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quilledword 's review for:
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth
by Andrew Joseph White
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“the spirit bares its teeth” is a visceral novel about the medical horrors that occurred in victorian england and the men that let them occur. white weaves together themes of identity and repression with ghosts and what happens when the oppressed haunts the oppressor.
the characters are really captivating, and this is the first romantic relationship in white’s books that i felt attached to. i think that the portrayal of the t4t relationship was beautiful, and it’s not something that i come across a lot in books, especially between a trans man and a trans woman.
despite the twisted and horrific narrative, the themes are something that every trans and neurodivergent person can relate to—the pressure of conformity, the betrayal of someone we trusted being like everyone else, and feeling like society would take us apart muscle by muscle, vein by vein, in order to consume as as “palatable.”
i also appreciated how white interweaves how a trans man can still identify with femininity, as that is what the world forces on him, and the infantilization of trans men being “confused” resonantes with today’s political environment.
as always, white creates a world that captures the rage of trans people and turns it into an unimaginable power that leaves me wanting more.
the characters are really captivating, and this is the first romantic relationship in white’s books that i felt attached to. i think that the portrayal of the t4t relationship was beautiful, and it’s not something that i come across a lot in books, especially between a trans man and a trans woman.
despite the twisted and horrific narrative, the themes are something that every trans and neurodivergent person can relate to—the pressure of conformity, the betrayal of someone we trusted being like everyone else, and feeling like society would take us apart muscle by muscle, vein by vein, in order to consume as as “palatable.”
i also appreciated how white interweaves how a trans man can still identify with femininity, as that is what the world forces on him, and the infantilization of trans men being “confused” resonantes with today’s political environment.
as always, white creates a world that captures the rage of trans people and turns it into an unimaginable power that leaves me wanting more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Rape, Suicide, Vomit
Minor: Ableism