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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
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:
Yes
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
** I read this as part of trans rights read-a-thon 2024 **
This is one of the strangest novels I’ve ever read (complimentary). The whole thing is written in rhyme and organized as a set of 14 social media posts written and posted by an unnamed (until the end) narrator who details a year in the intersecting lives of several trans women in New York. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t understand that it was an homage to a Russian novel, Eugene Onegin, and I’m certain I would have gotten more from it if I was familiar with that work, but I found this really enjoyable anyway. I wouldn’t say that any of the characters are particularly likable but the rhymes are great and so fun to read and everyone is a bit of a hot mess as they search for identity and belonging and debate what it means to be in community. I’m honestly not sure what to take away, but I’m really glad I read it and would be interested in more from Cat Fitzpatrick.
This is one of the strangest novels I’ve ever read (complimentary). The whole thing is written in rhyme and organized as a set of 14 social media posts written and posted by an unnamed (until the end) narrator who details a year in the intersecting lives of several trans women in New York. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t understand that it was an homage to a Russian novel, Eugene Onegin, and I’m certain I would have gotten more from it if I was familiar with that work, but I found this really enjoyable anyway. I wouldn’t say that any of the characters are particularly likable but the rhymes are great and so fun to read and everyone is a bit of a hot mess as they search for identity and belonging and debate what it means to be in community. I’m honestly not sure what to take away, but I’m really glad I read it and would be interested in more from Cat Fitzpatrick.
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bold! Unique! Funny! Nuanced! This novel-in-verse (who even writes those anymore??) was everything I wanted and more. Composed entirely of sonnets, it's the story of a year in the lives of a group of queer trans women in NYC, complete with plenty of dyke drama: breakups, baby planning, unrequited love, u-hauling, arguments about feminist theory, parties, hook-ups, and one disastrous "community accountability process."
Don't think because this book is told in rhyming poetry that it doesn't engage in serious issues, because it does: consent, racism in queer/trans spaces, sex work, and financial insecurity. But, The Call-Out is also very funny, in a way only a knowing insider to this community could be. I laughed out loud! Cat Fitzpatrick blends comedy and tragedy beautifully. The book is an homage to Pushkin's 19th century
Russian classic Eugene Onegin, which I haven't read, but I kind of want to now?
I have never read a book quite like this. Perhaps the closest is The Golden Gate by Vikram Seth, which is another (the only other?) novel-in-verse about a group of queer friends, published in 1986. I see not surprisingly Fitzpatrick mentions it in her acknowledgements. Let's hope we don't have to wait another 30+ years for another!
Don't think because this book is told in rhyming poetry that it doesn't engage in serious issues, because it does: consent, racism in queer/trans spaces, sex work, and financial insecurity. But, The Call-Out is also very funny, in a way only a knowing insider to this community could be. I laughed out loud! Cat Fitzpatrick blends comedy and tragedy beautifully. The book is an homage to Pushkin's 19th century
Russian classic Eugene Onegin, which I haven't read, but I kind of want to now?
I have never read a book quite like this. Perhaps the closest is The Golden Gate by Vikram Seth, which is another (the only other?) novel-in-verse about a group of queer friends, published in 1986. I see not surprisingly Fitzpatrick mentions it in her acknowledgements. Let's hope we don't have to wait another 30+ years for another!
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
It’s cold, but it’s bright. It isn’t snowing.
It’s one of those days when it’s going to snow.
It’s one of those days when you’re almost knowing
something you somehow still don’t know.
A fun read with some really great imagery (I loved the seasonal aspect of it), but the ending is strangely ineffective. Like, somehow fails at either tying things up or leaving things unresolved/open.
It’s one of those days when it’s going to snow.
It’s one of those days when you’re almost knowing
something you somehow still don’t know.
A fun read with some really great imagery (I loved the seasonal aspect of it), but the ending is strangely ineffective. Like, somehow fails at either tying things up or leaving things unresolved/open.
"The Call-Out" is a comedy of manners, in verse, based loosely on the Russian novel "Eugene Onegin," about trans drama in NYC. It completely delivers on this setup. Honestly if that alone doesn't make you want to read it what the hell would? But I'll spend a little more time on this review.
A novel in verse in 2022 is ambitious. Cat Fitzpatrick is more than competent enough as both a poet and a storyteller to make it work. This novel is as funny as you would expect, but it also surprised me with how poignant it was. Some well-placed softer moments, along with insights about transness or youth or life, give us a chance to really care about the characters and hope they make it through the mess of drama they find themselves in. And that mess of drama is sad and funny and frustrating and accurate.
Communities are hard.
ARC provided by Seven Stories Press through the bookstore where I work.
A novel in verse in 2022 is ambitious. Cat Fitzpatrick is more than competent enough as both a poet and a storyteller to make it work. This novel is as funny as you would expect, but it also surprised me with how poignant it was. Some well-placed softer moments, along with insights about transness or youth or life, give us a chance to really care about the characters and hope they make it through the mess of drama they find themselves in. And that mess of drama is sad and funny and frustrating and accurate.
Communities are hard.
ARC provided by Seven Stories Press through the bookstore where I work.
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes