Reviews

I went back and forth on whether this was a two or three star book.

It's really cool that this book exists. Not just that it's a graphic novel with a trans point of view, but it's focus on sex work is also much needed in comics. The art, while not a style I particularly enjoy (think the furry comic "Genus"), was well-done. It just never fell into a narrative structure I could care about. It's not quite a series of interconnected stories, and it's not a singular story about one character. I think it needed another set of editing eyes to help nudge it in one of those directions.

It felt like most of the really important parts of the story were missing. That if the author wanted me to care about the characters, particularly the protagonist, I needed to see the moments omitted from the book, the relationship with the girlfriend before the transition, the decision to transition. It's weird that a comic this personal, and this direct feels so...guarded. It showed all of the sex, and the high drama consequences but didn't show the human moments that would have made the characters more sympathetic. This might have been totally intentional, it just didn't work for me.

I'm still going to pick up whatever Boydell's next project is, as this really seems like, with the right editor, this could have been an amazing book.

I would recommend it for people looking for graphic novels featuring sex workers, those who enjoy reading books from unfamiliar perspectives, fans of Genus, and those who like films and literature that plays around with narrative in a way that some people don't find satisying.

meggsntoast's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

danikass's review against another edition

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3.0

The Pervert is a series of really heartbreaking, raw stories about being a trans sex worker, which really cuts deep despite how fast it is. I just can't get over the fact that there were times it felt like Arthur porn, which is something I want nothing to do with, even if I like the underlying story.

nonsensesinger's review against another edition

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1.0

This book is more simplistic in its drawing and coloring than the cover portrays. It is very to the point ; about a sex worker who is in the middle of transitioning, trying to navigate personal identity whilst being in the middle of a MAJOR life change. As our protagonist defines their own gender and gender presentation for them self, their work is either put at risk or enhanced as...in sex work people are either hiring her for being a man or a woman OR, in the case of her client she bonds with the most, being exactly who she is. This book is explicit (don't let the animal cartoon characters fool you) and complex dealing with issues of self identity, sexuality for sale and the pain of being in the business of pleasuring other people. The title of the book is...never addressed really, I would say. I don't know to whom it refers, actually but perhaps it is that way to allow the reader to infer the pervert to be any of these characters or them self for being a voyeur, fly on the wall in this world.

julitaf's review against another edition

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4.0

There is not really a review I can write that would adequately describe or encapsulate the experience of reading this graphic novel. This is the story of life as a trans sex worker and an exploration of identity. How do you see yourself, know yourself, when you are constantly metamorphosizing in order to survive? This story is not glamorous; it is not romanticized. It is graphic and brutal, difficult to read and even harder to process, and it is so so important.

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