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A review by moonyreadsbystarlight
Little Fish by Casey Plett
emotional
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This has been on my TBR for quite a while and I honestly don't know how I've only just now read it. It's messy queer lit fic with little plot and lots of theme - definitely the kind of book for me.
The story starts when Wendy goes back to her Mennonite grandparents' small town to go to her grandmother's funeral. While there, she gets a call from a family friend who can no longer keep her late grandfather's secret queerness to herself. The speculation of the details of this secret and the nature of his queerness stays in the background as Wendy's life continues. Through the mundane details of her life, we see Wendy navigate alcoholism as she encounters several big life events. Some things are resolved eventually and others aren't, but I think this tension (or lack thereof in some cases) makes it feel more real.
As we see these events unravel, there is so much going on thematically. Many issues that lots of trans women face are brought up in the plot but even beyond that, there is discussion of transness, community, queer time, religion, family, and so much more. The most compelling thing to me, aside from the realness and vulnerability of the story, are the thematic elements (hence why today's experiment with picture editing features a theme word cloud). This is one that I think I could read multiple times and piece together more of what it has to say each time.
The story starts when Wendy goes back to her Mennonite grandparents' small town to go to her grandmother's funeral. While there, she gets a call from a family friend who can no longer keep her late grandfather's secret queerness to herself. The speculation of the details of this secret and the nature of his queerness stays in the background as Wendy's life continues. Through the mundane details of her life, we see Wendy navigate alcoholism as she encounters several big life events. Some things are resolved eventually and others aren't, but I think this tension (or lack thereof in some cases) makes it feel more real.
As we see these events unravel, there is so much going on thematically. Many issues that lots of trans women face are brought up in the plot but even beyond that, there is discussion of transness, community, queer time, religion, family, and so much more. The most compelling thing to me, aside from the realness and vulnerability of the story, are the thematic elements (hence why today's experiment with picture editing features a theme word cloud). This is one that I think I could read multiple times and piece together more of what it has to say each time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming