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trinityforever's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this body of work as a whole for many reasons, some of which being that, as the editors highlighted in the preface and epilogue, these stories give subjectivity to trans narratives rather than making trans people objects of obstacles for character development. Narratives are also not necessarily about or centered around the detail that the narrator or protagonist is trans, it's incidental and ancillary to many of the plots.
Transness is properly conceptualized not as substantive, but methodological, it is a lens, a vantage, a perspective.
I also really resonated with the editorial intent underscored in the publisher's note at the end of the text, this text has the profound capacity to elucidate a generation of trans authors and writers and poets and to internalize the refrain 'know thy work and do it'.
I was grateful to have this text loaned to me by another trans author I highly respect, and it has led me to more seriously consider my poetic and literary perspective as a tgirlie thinking a whole hellofalot about gender and race and class and privilege and community and conflict and reconciliation. More than any other text recently this collection has inspired me to begin writing anew and to ask myself 'what's next?' and to be the one to write my response.
My personal favorite pieces:
I Met a Girl Named Bat Who Met Jeffrey Palmer - Imogen Binnie
To the New World - Ryka Aoki
The Café - R. Drew
Other Women - Casey Plett
Runaways - Calvin Gimpelevich
Transness is properly conceptualized not as substantive, but methodological, it is a lens, a vantage, a perspective.
I also really resonated with the editorial intent underscored in the publisher's note at the end of the text, this text has the profound capacity to elucidate a generation of trans authors and writers and poets and to internalize the refrain 'know thy work and do it'.
I was grateful to have this text loaned to me by another trans author I highly respect, and it has led me to more seriously consider my poetic and literary perspective as a tgirlie thinking a whole hellofalot about gender and race and class and privilege and community and conflict and reconciliation. More than any other text recently this collection has inspired me to begin writing anew and to ask myself 'what's next?' and to be the one to write my response.
My personal favorite pieces:
I Met a Girl Named Bat Who Met Jeffrey Palmer - Imogen Binnie
To the New World - Ryka Aoki
The Café - R. Drew
Other Women - Casey Plett
Runaways - Calvin Gimpelevich
lesbrary's review against another edition
5.0
This anthology is across the board very well-written, and the subject matter is far overdue. In short, I loved this book. In full, check out my review at The Lesbrary.
mxsallybend's review against another edition
4.0
Founded in 2011 as a specialty publisher focused on transgender narratives, Topside Press brings their first work to market with The Collection: Short fiction from the transgender vanguard edited by Tom Léger and Riley MacLeod.
Like most collections, this one is hit-or-miss, with some absolutely outstanding entries, as well as a few stories I admittedly skimmed through to the end. On the 'miss' side of the spine are a few bland, boring, slice-of-life stories that unfortunately tended to revolve around some sort of substance abuse. I realize the abuse is a coping mechanism, and that it's an authentic part of the life experience for some of those who live on the fringes of society, but I quickly lost patience with those stories, and was unable to generate the kind of sympathy needed to get involved with the narrative.
On the 'hit' side of the spine are those stories that have a true narrative arc, those that are genuine pieces of fiction, often charged with an undercurrent of imagination. "Black Holes" (RJ Edwards) is an interesting tale of genderqueer relationships and quantum physics - tilt your head and scoff all you like, but it works. "Tammy Faye" (A. Raymond Johnson) is a sweet fan-letter to a celebrity, thanking her not for something spiritual, but for inspiring a confidence in one's own fashion style. "The Queer Experiment" (Donna Ostrowsky) may have been a bit heavy-handed in its message about homophobia, but I quite liked the campy Victorian sci-fi element. "Masks of a Superhero" (Mikki Whitworth) is a subtle, understated story of an unusual superhero that almost sneaks up on you.
"Ramona’s Demons" (Susan Jane Bigelow) was easily my favourite story of the collection, an urban fantasy with a heart. Even if I saw a few of the twists coming, they way in which they were played out was wonderful, and I loved the message at the end about "unorthodox journeys" . . . delivered by a fire-elemental who was originally born a water-elemental. "Malediction And Pee Play" (Sherilyn Connelly) is definitely an odd story, but a solid runner-up for my personal favourite. It's a tale of sub-cultures, both gothic and fetish, involving acts of gender rebellion, fetish exploration, and satanic blasphemy. It certainly has the potential to rub some readers the wrong way, but it's the one tale that has me most curious about reading more from the author.
