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A review by catrionaturnerbooks
Conundrum by Jan Morris
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
A complicated reading experience! Her account of discovering her transgender status and navigating it as she grew up is compelling, albeit class-bound. It’s fascinating to read her explanation of the difference between sex and gender, obvious to her from a young age and in a very different time. The honesty of the narrative is endearing.
What’s harder to read in 2024 is the way she accepts the inferiority of her status as a woman with no critique at all. The book was published in the seventies, but I would say she has internalised values from an earlier time still. Understandable, but alongside the privileged (post-) colonial context that shapes a lot of her perspective, there were a lot of uncomfortable passages.
But I still think this book should be widely read for its valuable insights.
What’s harder to read in 2024 is the way she accepts the inferiority of her status as a woman with no critique at all. The book was published in the seventies, but I would say she has internalised values from an earlier time still. Understandable, but alongside the privileged (post-) colonial context that shapes a lot of her perspective, there were a lot of uncomfortable passages.
But I still think this book should be widely read for its valuable insights.