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trin's review
1.0
Will Self really needs to shut up about vaginas. If I have to read another highly-pretentious, “literary”-crude, half-lustful and half-petrified description of the female genitalia—of which this book contains, oh, dozens—I may have to do something…unladylike. I mean, bloody hell! It’s a vagina. Get over it.
This book intrigued me as all (all? There is so little. Sigh) published genderfuck intrigues me. It’s broken into two parts: the first involving a woman who grows a penis, the second involving a man who grows a vagina. The second is okay—I don’t think it actually says anything interesting about gender, but bits of it are sort of weirdly hot, if you like that sort of thing. (And I do, okay? Leave me alone. *g*) The first, however…ew. EW. Apparently, a woman who grows a cock will immediately rape her husband to death. And then rape random strangers on trains. Lovely! I’m not really sure what this is supposed to be saying about gender, either. Or about people. Well, except that Will Self apparently hates everybody.
This is one of those books that makes me despair of “literary fiction.” It also made me want to take a long, thorough shower.
This book intrigued me as all (all? There is so little. Sigh) published genderfuck intrigues me. It’s broken into two parts: the first involving a woman who grows a penis, the second involving a man who grows a vagina. The second is okay—I don’t think it actually says anything interesting about gender, but bits of it are sort of weirdly hot, if you like that sort of thing. (And I do, okay? Leave me alone. *g*) The first, however…ew. EW. Apparently, a woman who grows a cock will immediately rape her husband to death. And then rape random strangers on trains. Lovely! I’m not really sure what this is supposed to be saying about gender, either. Or about people. Well, except that Will Self apparently hates everybody.
This is one of those books that makes me despair of “literary fiction.” It also made me want to take a long, thorough shower.
clearlybones's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
carrionlibrarian's review against another edition
1.0
This book (deservedly) has a lot of one star reviews but somehow what all of them fail to mention is the TREMENDOUS amount of slurs there are in this short book.
booksdogsandjess's review against another edition
1.0
Two stories, the first in which a woman grows a penis the second a man grows a vagina. Just graphic, lot of talk of womans genitalia and a whole lot of violation.
oblomov's review against another edition
1.0
This desecration of a tree's corpse repeatedly mistakes cruelty for humour, puerile bad taste for fearless edginess, gross stereotypes for character and a potentially interesting concept for an actual story.
Having produced such a misogynist, misandrist, transphobic, badly written and unfunny mess, I wouldn't grumble if those close to Mr Self defenestrated his computer before the hateful, purple prose writing twat types anything else.
Having produced such a misogynist, misandrist, transphobic, badly written and unfunny mess, I wouldn't grumble if those close to Mr Self defenestrated his computer before the hateful, purple prose writing twat types anything else.