Like I said, it's an uneven collection, but that's likely to be the case when you have such a wide variety of authors tackling such a wide variety of genres. Fortunately, the stand-out pieces are well worth the price of admission, and you really have to admire Topside Press for what they've set out to accomplish.
As published on Bending the Bookshelf
Like most collections, this one is hit-or-miss, with some absolutely outstanding entries, as well as a few stories I admittedly skimmed through to the end. On the 'miss' side of the spine are a few bland, boring, slice-of-life stories that unfortunately tended to revolve around some sort of substance abuse. I realize the abuse is a coping mechanism, and that it's an authentic part of the life experience for some of those who live on the fringes of society, but I quickly lost patience with those stories, and was unable to generate the kind of sympathy needed to get involved with the narrative.
On the 'hit' side of the spine are those stories that have a true narrative arc, those that are genuine pieces of fiction, often charged with an undercurrent of imagination. "Black Holes" (RJ Edwards) is an interesting tale of genderqueer relationships and quantum physics - tilt your head and scoff all you like, but it works. "Tammy Faye" (A. Raymond Johnson) is a sweet fan-letter to a celebrity, thanking her not for something spiritual, but for inspiring a confidence in one's own fashion style. "The Queer Experiment" (Donna Ostrowsky) may have been a bit heavy-handed in its message about homophobia, but I quite liked the campy Victorian sci-fi element. "Masks of a Superhero" (Mikki Whitworth) is a subtle, understated story of an unusual superhero that almost sneaks up on you.
"Ramona’s Demons" (Susan Jane Bigelow) was easily my favourite story of the collection, an urban fantasy with a heart. Even if I saw a few of the twists coming, they way in which they were played out was wonderful, and I loved the message at the end about "unorthodox journeys" . . . delivered by a fire-elemental who was originally born a water-elemental. "Malediction And Pee Play" (Sherilyn Connelly) is definitely an odd story, but a solid runner-up for my personal favourite. It's a tale of sub-cultures, both gothic and fetish, involving acts of gender rebellion, fetish exploration, and satanic blasphemy. It certainly has the potential to rub some readers the wrong way, but it's the one tale that has me most curious about reading more from the author.
Like I said, it's an uneven collection, but that's likely to be the case when you have such a wide variety of authors tackling such a wide variety of genres. Fortunately, the stand-out pieces are well worth the price of admission, and you really have to admire Topside Press for what they've set out to accomplish.
As published on Bending the Bookshelf
pedantichumbug's review against another edition
I read around 8 stories from this collection years back for a class and forgot about it. I remember loving Imogen Binnie's story. Wanna come back to it this year.
caseythecanadianlesbrarian's review against another edition
4.0
I was pretty excited to pick up the anthology The Collection, which brings together quite the diverse group of writers all creating narratives, to paraphrase editors Tom Leger and Riley Macleod, featuring trans characters as protagonists, rather than comic relief, or a character used as a tool to further the plot of a cisgender main character. The Collection aims to present trans characters as agents of their own destiny. This anthology has been a long time coming, and a fantastic venue for up-and-coming trans writers, although MacLeod and Leger are explicit in that they “did not police the genders of the authors themselves, and as of the date of publication have not formally inquired about their chromosomes, their genitals, or how many trucks/dresses they own.”...
See the full review at my website: http://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/black-holes-tim-hortons-chat-rooms-and-competitive-eating-just-a-taste-of-the-random-awesomeness-that-is-the-trans-fiction-anthology-the-collection/
See the full review at my website: http://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/black-holes-tim-hortons-chat-rooms-and-competitive-eating-just-a-taste-of-the-random-awesomeness-that-is-the-trans-fiction-anthology-the-collection/
joans's review against another edition
4.0
I'm glad that this book exists, and some of the stories were wonderful. It felt like a wonderful bit of insight into how trans people see themselves in the world. Many of the stories were forgettable, though some were remarkably good/interesting/memorable.
verumsolum's review against another edition
3.0
I found this a difficult book to read as a trans woman. But it was difficult, to some extent, because it is good: it forced me to confront some of my own uncomfortable emotions and memories, even though I often try to bury them and hide them from myself.
mxpringle's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.0