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infinite_harness9030's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Death, Excrement, Medical content, Blood, Gore, Emotional abuse, Confinement, and Cursing
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Classism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Animal death, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Drug use, Physical abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment
marioncromb's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
I wanted to love this as much as i loved LOTE, which has similar alternate-history vibes but I just didn't. i personally found the obtuse academic style prose referencing Derrida etc in the sort of language that is only understood by philosophers to be alienating and a bit of a slog to get through. I understand that it makes sense for the realistic characterisation of Voth, and is realistic for the metapremise of the novel, but still, I didn't really enjoy the interjections/the personal story within the footnotes. I know that you don't have to like the characters to like or appreciate a work of art but it was an issue for me here. I often love the tangents of footnotes (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell my loveeeee) and i did appreciate the ways in which the stories mirrored each other. However I was half-expecting from this mirroring
Another personal issue i had with the book was its idea of queerness was often too easily found though queer sex, queer bodies, more than through all ways of being/loving/not-loving that are othered by society. As an ace person i just didn't relate to the horniness in the book that was often posited as some universally relatable and transformative queer experience. This is not to say that it shouldn't have been so horny, it is an important part of the characterisation and indeed of the queerness of the book.
I enjoyed more the stories within the story: enjoyed learning about the Fen-Tigers and enjoyed the imagined paradise society of the Maroons. The little details of Jack's woodworking/technical knowledge.
Graphic: Sexual content and Medical content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Vomit, Xenophobia, Blood, Death, and Dysphoria
Minor: Murder, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Alcohol, Slavery, Death of parent, Classism, and Colonisation
felishacb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Footnotes tell the story of the narrator of sorts who is translating and interpreting the tale. They are also dealing with a faceless entity who wants to control the translation and treats Jacks's transness with an otherness. These layers give Rosenberg the opportunity to comment on queerness, as well as class, colonialism, and power.
Another main character based on reality is Bess who in this book is an Asian sex worker. Bess offers a safe place for Jack and teaches him more about class revolution by sharing her own family's tragic story. Her lived experience could connect with Jack's own experience of class oppression (and queer repression) and inform him on how it intersects with racism.
Although it is fiction, this book serves as a powerful reminder that trans people (and people of color) have always been here and have always been the main characters in their stories even if their history is lost or never told.
Towards the last third of the novel, I did find myself not picking this up as much. But the authors voice and perspective kept me wanting to see how this story ended and what nuggets of truth they would share.
From the book: "All history should be the history of how we exceeded our own limits."
Graphic: Classism, Death, Blood, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Abandonment
Moderate: Racism, Kidnapping, Genocide, Confinement, Physical abuse, Torture, and Homophobia
Minor: Grief
ellenigrace's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Dysphoria, Blood, Gore, Body horror, and Medical content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Transphobia
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
- CONFESSIONS OF THE FOX is one of the strangest, most fascinating books I’ve ever read. I loved the structure, with the body of the book being the “lost manuscript” and the footnotes being the professor telling his story alongside the manuscript.
- There is so much going on here, I hardly know where to start. Everything from the historical erasure of trans people to the prison industrial complex is pinpointed and torn down in a frenzy.
- For me, things got a bit muddled at the end of the book, but overall this book is well worth the trip there. Do pay attention to those content warnings though, as it’s pretty grossly graphic throughout.
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Dysphoria, Excrement, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Violence, Cursing, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Classism, Grief, Murder, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Alcohol, Deadnaming, Medical content, Xenophobia, Vomit, and Colonisation
carbs666's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Medical content, Dysphoria, Alcohol, Confinement, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Racism, and Transphobia
octopus_farmer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
Moderate: Racism and Transphobia
perpetualpages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Blood and Medical content
Moderate: Death, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Deadnaming and Vomit
bookishkoala's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Racism, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia and Deadnaming
tachyondecay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I took the manuscript because I could not help but take it once I realized it was trying to communicate something. Something just for us. And if you are reading this, then you know who I mean.… Even if I were saying … that this is a code, they will never be able to read it. There are some things you can see only through tears.
The moment I read those lines, I knew the “us” was referring to trans people. This is not just a book with trans characters and by a trans author; it is a text that comments on the need for a sense of community among trans people that acknowledges our existence throughout history. Voth believes the manuscript is a message to other trans people; he in turn attempts to find a way to safeguard and preserve that message.
Originally posted at Kara.Reviews.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racism, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, and Child abuse
Minor: Murder and Racial slurs