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rue_baldry 's review for:
Stone Butch Blues
by Leslie Feinberg
I was quite daunted to start this novel, both because of its length and what I’d heard of the bleak and horrific contents. And certainly some appalling things happen to Jess, the protagonist of this largely autobiographical fiction, and she is miserable a lot of the time. But Feinberg’s writing drew me in and carried me along so well that neither it’s heft nor its depths put me off at any point once I’d started reading.
This book deserves to be a classic. It tells a seldom told story from within an obscure group in a little-known city at a particular point in the twentieth century. Every detail is very particular. And that helps to make its message and the experience it describes universal.
I knew that it would focus on women whose sexuality and gender appearance are nonconforming, a group who are heavily underrepresented in fiction, but I wasn’t aware of the extent to which racial and class injustice would also feature. It is a brilliant working class novel about factory jobs, lack of healthcare, trade union struggles. From early on and throughout, Jess has friends of other races whose oppression and value is highlighted. And her friends also include gender nonconforming people who were assigned male at birth, too.
There are awful people who do horrific things (generally white, cis, straight males, many of them cops), but one of the things which makes this an uplifting read is the kindness and humanity of many of the other people. Just when Jess is at her lowest, a stranger or acquaintance will be thoughtful and selfless.
At first I felt there was a narrative distance, but soon realised that the lack of emotional expression in the prose is actually an important part of the Stone Butchness of the title. And in fact that didn’t stop this being a very moving read. My eyes were damp on several occasions while reading this, which is unusual for me.
This book deserves all the accolades it has received over the years.
This book deserves to be a classic. It tells a seldom told story from within an obscure group in a little-known city at a particular point in the twentieth century. Every detail is very particular. And that helps to make its message and the experience it describes universal.
I knew that it would focus on women whose sexuality and gender appearance are nonconforming, a group who are heavily underrepresented in fiction, but I wasn’t aware of the extent to which racial and class injustice would also feature. It is a brilliant working class novel about factory jobs, lack of healthcare, trade union struggles. From early on and throughout, Jess has friends of other races whose oppression and value is highlighted. And her friends also include gender nonconforming people who were assigned male at birth, too.
There are awful people who do horrific things (generally white, cis, straight males, many of them cops), but one of the things which makes this an uplifting read is the kindness and humanity of many of the other people. Just when Jess is at her lowest, a stranger or acquaintance will be thoughtful and selfless.
At first I felt there was a narrative distance, but soon realised that the lack of emotional expression in the prose is actually an important part of the Stone Butchness of the title. And in fact that didn’t stop this being a very moving read. My eyes were damp on several occasions while reading this, which is unusual for me.
This book deserves all the accolades it has received over the years.