Jen Silverman’s novel "We Play Ourselves" is a sharp, humour-filled exploration of the human condition... specifically pertaining to being a queer writer navigating scandal and ambition in her thirties. Running from New York to L.A., Cass encounters a diverse cast of characters, including a filmmaker documenting teenage girls' reinterpretation of the cult classic Fight Club. Silverman skillfully weaves themes of success, joy, criticism, and being human, keeping readers; attention while questioning the nature of good intentions against the backdrop of life's complexity.
Category: Fiction
Here’s a bunch of reviews for all the fiction I read.
Lesbian Love, Affair of Poisons, and Abuse in The Disenchantment by Celia Bell
The world needs more queer literature, so I'm glad this exists and was published. Ultimately, I'm disenchanted with The Disenchantment by Celia Bell. Muddy and meandering, it leaves the reader bored and a little confused.
Prevailing Impacts of Cishet Normativity in Torrey Peters’ Detransition, Baby
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters allows readers into the daily struggle of what that looks like for queer and trans women from the very first page with humor, tenacity, and the mundane acceptance that this is life.
Claustrophobic and Voyeuristic Nature of High Society in Gervais Hagerty’s In Polite Company
In her debut novel, Hagerty creates a moving and captivating piece about the limitations placed on women to stay the course and not make waves. In Polite Company is all the things one could hope for in a book about existing in the claustrophobic and voyeuristic society of the rich and powerful. It's good, but it's not great.
The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
It's easy to get in the Christmas spirit with books about love in small town England. Single and independent Kate is coerced into a dating service consisting of twelve dates with twelve men by her best friend.
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lọlá Shónẹ́yìn Explores Specific Yet Universal Themes
Shoneyin tackles universal themes by exploring the interior lives of four Nigerian women through the secrets they keep in a conservative, polygamist family.