Emily Vance Brown

by Torrey Peters

4/5

I loved most of this novel. It’s very accessible queer lit, and I feel like it’s something I would be comfortable recommending to non-queer people and mainstream audiences. I think the comparison of the perspectives of trans women to divorced cis women is super clever, and I could see that strategy winning over some traditionally difficult audiences, should they happen to read Detransition, Baby.

However, I did not like the ending at all. I mean, seriously, I hated that ending. I felt the book ultimately failed to explore what it set out to explore. I was teased with an exploration of non-heteronormative motherhood and what a nontraditional queer family could look like, and I held out hope waiting for that exploration throughout the whole book, only to suddenly discover I had reached the last five pages and, in fact, would be getting no such thing. In this regard, the book was such a letdown. 

I loved the writing style, though, and I’m excited to read more of Torrey Peters’ work. This one wasn’t a hit with my book club because of what we all deemed purple prose, which they hate and I love. I usually prefer writing that leans in the over-detailed direction and feels like poetry. I’m looking forward to reading Stag Dance!