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sarakomo 's review for:
Detransition, Baby
by Torrey Peters
2021: Oooh I really enjoyed this one!
This was the first book in a minute that has kept me up at night, wanting to read more and more. Peters does a phenomenal job of navigating this twisted story of some very complex characters. It's definitely complicated, and there are so many blurred lines. Even Ames' pronouns fluidly switch between when she was Amy and when he is Ames, but it was easy enough to follow due to Peters' deft hand.
Peters gave a great interview on NPR in which she discusses writing for trans women, and the rest of the readers can just catch up. She compares it to Toni Morrison writing for Black women, and not "slowing down" for the other readers who might not be as familiar with her culture. I loved this element of the novel - there were definitely a couple of things that I needed to look up, which I super appreciate the education that will make my experiences with the trans folx in my life go all the better in the future.
The highlight of this book, for me though, was that a bunch of the characters live IN GREENPOINT, Brooklyn, which is right where I used to live. Specifically, they live in the NW quadrant of Greenpoint, which everyone knows is the best (especially one of my old roommates). I loved the references, this was such a Brooklyn book, and yet completely separate from both [b:One Last Stop|54860443|One Last Stop|Casey McQuiston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1598019346l/54860443._SY75_.jpg|71323146] and [b:Yolk|43562313|Yolk|Mary H.K. Choi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1595533768l/43562313._SX50_.jpg|67774557], both of which I've read very recently. But they are such Manhattan books - give me Greenpoint any day.
This was the first book in a minute that has kept me up at night, wanting to read more and more. Peters does a phenomenal job of navigating this twisted story of some very complex characters. It's definitely complicated, and there are so many blurred lines. Even Ames' pronouns fluidly switch between when she was Amy and when he is Ames, but it was easy enough to follow due to Peters' deft hand.
Peters gave a great interview on NPR in which she discusses writing for trans women, and the rest of the readers can just catch up. She compares it to Toni Morrison writing for Black women, and not "slowing down" for the other readers who might not be as familiar with her culture. I loved this element of the novel - there were definitely a couple of things that I needed to look up, which I super appreciate the education that will make my experiences with the trans folx in my life go all the better in the future.
The highlight of this book, for me though, was that a bunch of the characters live IN GREENPOINT, Brooklyn, which is right where I used to live. Specifically, they live in the NW quadrant of Greenpoint, which everyone knows is the best (especially one of my old roommates). I loved the references, this was such a Brooklyn book, and yet completely separate from both [b:One Last Stop|54860443|One Last Stop|Casey McQuiston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1598019346l/54860443._SY75_.jpg|71323146] and [b:Yolk|43562313|Yolk|Mary H.K. Choi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1595533768l/43562313._SX50_.jpg|67774557], both of which I've read very recently. But they are such Manhattan books - give me Greenpoint any day.