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2.98k reviews for:
Stone Butch Blues: 20th Anniversary Author Edition
Leslie Feinberg, Leslie Feinberg
4.67 AVERAGE
2.98k reviews for:
Stone Butch Blues: 20th Anniversary Author Edition
Leslie Feinberg, Leslie Feinberg
4.67 AVERAGE
From a technical perspective, this is a bit of a disaster--almost reads more like an anthology or collection of short stories rather than a cohesive fictional narrative, strangely paced, unrealistic and often cringey dialogue, weak prose, and sparsely described yet ancillary side characters who are too often developed by trope-based archetype binning. For these reasons and for these reasons alone I cannot award this book 5 stars.
And yet it remains one of the most special, beautiful, and impactful novels I've read in recent years. The richness of Jess's growth, the love and community that she cyclically leans into and away from, the pain that she both wears on her sleeve and hides in her most secluded recesses, the tears upon tears upon tears upon tears that are continuously rendered at the perfect intersection of masculinity and tenderness (i.e. butchness), the iterative beauty of multi-generational chosen family care-giving (), and finally, though perhaps most foundationally, the depth of class commentary, specifically the permeating strength of blue collar grit that is arguably the only reason for Jess' survival... it's a stunning, messy, chaotic tapestry of the life and lives of those that are so often unknown, so judged, so cast aside, so exploited, yet so perfectly unique, complex, and beautiful. No amount of rambling can capture just how special this book is. There's a review on here that I think best describes exactly how I feel at the moment: "In a lesbian's life there's a before reading Stone Butch Blues and [an] after, [when] you close the book [and hold] it close to your heart." -Aster
And yet it remains one of the most special, beautiful, and impactful novels I've read in recent years. The richness of Jess's growth, the love and community that she cyclically leans into and away from, the pain that she both wears on her sleeve and hides in her most secluded recesses, the tears upon tears upon tears upon tears that are continuously rendered at the perfect intersection of masculinity and tenderness (i.e. butchness), the iterative beauty of multi-generational chosen family care-giving (
Spoiler
Though I will say, the ending with Scotty and Kim absolutely decimated me
when i was younger and my feelings for women first started showing up, it never even crossed my mind that there could openly and happily be “people like me”. i’ve been taught that i was wrong, “people like me” deserved the punishments the world gave us and i should never end up like that because if i did, whatever i got would be my own fault. whenever i heard about how much “people like me” have suffered, i thought it proved what everyone else was saying was correct. the only way i can escape this was by marrying a man and being exactly what God ‘intended’ me to be.
but i could never imagine that among all that suffering, there was a history of resilience and most importantly, hope. don’t get me wrong, it’s not a magical, wonderland story where if you just stick to it, the world is better. “people like me” were forced to be resilient. we had no choice but to have hope and persist on in secret. our fight is far from even being close to over. it doesn’t just end with gay marriage or being able to see “representation” on the screen. but the fact that i can say that people before me have taught, lived, found happiness and loved despite it all, in hopes that someday, some random girl like me could live in a world that’s better than theirs fills me with so much hope and drive to continue on.
this book was not an easy read, there were moments where i felt utterly miserable and filled with an unspeakable amount of rage (i cannot stress this enough how much i despise cops) but i would not take back reading this for the world. i’m just truly unable to put together a coherent review on this book. at the end, i feel connected with people that will never know i existed and that’s fine but the fact that i’m able to thank them for building my identity and for showing me what true resilience looks like, is enough for me.
but i could never imagine that among all that suffering, there was a history of resilience and most importantly, hope. don’t get me wrong, it’s not a magical, wonderland story where if you just stick to it, the world is better. “people like me” were forced to be resilient. we had no choice but to have hope and persist on in secret. our fight is far from even being close to over. it doesn’t just end with gay marriage or being able to see “representation” on the screen. but the fact that i can say that people before me have taught, lived, found happiness and loved despite it all, in hopes that someday, some random girl like me could live in a world that’s better than theirs fills me with so much hope and drive to continue on.
this book was not an easy read, there were moments where i felt utterly miserable and filled with an unspeakable amount of rage (i cannot stress this enough how much i despise cops) but i would not take back reading this for the world. i’m just truly unable to put together a coherent review on this book. at the end, i feel connected with people that will never know i existed and that’s fine but the fact that i’m able to thank them for building my identity and for showing me what true resilience looks like, is enough for me.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
No
informative
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
BIG BIG WARNING:
This book is not easy to read. The violence isn’t always graphic, but it’s overwhelming in sheer volume.
That being said: i generally enjoyed my time reading this book.
This book is not easy to read. The violence isn’t always graphic, but it’s overwhelming in sheer volume.
That being said: i generally enjoyed my time reading this book.
what i loved:
- the letter in the beginning (that starting letter got me through some of the harder parts to read, particularly in the first third of the book.)
- the last few chapters (ROADTRIP, ROADTRIP, ROADTRIP!!!) I love that it ended on a hopeful note!
- i liked ruth
- some of the descriptions of the butches/the love Jess has for them (very tender and vulnerable)
- UNIONS!!!!!!!!! (That's Jess's glove)
- overall vibe: Heartwrenching at times but sooooooooo good!
Things i didnt like quite as much:
- a lot of the characters felt interchangable and 2 dimensional( i often forgot who is who)
- how the violence felt like it was there just to be there and how for the first third of the book it was either that something terrible happened or Jess was having a good time just for something terrible to happened (after a while it felt a little repetitive)(almost stopped reading because ove how many timess people were raped)
I will be honest i probably wouldn't have stuck with it if this wasnt lent to me by one of my best friends. It took me three months to read it and i think that was the perfect pace for me to process everything and ultimately enjoy the story.
This was a hard read for me but nontheless a very rewarding one. <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence
Moderate: Child abuse
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
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
Heart-wrenching; I weeped throughout and yet completed it with a lingering sense of hope amidst all the pain of this story. This was honestly really challenging to read at times, not because it wasn't well-written (the total opposite), but because it was so agonizing to continue witnessing the abuses and hurt that our protagonist Jess endures. And yet it always comes back to love, strength, and solidarity with those in community that saves us. Wow wow wow.