeping this review spoiler free but the early chapters and how the protagonist and Mrs S interact w them makes me go insane especially hard), the dead author and what she represents decided by others. The Housemistress and how her presence grew and shifted throughout the book. Her PRESENCE as depicted, in general. Queer teenage girlhood and the way society tries to hammer it into shape, unsuccessfully. Each chapter with its VERY OWN symbolism, nothing accidental, nothing out of place. Such a poetic novel I am deeply sad i finished it. Butch Masculinity that was so tender in its depiction it made me feel not alone. Beautiful.
Or
2. God, the fucking. Let me tell you about the fucking. Esoteric butch horniness at its best. Femmes and butches and they're FUCKING. Described in the most toe curling way possible. I read the back half of this book at the beach and there were multiple points I felt the need to hurl myself in the sea to calm down. God bless