I really wanted to like this book. I tried. But this wasn't so much an intersex or gender story as it was a story about family members and close frienI really wanted to like this book. I tried. But this wasn't so much an intersex or gender story as it was a story about family members and close friends who ultimately don't live up to each others' expectations. There's a lot of disappointment and unhappiness in all the major characters. And it takes place in a land that's almost perpetually cold, desolate, barren, and rough, as the author constantly reminds us. So frankly, these factors make for a really depressing read.
Ironically, although Wayne is the main character, he's the one we learn the least about. Other characters' emotions, thoughts, and motivations are fleshed out in paragraphs or through dialogue, but Wayne just seems to float through the novel, and we don't get much insight into what it's like to really be him. Despite the fact that his intersexuality was what initially intrigued me about the story, he wound up actually being rather boring. I felt like I knew his father far better, and preferred his character, as a fully developed yet flawed human being.
Additionally, there's a plot point involving Wayne that is biologically impossible. I think most people who have a basic knowledge of intersexed people would be aware of this. There's no author's note to explain her decision to use this plot point, so I don't know if she didn't do any research, or threw biology out the window in favor of a story arc, or what. But it really annoys me. I fear it will give readers a false idea about intersexed people.
A lot of reviews recommend this book to fans of Jeffrey Eugenides' "Middlesex" but that's a far superior story dealing with the subject matter and treating it legitimately....more
What shocked me most about this book wasn't the explicit fantasies -- it's that nearly all of the women telling their stories were married between theWhat shocked me most about this book wasn't the explicit fantasies -- it's that nearly all of the women telling their stories were married between the ages of 18 and 20. One 20-year-old woman, who got married at age 16, admitted to having over 30 sex partners before her marriage. And the 25-year-old divorcee with two kids, who happily claimed to have had an affair with her 13-year-old paperboy and then married him two years later?! In what state was that even effin' LEGAL, even in the 1970's??!!
I really hope that last woman was confusing her fantasy with reality, or better yet, I hope it was a typo in my edition, but jeez......more
Loading...
