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Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion
Moderate: Child death, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Suicide attempt
Minor: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment
Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Miscarriage
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting
I'm not sure Andrew Joseph White knows what running stitch is.
This book has a compelling premise behind it – a gothic novel set in a sinister Victorian Sanitarium in a world where ghosts are real and spirit mediums form the elite Speaker Society (at least, cis male ones do), following an autistic trans boy who has been imprisoned there to be 'fixed' so he can become the perfect wife. However, I found the execution to be somewhat lacking.
Protagonist Silas Bell has a remarkably modern understanding of his own gender and sexualty for a kid from the 1880s, and it seems like he cannot be allowed to be 'wrong' (morally speaking) for longer than a few sentences, before, in a remarkably self-actualised inner monologue, he corrects himself.
For example: early on in the book, Silas reacts callously to news of his sister-in-laws miscarriage – a reasonable, if flawed, response given Silas's own fear and discomfort surrounding his own ability to become pregnant and the fact that he is in imminent danger of being forced to bear children. For Silas, who constantly dreams of performing a hysterectomy on himself, losing a pregnancy is a positive thing. But a sentence or two later Silas, with remarkable perspective and evenness for a sixteen-year-old trying to escape being married off as a brood mare for magic children, remarks to himself, and the audience, that it's unfair to be jealous of her, and that he doesn't hate her, but what she represents ("like she is a metaphor, not a living person")>
Andrew Joseph White's tendency to write his characters with this level of self-awareness with regards to their own feelings, identities and biases is somewhat less noticeable in his other novels, Hell Followed With Us and Compound Fracture, both of which are set reasonably close to the modern day. I found this type of writing clunky but excusable in those, but it's particularly egregious when the inner monologue belongs to a character in Victorian England whose idea of his trans identity (and Daphne's) and sexuality come miraculously close to modern-day ones without explicit using the words transgender or bisexual.
Worth noting also, then, that Silas, while facing the full force of upper-class Victorian misogyny, transphobia, and ableism, is very much still an upper class, white, subject in the core of the British Empire. Colonial violence is brought up, occasionally, when it conveniences the story to do so, and Silas, of course, unable to be wrong for a second, immediately recognises it as immoral. Similarly, class oppression within Britain is hinted at through the concept of indentured Speakers, those with the ability to pierce the Veil but not the social standing to do so as full-fledged members of the Society, and specifically the character of the groundskeeper. And similarly, Silas carries no class prejudice despite his upper-class upbringing.
Now I'm not saying that I wish the protagonist was racist or classist – more that his complete lack of prejudice speaks to a broader trend of not allowing the character to be wrong or biased or have outdated views about himself or others, even at the expense of the 'historical' element of 'historical fiction'. Perhaps, though, towards the beginning of the book Silas could have been shown to have internalised ideas from his parents about non-white and/or working class people (perhaps of the men being savage brutes prone to assaulting any white woman they see, in contrast with the 'civil' misogyny of the upper class + white cisman), and then later on encountered one such person (or people) and found that they were in fact kind, compassionate, decent people, challenging (and for the sake of simplicity correcting) his bias. As a moment of character growth. I don't know.
A lot of the side characters were written somewhat one-dimensionally (as was Silas at points – how many surgery-related metaphors can one book pull off?), though I consider this kind of excusable for a YA book. Charlotte's consistent characterisation as 'pick-me bitch' and nothing else was grating – I think she deserved some redeeming moments of compassion for her fellow 'patients', particularly towards the end.
Pretty much every cis man character fell into the exact same archetype of violent misogyny, and while I'm not looking for any of them to be outspoken feminists or anything, it would be less boring if they were misogynistic in different ways and to varying degrees. Perhaps it would be nice for Silas to have a positive or even neutral figure of masculinity and manhood to model his manhood off of aside from the abstract concept of James Barry. (Maybe that's George?)
All of this criticism aside, there is plenty to enjoy about this book. It has a compelling setting and premise (even if tone and atmosphere is sometimes sacrificed by clumsy writing, and the plot could have done more with the premise in my opinion). In many places the prose is genuinely beautiful to read – the metaphorical rabbit in Silas's chest is a part cularly interesting device – and despite my complaints I did love and care about the characters, and saw some of myself in Silas.
Overall a mixed bag, though this book is making me really want to steal the entire idea and rewrite it to suit my own tastes. Alas.
Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Pedophilia, Grief, Pregnancy, Dysphoria
Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Outing, Colonisation, Classism
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Lesbophobia
Minor: Drug use, Kidnapping, Colonisation
the characters are really captivating, and this is the first romantic relationship in white’s books that i felt attached to. i think that the portrayal of the t4t relationship was beautiful, and it’s not something that i come across a lot in books, especially between a trans man and a trans woman.
despite the twisted and horrific narrative, the themes are something that every trans and neurodivergent person can relate to—the pressure of conformity, the betrayal of someone we trusted being like everyone else, and feeling like society would take us apart muscle by muscle, vein by vein, in order to consume as as “palatable.”
i also appreciated how white interweaves how a trans man can still identify with femininity, as that is what the world forces on him, and the infantilization of trans men being “confused” resonantes with today’s political environment.
as always, white creates a world that captures the rage of trans people and turns it into an unimaginable power that leaves me wanting more.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Rape, Suicide, Vomit
Minor: Ableism
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Ableism, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Transphobia, Blood, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Sexual harassment
Minor: Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Suicide
Silas Bell on paper has a lot; He’s from a rich family, a hopeful surgeon, and able to control the veil connecting reality to the spirit world because of his purple eyes... As a trans man in the 1880s however, it is not safe to present as anything other than female, and with increasing pressures to marry a man and produce an heir with ‘the gift’, Silas has had enough. After being caught in an act of rebellion, Silas is diagnosed with Veil Sickness- an ailment that only affects women- as they are corrupted by the powers they were bestowed, or so they say.
Sent to an institutional school that specialized in rehabilitating young women with the sickness using unorthodox methods, things start to go awry as Silas realizes that girls are going missing, and the headmaster of the school seems to have a suspicious number of haunted items in his storage. Banding together with his newfound allies, Silas begins to unravel the truth of the school- even if it may kill him doing so.
Truthfully, while I was a big fan of AJW's other books beforehand, when it came to 'The Spirit Bares Its Teeth', I had always been hesitant to pick it up, and had pretty low expectations for it- despite knowing nothing about it. So, if anyone has ever needed a sign to not judge a book before giving it a chance, PLEASSEEE let me be it for you.
This book took me out of a slump; It made me excited to get on the bus in the morning so I had an excuse to read. It had me properly organizing my studying schedule, so that at the end of the day I had time to pour into reading. It even had me re-downloading Goodreads to write my first ever review, because I couldn't imagine not spreading my love for it out there. I hadn't even finished the story before I started a frantic search for more updates regarding the authors newest projects. It has been three days and yet still I am left astounded by the impact it has had over my life. Basically, I adored every word of this book.
'The Spirit Bares Its Teeth' was an experience unlike any other I've ever had while reading, and made me realize why I have always loved the fantasy and horror genre so much. Every page had me enraptured, and the descriptions left me gasping out loud in public. The medical gore at times had my head spinning, and a others left me in awe for minds like Silas’. The depictions of female rage- and the revolting actions that women are pushed to so they are not left living a life they cannot stomach- were so disturbing that, in a twisted way, they became a comfort.
Perhaps I am a biased audience- I am a queer, neurodivergent AFAB science student that has always loved the grotesque, and have been made to question if that is 'womanly' before- but AJW perfectly sums the fury of living in a society where minorities actions are scorned, while people doing worse in power are praised. Silas Bell is not a mad women in need of fixing, but a trans man who does not fit into the expectation of his time. The other girls are not broken, but casualties of a misogynistic society, who fail to see them as more than future wives and mothers. The cast of characters are predominantly female- and even when they are written explicitly as an antagonistic character, you can't help to sympathize for them. Mary, Isabella, Charlotte, Louise and Mrs. Forrester are all victims in the same rite as Silas, and we explore the many paths a person can take when they are held victim of their body, and left fighting for any chance at survival.
Particularly, as a queer reader, I really valued the struggle Silas had between his own gender expression, and his guilt for being seen as an oppressing figure. It is a struggle prevalent still in the community, and so getting to see Silas work it out in his own mind, even in the 1800s, and finally find comfort in his decisions was wonderful. This is equally the same with his attitude towards marriage and children, and I felt like AJ handled it exquisitely. The topics of misogyny and transphobia, class issues and ableism are, in my opinion, easily digestible, in a way that I feel is very appropriate for the targeted age range. Additionally, the language and writing style used weren't overly challenging, while still being engaging, as well as descriptive enough to genuinely leave me breathless.
So, this story did mean a lot to me. And I don’t think I can be normal about it ever again. Thanks AJ.
TLDR; I would do anything to read this book again for the first time. If you like gore, trans guys fighting for their life and female rage in the form of angry spirits, then I couldn’t recommend it enough.
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Dysphoria