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asterope 's review for:
Detransition, Baby
by Torrey Peters
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked the challenge of examining the different ideas posed by this book regarding family and motherhood. The portrayal of detransition, exploring why a trans woman would decide on that process, was fascinating too. I would have enjoyed this more without the intense misogyny though. It appears so early on, it left a lasting impression on me.
While this book does focus on the flaws and motivations of its three main characters, I had a hard time trying to separate their views from the author's messages. This was mainly down to the writing style - it devolves into lectures delivered by the character's inner voice too often. They were very indulgent rants that didn't read as organic.
It's a character-driven book, but they aren't portrayed realistically. I found this quite overwritten with lots of information dumps and explanations with too much detail. I would have preferred to see the characters working through their relationships with each other more naturally, rather than having the narrator just tell me how they're feeling.
From a personal point of view, the misogyny just really threw me for a loop. I also felt the author's handling of Katrina's race was clumsy - this seemed shoehorned in and wasn't explored in the same way gender was. Why bother then?
While this book does focus on the flaws and motivations of its three main characters, I had a hard time trying to separate their views from the author's messages. This was mainly down to the writing style - it devolves into lectures delivered by the character's inner voice too often. They were very indulgent rants that didn't read as organic.
It's a character-driven book, but they aren't portrayed realistically. I found this quite overwritten with lots of information dumps and explanations with too much detail. I would have preferred to see the characters working through their relationships with each other more naturally, rather than having the narrator just tell me how they're feeling.
From a personal point of view, the misogyny just really threw me for a loop. I also felt the author's handling of Katrina's race was clumsy - this seemed shoehorned in and wasn't explored in the same way gender was. Why bother then?