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A review by mosso
Slug and Other Stories by Megan Milks
5.0
I'm convinced Megan Milks writes for me specifically.
They capture such a specific iteration of trans being which holds space for multitudes and trans-formation. They once said in an interview, and this is a paraphrase, that they needed to explore and live in their transness in order to be able to revisit girlhood, and I think about that daily.
Milks plays with gender so skillfully, never confined to the merely human. They write about sex with a focus on expansion (while still being really hot), and I think the opening story of Slug perfectly sets that framework. At the start of each story I asked myself what is this expanding past? What must this transgress in order to do so?
They have such a range of writing style that pays specific attention to narrator age. This is captured in "Twins" where there's an expert juxtaposition of the adult tone of "Allison's Lament" and the chapter book language of "Pleasantville Twins #199: Abducted!" without losing character consistency. I find their ability to write about "adult" themes in the tone of children's books one of my favorite qualities of their writing. In "Earl and Ed" they oscillate between speaking through metaphor and just saying it outright in a way that lends humor to the piece. Every piece is funny. I could speak about each story in depth, but go read this book. The last story, "Patrick Gets Inspired," is such a wonderful conclusion a la "Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body." I loved that parallel. I love this work. I'm excited to continue to follow their career.
They capture such a specific iteration of trans being which holds space for multitudes and trans-formation. They once said in an interview, and this is a paraphrase, that they needed to explore and live in their transness in order to be able to revisit girlhood, and I think about that daily.
Milks plays with gender so skillfully, never confined to the merely human. They write about sex with a focus on expansion (while still being really hot), and I think the opening story of Slug perfectly sets that framework. At the start of each story I asked myself what is this expanding past? What must this transgress in order to do so?
They have such a range of writing style that pays specific attention to narrator age. This is captured in "Twins" where there's an expert juxtaposition of the adult tone of "Allison's Lament" and the chapter book language of "Pleasantville Twins #199: Abducted!" without losing character consistency. I find their ability to write about "adult" themes in the tone of children's books one of my favorite qualities of their writing. In "Earl and Ed" they oscillate between speaking through metaphor and just saying it outright in a way that lends humor to the piece. Every piece is funny. I could speak about each story in depth, but go read this book. The last story, "Patrick Gets Inspired," is such a wonderful conclusion a la "Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body." I loved that parallel. I love this work. I'm excited to continue to follow their career.