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2.94k reviews for:
Stone Butch Blues: 20th Anniversary Author Edition
Leslie Feinberg, Leslie Feinberg
4.67 AVERAGE
2.94k reviews for:
Stone Butch Blues: 20th Anniversary Author Edition
Leslie Feinberg, Leslie Feinberg
4.67 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
I did not want this book to end. It had become a ritual, a manifesto of life, love, and pain to reflect on daily identity. An important read as well to realize we must not take for granted the freedoms of expression we live out today thanks to the fighting and struggle thoughtfully represented in this novel.
honestly I'm speechless... reading this was like getting punched in the gut repeatedly. feeling grateful to those who came before us and proud to be a lesbian<3
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As always, review in catalan and in english:
CAT
Aquest llibre s’emporta les 5 estrelles per vares raons:
Partim de la base que és una història gairebé autobiogràfica, molt inspirada en la vida real de Leslie Feinberg. La història ens mostra la realitat del moviment queer dels anys 60, 70 i 80’s sobretot des d’una perspectiva que s’ofereix poc als mitjans: la perspectiva d’una lesbiana butch. Avui en dia, les noves generacions de persones queer coneixem la història del moviment i les violències que patien en aquell moment, però gairebé sempre se centra en les vivències dels homes gais. Com a lesbiana, poder veure un trosset de quin tipus d’experiències tenien les dones lesbianes, i sobretot les dones butch en aquell moment m’ha fet connectar molt amb totes les que van lluitar abans de nosaltres.
A ‘estar centrat en un personatge butch, es posa també com a tema central l’expressió de gènere i els rols que s’aplicaven a les etiquetes com butch i femme. Sovint es veuen discursos de què les identitats dissidents i no binàries són tonteries, invents del moviment queer actual. Històries com la de stone butch blues mostra clarament que aquestes relacions tan complicades amb el gènere fa anys que existeixen, l'única diferència és que no existia el vocabulari que tenim avui en dia.
Pel que fa a escriptura, tot i ser un llibre prou llarg, es fa super ràpid de llegir. A l’estar escrit en primera persona et fiques molt a dins dels pensaments i els sentiments de la protagonista. És un llibre d’aquests en els que passen moltes coses i no passa res alhora, en el sentit que simplement segueixes la vida d’un personatge, i no pas una trama amb un nus i un desenllaç definits. Aiò també ha fet que el llibre passés ràpid, perquè connectes moltíssim amb la protagonista i pateixes per ella i t’alegres per ella i simplement vols continuar llegint per saber què li passa.
Tot i que empatitzis i connectis amb la protagonista, el llibre també et fa reflexionar i a posar-te en contra seva. No totes les seves accions o paraules són bones, i en algunes ocasions no he estat gens d’acord amb la manera en la qual estava actuant. Tot i que he entès per què. Això també et porta a reflexionar sobre la situació, o pensar com ho hauria encarat jo.
També dir que totes les escenes d’agressions i atacs de qualsevol tipus han estat difiils d’encarar, però he apreciat que no siguin gratuïtes. Totes tenen un context i un paper important en el desenvolupament de la història i del personatge.
I per acabar, mencionar que en llegir les notes de l’autora sobre els drets, beneficis i permisos de traducció he apreciat el llibre i a la Lesllie Fieberg encara més. M’alegra molt poder tenir la seva obra a l’abast, i em sap greu que morís abans que el seu nom arribés a les meves orelles.
ENG
This book gets 5 stars for several reasons:
We start from the premise that it is an almost autobiographical story, very inspired by the real life of Leslie Feinberg. The story shows us the reality of the queer movement of the 60s, 70s and 80s, especially from a perspective that is rarely offered in the media: the perspective of a butch lesbian. Today, new generations of queer people know the history of the movement and the violence they suffered at that time, but it almost always focuses on the experiences of gay men. As a lesbian, being able to see a little bit of what kind of experiences lesbian women had, and especially butch women at that time, has made me connect a lot with all those who fought before us.
Being focused on a butch character also places gender expression and gender roles that were applied to labels like butch and femme as a central theme. We often see discourses that dissident and non-binary identities are nonsense, inventions of the current queer movement. Stories like the one in Stone Butch Blues clearly show that these complicated relationships with gender have existed for years, the only difference is that the vocabulary we have today did not exist.
In terms of writing, despite being a fairly long book, it is super quick to read. Being written in the first person, you get very much into the thoughts and feelings of the main character. It is one of those books in which a lot of things happen and nothing happens at the same time, in the sense that you simply follow the life of a character, and not a plot with a defined climax and resolution. This also made the book go by quickly, because you connect very much with the character and you suffer for her and rejoice for her and simply want to continue reading to find out what happens to her.
Although you empathize and connect with the protagonist, the book also makes you reflect and oppose her. Not all of her actions or words are good, and on some occasions I did not agree at all with the way she was acting. Although I understood why. This also makes you reflect on the situation, or think about how I would have dealt with it.
I should also say that all the scenes of violence and attacks of any kind have been difficult to face, but I appreciated that they are there for a reason. They all have a context and an important role in the development of the story and the character.
And finally, I should mention that reading the author's notes on the rights, benefits and permissions of translation has made me appreciate the book and Leslie Fieberg even more. I am very happy to have her work within my reach, and I am sorry that she died before her name reached my ears.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
so ein wichtiges buch <3
hat queere und trans* kämpfe der vergangenheit ganz intensiv nachspürbar gemacht - leben wir jetzt in einer zukunft, für die es sich gelohnt hat zu kämpfen?
enby/trans* lesbians have always existed and have fought for our rights!
hat queere und trans* kämpfe der vergangenheit ganz intensiv nachspürbar gemacht - leben wir jetzt in einer zukunft, für die es sich gelohnt hat zu kämpfen?
enby/trans* lesbians have always existed and have fought for our rights!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Dysphoria
Moderate: Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Outing
dark
emotional
inspiring
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence
Moderate: Suicide
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book is so beautiful- I can't put into words all it's meant to my queer, trans, lesbian little heart to read this. I feel so seen and understood and feel I have a deeper appreciation for all the butches, queens, and trans people before me. I feel so held by this book. This book has so much heart break and pain and love in it. Uuuuuuugh. I'm in love. Reading this heartbroken adds another layer. Reading it during violent times and declining rights adds another. It feels like this book was about me and my friends in another life. This book means a lot to me and I'm so grateful
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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
I stared far back into my past and remembered the child who couldn’t be catalogued by Sears. I saw her standing in front of her own mirror, in her father’s suit, asking me if I was the person she would grow up to become. Yes, I answered her. And I thought how brave she was to have begun this journey, to have withstood towering judgments.
[…]
Who was I now—woman or man? That question could never be answered as long as those were the only choices; it could never be answered if it had to be asked.
it’s the embodiment of the baldwin quote, “you read something which you thought only happened to you, and you discover that it happened 100 years ago to dostoyevsky.” this book gave me language for my gender that i’ve been desperately seeking—it’s a hand through the fog of the past, a link between lost generations, a moment in which you can be seen in your euphoria as much as your despair. jess is a gloriously well-intentioned yet flawed narrator, and feinberg spares no suffering while crafting this time capsule of community and loneliness. you read jess’s life knowing real people lived it. the same goes for every side character.
i don’t think i quite have the words to describe how much reading this has meant to me. like jess, i’m longing for that butch language. happy pride, y’all.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The gratitude I have for this book is something I struggle to articulate. Thank you.