Book Review: The Circumference of the World

 

Image: The cover of the book is a graphic with a background of deep green circles spiraling towards the center becoming darker until becoming black, resembling an eye. On top of that are more circles of yellow and green resembling moon phases spiraling into a center where a figure with pulled up long hair and a dress is silhouetted in oranges, walking along a curved line like a tightrope. The bottom has a large reddish orange circle like a rising sun peaking upward. Across the top in red letters is "world fantasy award winner," then in white letters, "lavie tidhar," then in cream, "the circumference of the world." Across the bottom in small white letters is, "can we just all admit now that Lavie Tidhar's a genius?" and in yellow, "-Daryl Gregory: award-winning author of spoonbenders."

Reading Lavie Tidhar's The Circumference of the World was like walking through a dream, or perhaps a nightmare depending on your view of things. I don't mean reading about a dream. I mean it felt like dreaming feels- where many things are off or confusing or seem not quite right, but also feel quite real and make sense at the same time. It is difficult to describe without spoiling the story and what is revealed as it moves forward. It is one of those books that seems to hop around too much, but closer to the end, the bigger picture is revealed to the reader, making the whole thing seem just right.

Something about this book that is interesting to me is the use of the culture- and actual people, real and fictional- from the golden age of science fiction in the mid 1900s. The whole feel of that pulp era was captured really well, misogyny, conformity to great-man, narratives, and all. Well, I wasn't alive until the 80s, but it captured my impressions from my parents bookshelves and reading the books from and about that time period. There are sections that include (fictionalized) conversations between well known authors whose names and works I recognized. But, upon reading the entire book and skimming some reviews, there were apparently also characters woven in from that era of stories. Being less familiar with them, I did not recognize this. I imagine it could be quite a joyous experience for someone who is more familiar. I still don't know which characters were borrowed (with permission) and which were crafted.

The style of this book hops genres all over the place, but is still tied together by Tidhar's prose. It begins like a vintage sicfi-fantasy novel that turns into a bizarre noirish story of a bookseller turned detective. Further forward we have authoritarian regime survival historical fiction, hard scifi, mystery, autobiography, and more. Each time I thought I was grasping what would be revealed, I was surprised in new ways. I do think it actually could have been longer. Sometimes it transitioned so fast that I would have liked more time spent in certain places.

Now, I will say, I don't know if this book is for everyone because it has so much of... everything. If you aren't one to appreciate bizarre breaks from single narrative structures, this may not be for you. Me? I loved it every step along the way, and especially when it became clear why reading it felt so dreamlike. You will have to discover that for yourself.

This was also posted to my goodreads.

Book Review: Charlotte and the Chicken Man

 

Image: The cover of the book has a background composed of a close-up of the blue human iris, the pupil encircled by the title of the book in yellow letters. To the right of the eye, partially obscuring it, is a black and yellow illustration of a woman looking towards the center of the cover. A tan assymetrical oval shape is at the bottom of the iris with Aina Hunter's name in red stenciled letters. The bottom of the cover is a red background with the book's byline- the inevitable nigrescence of charlotte-noa tibbit- in black and yellow letters.

 I am going to break with my usual process and begin this review of Aina Hunter's Charlotte and the Chickenman with an excerpt from the publisher's about section as I believe it captures the feel of this book well:

    Whisk(e)y Tit attempts to restore degradation and degeneracy to the literary arts. We are unwilling to sacrifice intellectual rigour, unrelenting playfulness, and visual beauty, often leading to texts that would otherwise be abandoned in a homogenised literary landscape. In a world gone mad, our refusal to make this sacrifice is an act of civil service and civil disobedience alike, and our work reflects this. 

I originally delayed writing this review so that I could include thoughts from when Hunter kindly joined VINE Book Club to discuss the text. Afterward, I delayed writing it again to figure out how I wanted to write about it. I am not sure if it is due to my medically foggy mind or if I am just not sharp enough to grasp things, but it took me a very long time- almost to the end of the book- to realize that it was going backward in time. I believe this is on me as others in the book club seemed to have figured it out sooner. Due to this, the book did not seem to match the description- which I was very excited about reading. However, I still found it fascinating in the ways I experienced it.

In my head, this book read as if a prompt for writing about a character was handed to several different people with several different writing styles, instructing them to each write about the protagonist using a different genre and time period. I don't think I have ever read anything like this before and the experience ranged from being engrossed in fascinating dialogue across an... unconventional dinner table to the batshit descriptions of sperm bots and dairy cows. Hunter's ability to write from different genres, perspectives, dialects, and more was impressive and engaging. 

This book is also very Queer and species inclusive, which was not a surprise based on the description. I really enjoyed the unique and bizarre ways the author navigated these realms. In discussion with the book club, I found Aina Hunter to be very candid, vulnerable, humble, and willing to put a lot of thought into her answers to every question we asked.

Throughout the group, we learned that Hunter never intended to write scifi in the first place and that she does not read it much. To get that kind of fresh composition was also interesting. Hunter also told us about how the reverse chronology was a decision made late in the writing process rather than beforehand. I want to say, for those of us who aren't quite as quick witted, I wish there would have been a clearer way of marking the time in which each chapter took place. Would that take away from the avant-garde style of the book and the delightfully wild mission statement from the publisher? I am not sure. 

