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A review by luluwoohoo
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
☀️☀️
A queer, rambly tale that is more character study than story, but without any likeable characters, the journey isn't rewarding or overly insightful.
With a concept that is intriguing but staggeringly unrealistic in execution, we're presented with the possibility of a three parent relationship to help raise an unexpected child. That solution is laughable from the start when you've gotten to know the characters, and it only gets stranger from there. And when the plot drops off at the end...why bother delving into the depths of gender exploration without finishing off the arc?
The three main characters are all presented as different degrees of unlikeable. None are meant to be paragons of womanhood or transness. But despite knowing that I simply couldn't find reasons to root for any of them, even in a dark, ironic way.
The fetishisation of male violence and the easy acceptance of cheating were where this novel totally fell apart for me. Those lifestyles and kinks do exist, but within the context of this story they felt like deeply inappropriate customs to apply to cis-centric womanhood. And the repetitive glaring takes on gender certainly didn't help either - willing to get their hands dirty is not an inherently masculine trait, but okay...and just because a woman doesn't want kids doesn't mean she should have a hysterectomy! Yes, bad characters think bad things, but in a book purporting to represent the scope of gender expression, these takes are antiquated and ill informed.
I see what Peters is going for, and the process of reading itself wasn't a chore, but reaching the end left me wanting anything but this morose portrayal of queerness.
"These rich trans bitches. These fucking assholes who transition with hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to protect them from ever hearing someone say "tranny" to them on the street, so that one day, they can write tranny on the streets themselves, and congratulate themselves on being so punk."
☀️☀️
A queer, rambly tale that is more character study than story, but without any likeable characters, the journey isn't rewarding or overly insightful.
With a concept that is intriguing but staggeringly unrealistic in execution, we're presented with the possibility of a three parent relationship to help raise an unexpected child. That solution is laughable from the start when you've gotten to know the characters, and it only gets stranger from there. And when the plot drops off at the end...why bother delving into the depths of gender exploration without finishing off the arc?
The three main characters are all presented as different degrees of unlikeable. None are meant to be paragons of womanhood or transness. But despite knowing that I simply couldn't find reasons to root for any of them, even in a dark, ironic way.
The fetishisation of male violence and the easy acceptance of cheating were where this novel totally fell apart for me. Those lifestyles and kinks do exist, but within the context of this story they felt like deeply inappropriate customs to apply to cis-centric womanhood. And the repetitive glaring takes on gender certainly didn't help either - willing to get their hands dirty is not an inherently masculine trait, but okay...and just because a woman doesn't want kids doesn't mean she should have a hysterectomy! Yes, bad characters think bad things, but in a book purporting to represent the scope of gender expression, these takes are antiquated and ill informed.
I see what Peters is going for, and the process of reading itself wasn't a chore, but reaching the end left me wanting anything but this morose portrayal of queerness.
"These rich trans bitches. These fucking assholes who transition with hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to protect them from ever hearing someone say "tranny" to them on the street, so that one day, they can write tranny on the streets themselves, and congratulate themselves on being so punk."