Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Any Other City by Hazel Jane Plante

4 reviews

jayisreading's review against another edition

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4.5

When I found out that Hazel Jane Plante had another novel coming out last year, I was thrilled. I absolutely loved her debut novel, so I had high hopes. I admit that I didn’t love Any Other City as much as Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian), though that isn’t to say that I thought it was bad by any means (quite the contrary). Plante delivers a compelling story about messy trans feelings and beautiful trans worldmaking through a fictional memoir written by a trans indie rock musician, Tracy. Process is at the center of this novel, whether it be the process of songwriting, healing from trauma, or trying to make sense of gender and sexuality. Process is not straightforward, which is demonstrated in the nonlinear narrative of this fictional memoir. Process is also not clearcut, and the goal is frequently hidden, even lost. I would definitely say that this was done deliberately because trans life can be difficult to follow. However, part of the process is trusting it, and Plante asks the reader to have faith in her, in her protagonist, in trans women, and to hear her/their story/ies. 

I truly look forward to Plante’s next piece of writing, whatever that may be, because I know she will continue to deliver something heartfelt and stunning.
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imrereads's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Plante is such a strong writer. I absolutely loved her debut, and this really got me as well. The characters in this book are so bright and well crafted. So many of them felt like people I could have known. This is a fictional memoir about a trans musician split into two parts; A side and B side, where the first takes place in the 90s and the second in present time, and it succeeds in what it's attempting to do. Sometimes I don't quite buy what is happening, but that just further convinces me of fictional memoir and the unreliable nature of telling ones own story. At it's core this is a story about trauma, healing and community, and there were several passages that hit me like a punch in the gut.

This book is significantly more sexual than I expected it to be, and that I generally prefer to read, but it felt narrative more than erotic, so it never felt like too much despite there being a lot of it. 

My one real complaint, is that I often struggled with time and place. We more quite a bit in time, between past and further past (and very rarely present) and I found the timeline challenging to keep up with. I also have no idea where the book took place, I don't think it was mentioned? I feel like that's context that would have helped me when I felt confused. 

Mostly I felt very impressed with Plante's talent. I can't wait for her next book.
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lrgluck's review

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emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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planning2read's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
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