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A review by wilt
Landlocked in Foreign Skin by Drew Huff
3.0
Delicious little novella with an interesting narration style and beautifully gross descriptions. I love books with toxic/complicated gay relationships and this definitely scratched that itch. I loved the Fisherman's POV and was immediately hooked from the very first page.
But although I appreciate what the novella tried to do with its narration style, I do think the execution was a little weak at times. And it was difficult to get a sense for the type of society that was supposedly going on beyond the Fisherman's perspective, even though its a pretty big point in the book. It threw me for a loop to see pop culture references and societal norms that were both outdated and extremely specific to modern day life happening on a moon orbiting an entirely different planet during a time period (assumedly) futuristic. I think I would have liked the antique/outdated themes of the book more if they weren't occuring right next to things like livestreaming and being an influencer. Or if that blend was introduced in a more complimentary way.
One other thing that confused me was the abundance of cissexist language across the book. I do not expect (or hope for) differently with most authors. Even in gay books the existence of trans people is rarely taken into account. And it would not have bothered me if it was because we were simply dealing with a nonhuman's perspective on language about sex traits. Or even if the fisherman's understanding of human sex organs was based solely on Isobel's biases. I would have been okay with that. But it felt strange when pronouns were a point of discussion at multiple points in the novel. And one of the main aspects the book tries to criticize about society (re: reproduction value) ended up falling flat when cissexism is still heavily reinforced by the very same character who is able to make these points because they did not grow up in this society in the first place, and therefore should not be limited by these same beliefs.
It felt like a missed opportunity to not consider the alien perspective on gender/reproduction/sex/language is all I'm saying. And more than a little dissonant.
But I enjoyed the book overall. I really liked how gross it got at times, and the pacing was enjoyable for the most part. The fisherman's POV was definitely my favorite aspect.
** I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. **
But although I appreciate what the novella tried to do with its narration style, I do think the execution was a little weak at times. And it was difficult to get a sense for the type of society that was supposedly going on beyond the Fisherman's perspective, even though its a pretty big point in the book. It threw me for a loop to see pop culture references and societal norms that were both outdated and extremely specific to modern day life happening on a moon orbiting an entirely different planet during a time period (assumedly) futuristic. I think I would have liked the antique/outdated themes of the book more if they weren't occuring right next to things like livestreaming and being an influencer. Or if that blend was introduced in a more complimentary way.
One other thing that confused me was the abundance of cissexist language across the book. I do not expect (or hope for) differently with most authors. Even in gay books the existence of trans people is rarely taken into account. And it would not have bothered me if it was because we were simply dealing with a nonhuman's perspective on language about sex traits. Or even if the fisherman's understanding of human sex organs was based solely on Isobel's biases. I would have been okay with that. But it felt strange when pronouns were a point of discussion at multiple points in the novel. And one of the main aspects the book tries to criticize about society (re: reproduction value) ended up falling flat when cissexism is still heavily reinforced by the very same character who is able to make these points because they did not grow up in this society in the first place, and therefore should not be limited by these same beliefs.
It felt like a missed opportunity to not consider the alien perspective on gender/reproduction/sex/language is all I'm saying. And more than a little dissonant.
But I enjoyed the book overall. I really liked how gross it got at times, and the pacing was enjoyable for the most part. The fisherman's POV was definitely my favorite aspect.
** I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. **