iconic, captivating, slayful

Another win for queer lit

dnf'd the last story.
bugsy and like & subscribe were absolute standouts to me

Five short stories on the longer side (around 45-50 pages each) about mental health, queerness, sex work, and the modern condition. 

I wish I would’ve liked these a bit more, the scenes are well built out and the dialogue is nice, but I think for me, personally I was turned off by the premise and plots. While some might like more “taboo” or “edgey” stories I think they aren’t necessarily for me. In one story a character drops out of college and finds solace working production in a Dominatrix porn dungeon. Another follows a newly 18-year old Twitch streamer whose obsessive fan plans to surprise her with diamond earrings. 

BUGSY & OTHER STORIES completely blew my mind in all the best ways. The title story, Bugsy, is an absolute stand-out in this literary gem. After she drops out of college due to mental health struggles, Bugsy’s life takes a turn when she befriends a group of sex workers and begins exploring her sexuality and interest in women. In my college days, I took a class about queering sex work; it still is one of my all-time favorite courses. If it was possible, I would go back in time, take Rafael Frumkin (along with BUGSY & OTHER STORIES) with me, and demand the collection be added as mandatory reading for the class. Seriously, though, this book is exemplary and I’m going to be recommending it to anyone who will listen.

In the final story, The Last Show, an old woman named Flora is in a state of half-consciousness as her health is declining. While she is existing in this limbo at the hospital, people from all corners of her past come to visit. Flora gets long-needed closure with friends and family members and gets to see her now-grown children as adolescents again. Reading The Last Show gave me goosebumps and brought me back to visiting my father in hospice care in 2021. As someone who still feels like she is freshly grieving a parent, I am so thankful this story exists. All this to say: Rafael Frumkin is a genius with words.

Anyone with an interest in queering or subverting topics such as sanity, gaming, streaming, and death will certainly find this mesmerizing collection of interest. There truly is something here for everyone. BUGSY & OTHER STORIES is one of the easiest five stars I’ve ever given.

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

The titular story "Bugsy" was probably the story that stood out the most to me, and the one that viscerally impacted me. Bugsy drops out of college, is not welcome back home with her parents, and begins working part-time to try to move forward. This was a tough read, because I really felt for Bugsy, whose birth name we never learn (the nickname Bugsy is given to them by her new employers/chosen family and she just accepts it, because she notes that so many people have said her name is "horrible"). 

Bugsy navigates depression, isolation, and generally feeling deeply misunderstood. She finds Vanessa, who inducts her into their sex work family/house , with Bugsy eventually moving in and falling in love with Stella, one of the other sex workers/producers. Bugsy explores her identity a bit, but mostly falls head over heels for Stella, while not recognizing how naive and sheltered she looks in others' eyes. I was so devastated for Bugsy's self harm and suicide attempt; it was again, very hard to read.

The other story that pulled me in was "On the Inside," which includes a short author's note at the very beginning with Frumkin sharing that as a neurodivergent person, he wanted to expose the harmful practices that impact the autistic community, especially children. I appreciated this note, and this story ends with a hopeful note of Lina, the POV we receive, in naming her humanity, rather than being a test subject or "other". 

This is my first read of Rafael Frumkin (nonbinary trans man) and I will definitely seek out more of their work!