I have deliberately left out most details of the story as the description already conveys a lot to the reader and due to the choppiness, I fear I would spoil things. This book was definitely a wild ride that I enjoyed going on and it gave me a lot to think about- not just about the story itself but about what fiction writing could be on a wider scale.

This was also posted to my goodreads.

Book Review: Deep Care

Image: The cover of the book is a purple background with a black line illustration of three people locked arm in arm in protest and two more harms holding each others hands at the bottom. In large gold lettering are the words Deep Care and in smaller white lettering between those two words is the byline: the radical activists who provided abortions, defied the law, and fought to keep clinics open. At the bottom in tiny white letters is the author's name, Angela Hume.

 Angela Hume's Deep Care is a gorgeous ethnography of resilience and resistance. Hume's focus is predominantly on "Self Help" movements and other abortion activism and defense in the Bay Area from the 1970s-90s, which allows for a lot of interesting specificity and a deeper understanding of what it was like to be involved in feminist movements during these times in that area. "Self Help" in its original use and context was not a "get healthy with these 5 easy steps" book. It was a form of community healthcare and mutual aid based in knowing ourselves and each other and providing for all of our needs. She described her intent to create a work of historical scholarship and political theory in order to "educate, agitate, and inspire." Growing up conservative, she describes this book as "the biggest no of her life," after a life where she often wasn't allowed to say no.

Hume's writing style is accessible and inviting. I often felt like I was in the room with the people whose history she described (even to the point of having a little too much of an empathetic reaction during descriptions of procedures.) Hume uses materials and story telling from the time period to show the kind of education and practice that was going on in circles of the womens movement both before abortion became as politicized as it is now and after. There is a lot of focus on the legacy of Pat Parker- stellar organizer and poet- who is no longer with us to be interviewed. The people who were able to be interviewed varied greatly in both demographics and ability to be exposed, so pseudonyms are used at times. Some of my favorite people were anarchists using pseudonyms that I hope I can run into some day by accident. 

I thought frequently during this book about how we discuss medical history- these brilliant white men and their knowledge and discoveries, sometimes bravely testing things on each other, sometimes horrifically practicing on enslaved and marginalized people. These men end up in history books and medical texts. I do not see the history of abortion providers and their amazing ingenuity, persistence, brilliance, and bravery in general texts.

There is more inclusion of racial justice and sexuality in this book than other texts I have read about abortion. I had never heard of the group RAW (Roots Against War) before this book and they were one of my favorite organizations. As with any movement that spans identities and struggles, there is also much discussion of the struggles and infighting that occur in many radical movements. How do we pay for things while also not being profit driven? Is there an ethical way to use capitalism to pay for clinic services so they do not disappear? How do we get the word out while also staying safe? Race, sexuality, and class disparities resulted in conflict at times- much of which was solvable, some of which was not. The reality of sacrifice is very present through the entire book- people barely holding it together while making abortion and other gynecological healthcare their entire life. Lots of fear and burnout, especially when antis were showing up to beat and murder people. I know from my own experiences that many of them use anti-abortion as a smokescreen for misogyny and bloodlust. I have met anti-choicers who have said and done some of the most vile things I have ever seen, making it near impossible for me to believe any of them cares about wittle babies- especially the men.

There are also age-old disagreements about tactics and level of risk. Clinic defense was obviously a critical part of the movement keeping clinics alive at all- this book made me see this as even more prevalent than I realized. Yet, today some people (usually admirable and hard working clinic workers and volunteers from Planned Parenthood) argue that no one else but the antis (and clinic escorts) should be out there in order to reduce the commotion around the clinic. I very much understand this perspective and also disagree with it. The history in this book made me disagree with it even more. 

When I was involved in clinic defense in the past, it worked best when we worked with those who worked and volunteered at the clinic, rather than just show up and do our own thing. We did things like distract the "counselors" from harassing patients, created large affirming signs of support that we used to cover antis' grotesque and misinforming imagery, and found ways to drown them out while keeping things as chill as possible. Patients actually liked it as did escorts. We all learned about each others strengths and weaknesses. But, there came a time when it did get too rowdy outside as each side amplified their level of aggresison and we backed off. I still think it was and is the right thing to do to find ways to combat antis while showing support for patients. The kinds of clinic defense described in this book were creative and inspiring. After the repeal of Roe v Wade, and after reading about clinic defense against operation rescue (christo-fascist anti-choicers willing to kill abortion providers,) I wonder if clinic defense needs to hardcore come back into style. How much has seeing only anti-choicers with giant gory signs at clinics and never any dissenting voices affected abortion access overall? What I would like to see even more is organizing against fake clinics that pose as abortion clinics then lie to and abuse patients into staying pregnant. 

