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lezreadalot's review
3.0
"More, more, always there is more."
I enjoyed this collection of short stories a lot! They were all very powerful and immersive, stories of trans women of colour clawing back at a world that bites. There was contemporary, there was science fiction, there was dystopia, there was romance (a lot of which made my lil lesbian heart sing).
The root of my, idk dissatisfaction, for a lack of a better word, with this collection is that fact that so many of the stories felt unfinished. All of them in a way. You can tell that a lot of heart and thought went into all of them, but not all of it came out on the page. A lot of them ended super abruptly and left me wanting to know more. Will anything actually change within the HRC? Are Magaly and Julieta going to be okay? Tell me more about Alejandra! I know that leaving things unsaid/to the imagination/up to the reader is quite the point in a lot of stories, but I don't know. It didn't work for me here. The stories read as being very polished, just not finished. When we did get information, there was a lot more exposition than I'd have liked. Some passages were honestly so pretty to read, especially some of the early parts of "Subject". Then other times I felt like information was just being dumped on my head; passages of history or background info all at once.
Caveats aside, I liked this collection a lot. Favourite story hands down was "Waiting Room". I'm always a slut for narratives about AI, and human/robot relationships. I loved the world building, the the notion of AI retirement, and all the ways Carmen saw herself in Caityln. I'd happily read a novella based on any of these stories, but especially this one.
Overall enjoyable, very much worth the read. 3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this collection of short stories a lot! They were all very powerful and immersive, stories of trans women of colour clawing back at a world that bites. There was contemporary, there was science fiction, there was dystopia, there was romance (a lot of which made my lil lesbian heart sing).
The root of my, idk dissatisfaction, for a lack of a better word, with this collection is that fact that so many of the stories felt unfinished. All of them in a way. You can tell that a lot of heart and thought went into all of them, but not all of it came out on the page. A lot of them ended super abruptly and left me wanting to know more. Will anything actually change within the HRC? Are Magaly and Julieta going to be okay? Tell me more about Alejandra! I know that leaving things unsaid/to the imagination/up to the reader is quite the point in a lot of stories, but I don't know. It didn't work for me here. The stories read as being very polished, just not finished. When we did get information, there was a lot more exposition than I'd have liked. Some passages were honestly so pretty to read, especially some of the early parts of "Subject". Then other times I felt like information was just being dumped on my head; passages of history or background info all at once.
Caveats aside, I liked this collection a lot. Favourite story hands down was "Waiting Room". I'm always a slut for narratives about AI, and human/robot relationships. I loved the world building, the the notion of AI retirement, and all the ways Carmen saw herself in Caityln. I'd happily read a novella based on any of these stories, but especially this one.
Overall enjoyable, very much worth the read. 3.5 stars.
lleullawgyffes's review
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
rumireads's review
challenging
inspiring
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Standouts: Salvation, OR and Waiting Room.
havelock's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This is a collection of seven short stories focusing on trans women of colour, in a too-soon future where Trump is well into his presidency. It's such a great collection; each story stands on its own and has its own unique style and voice, and each a criticism on racism, transphobia, and the institutions that enforce them.
Mansion
The first story, Mansion, besides being a great opening story. is about an intern working at a LGBT non-profit, who's becoming more and more disillusioned with the company's focus on cis-ness and whiteness, which is brought to a head at an awards evening. I remember reading this a while back when Berrout released it on Patreon, and with a few edits for plot and flow, it's manages to be more amazing than it was when I first read it.
Subject
Subject is about a young trans woman recently living on her own and struggling to get by. New apartment, new neighbours, new crush. This one has a science-fiction feel to it, as the protagonist had a small implant installed in order to remove memories of her recently-deceased father, but the sci-fi isn't a big thing, explained well enough that it's seamless. And the end section of this story was very chilling.
Salvation, OR
This is another story with a speculative feel to it: this time it's magical realism. It's about two sisters out 'camping', noting the routine of a perpetrator of racial violence. Berrout does a great job of slowly building up the tension in this one.
Beach House
I think this might be my favourite. Told in two alternating narratives: a story about an author thinking about a manuscript, told in second person, and excerpts from a trans woman's memoir. Stories in second person are either mediocre or beautiful, and this falls solidly in the latter; the whole story has a lyrical quality to it, which I'm guessing comes from Berrout's poetry writing.
Valeria
This one is a police interview, where the narrator talks about how her ex broke open a prison. I love the conversational narrative to this. The narrator's voice is really strong and natural, it reads just how someone would talk.
Cascadia
A day in the life of a trans woman working at a legal clinic, having to survive the continuous earthquakes as well as the lack of money. Told in present tense, which I usually don't like, but it's done well here and I think it adds to the atmosphere of dread woven through it; there's a real sense that Fallon is living moment to moment out of necessity.
Waiting Room
This is another with sci-fi elements, but it's a lot more overt this time as it features androids. Like Subject, the sci-fi aspects are done really well, and you get a great feel for how this world works, and again, it's explained seamlessly without feeling infodumpy. This is vying for my favourite as well.
Anyway you can get this on Jamie Berrout's gumroad, and I highly suggest you get this, it's a great read.
Mansion
The first story, Mansion, besides being a great opening story. is about an intern working at a LGBT non-profit, who's becoming more and more disillusioned with the company's focus on cis-ness and whiteness, which is brought to a head at an awards evening. I remember reading this a while back when Berrout released it on Patreon, and with a few edits for plot and flow, it's manages to be more amazing than it was when I first read it.
Subject
Subject is about a young trans woman recently living on her own and struggling to get by. New apartment, new neighbours, new crush. This one has a science-fiction feel to it, as the protagonist had a small implant installed in order to remove memories of her recently-deceased father, but the sci-fi isn't a big thing, explained well enough that it's seamless. And the end section of this story was very chilling.
Salvation, OR
This is another story with a speculative feel to it: this time it's magical realism. It's about two sisters out 'camping', noting the routine of a perpetrator of racial violence. Berrout does a great job of slowly building up the tension in this one.
Beach House
I think this might be my favourite. Told in two alternating narratives: a story about an author thinking about a manuscript, told in second person, and excerpts from a trans woman's memoir. Stories in second person are either mediocre or beautiful, and this falls solidly in the latter; the whole story has a lyrical quality to it, which I'm guessing comes from Berrout's poetry writing.
Valeria
This one is a police interview, where the narrator talks about how her ex broke open a prison. I love the conversational narrative to this. The narrator's voice is really strong and natural, it reads just how someone would talk.
Cascadia
A day in the life of a trans woman working at a legal clinic, having to survive the continuous earthquakes as well as the lack of money. Told in present tense, which I usually don't like, but it's done well here and I think it adds to the atmosphere of dread woven through it; there's a real sense that Fallon is living moment to moment out of necessity.
Waiting Room
This is another with sci-fi elements, but it's a lot more overt this time as it features androids. Like Subject, the sci-fi aspects are done really well, and you get a great feel for how this world works, and again, it's explained seamlessly without feeling infodumpy. This is vying for my favourite as well.
Anyway you can get this on Jamie Berrout's gumroad, and I highly suggest you get this, it's a great read.
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