 Another discussion I liked was an opposition to the characterization as "just a medical procedure." I had not thought of it this way, but we can discuss how abortion is healthcare without trying to hide it as being exactly like anything else. It is a valid form of healthcare regardless of its similarity to other procedures. Lori (not her real name) was a favorite of the book as she talked frankly about death and complications. We don't need to pretend that abortion care- or any healthcare- never has complications (I am writing this while suffering cancer surgery and treatment complications despite having skilled and caring practitioners) nor do we need to pretend there is never any death involved in human life. 

Those who moved on from Self Help to become trained nurses and doctors caution against seeing this history as a simple explanation of how things can be for abortion access. While these people created amazing Self Help movements out of necessity, abortion is still done ideally by medical professionals in a society where healthcare is free or at least affordable and in a setting that meets the medical needs of whatever the procedure is (be it pills to take home or an in office procedure.) I think the history in this book is important to understand how we got to more accessible abortion and how to get back to that and beyond, rather than as a call for everyone to learn and start practicing menstrual extraction. However, it may come to that and in the worst case, of abortion continuing to become less and less accessible, these types of groups may be the only option. 

Hume includes various ideas for actions we can take going forward that are helpful and thorough. The only thing I yearned a bit more for in this book is a discussion of clinic defense today with the activists involved in clinic defense in the 80s and 90s. We do hear the perspective of a person who designed the (brilliant, necessary) clinic escort system. She suggests that patients don't want to walk through an even larger protest, which I understand. But, to the clinic defenders from RAW and BACAOR (Bay Area Coalition Against Operation Rescue,) do they believe the same kinds of actions should be taken today? What new tactics could be used to match things we have learned and diverging opinions about protesting antis and defending clinics? I could listen to anyone in this book talk for hours and never get bored.

Overall, this is one of the best texts of abortion history that I have had the pleasure to read. While the focus on the Bay Area limits the knowledge of the Self Help movements at large, it also allows a more intimate understanding and experience of part of the movement- something equally valid and important. This book is well written and absolutely did educate, agitate, and inspire me. 

This was also posted to my goodreads.

Book Review: Page Boy

 

Image: The cover of the book is a white background with black block lettering saying Pageboy at the top and Elliot Page at the bottom. On each side are the words A Memoir in partially obscured letters. In the center is Elliot Page sitting against a white background. He has light skin, short brown hair and is staring into the camera wearing a white tank, a thin chain necklace, and blue jeans.

Pageboy is a difficult book to rate like many memoirs. Like other reviewers, I struggled with the structure of this book, jumping around in time. This structure can work when done well, but here, things blur together in confusing ways. I think that there is also a specific kind of fragility to texts written shortly after someone comes out as trans and begins to be their whole self out in a world. It changes everything and nothing all at the same time. I have read more than one trans memoir written by someone who just came out and all of them give me a similar thought: please write another one in 10 years. This is not to say that there is no value in memoirs written early in social/medical transition. What I am saying is that all of us who are trans know that the beginning of taking steps to be our authentic selves is a rough time and one full of things we didn't quite understand yet. I've heard people say that we all deserve the right to be a bit cringe when we first come out. Elliot did not make me cringe, but did make me want to know what he will think as he grows.

This book has a lot of trauma in it. A lot. I wondered frequently what it must have been like to write something like this. Was it cathartic? Or was it retraumatization? Or both? (Also, I think the people who made "An American Crime" should not be able to make films anymore. I had not seen it and I will not see it, especially after reading what being in this film did to Elliot.) There is so much in Elliot Page's life that I relate to despite the massive class and fame differences between us. I actually think my life would have been worse rich and famous, so that's not a dig. The attention alone would kill me. I can see as I peek through the reeds that there are realizations happening in this writing, but I don't think they were fully formed or conveyed. It's another thing I see in early memoir- the final pouring out of so many things that are inside can be so overwhelming that there is no room for much more than that.

One thing that I think is a tad irresponsible in this book is the lack of analysis around how he discussed his eating disorder. Part of anorexia can involve comparison and competition due to the perfectionist nature of sufferers. There were times in this where it seemed like Elliot was (unintentionally) giving tips or accomplishments regarding food restriction. I get it. It is very tough to talk about eating disorders without talking specifics, but it can be done in different ways. We don't hear much of the often hidden aspects of restrictive EDs, furthering the notion that anorexia is just not eating and being thin rather than a slew of sometimes deadly and very much not glamorous health problems.

I think this book is well written. I was not sure if a ghost writer was involved since he discussed how much he was writing, but either way, aside from the non-linear time structure, it flowed well. I saw myself in so many of Elliot's thoughts and feelings. I wish some were more fleshed out. As another reviewer said, many people disliked being shoved into gendered clothing and trans memoirs will often discuss what is behind that and why it is specifically complicated for us. However, this is a brave and daring book. Sharing all of these things raises many questions about fame, child actors, predators, and so on. I also liked how Elliot discussed all of the people that helped him find himself along the way. That is something I do not always see represented with early trans memoirs- Elliot really understands the politics of things and I can tell he cares about things and probably uses some of the privileges he has to lend aid.

Overall, I enjoyed it as much as one can enjoy reading a tough life story and I do truly hope he writes another memoir later in life.

This was also posted to my goodreads.