kittyreadsandquotes

- Deborah Challinor (The Jacaranda House)

The story is plot driven and deals with a lot of sensitive issues. Since I dived into the book blind, there were a lot of instances that surprised me and I was intrigued to know what Sadie was after. If you were to read a little bit about the book beforehand, I think you wouldn't be able to enjoy the book as much because a major portion of the mystery would be dissolved if you just read the trigger warnings. And since it is important to know what you are getting into, I think it's a drawback for the book that there is not much to the thriller aspect of it.

Still, I enjoyed the book quite a lot and I finished it in one go. I think the plot is quite original and the writing very concise. The book is fast paced so, it will be a good read if you are in a reading slump. As I said, the story is quite plot driven, so, do not jump into the book expecting character depth or development. The ending is very ambiguous but I was satisfied with it. It is a very entertaining book, overall and I recommend it to crime fiction/thriller lovers. Rating: 4⭐/5

Qotd: What is your favorite thriller novel?

In every chapter, I found myself thinking and learning. Lester argues that it is not merely the absence of knowledge that keeps the truth from being widely known and accepted, it is the active production of ignorance that alters the truth in a way that even silence could not. They talk about the importance of language and terms and the importance of learning them as we go.

The recent arguments presented by JK Rowling can be easily debunked with the narrative Lester presents. Why are you trans? To this Lester says, "I don’t have a quick and easy answer as to why I’m trans, no more than as to why I’m a pianist, or how I experience the colour blue. I don’t have to know every why of who I am to know the truth of my existence, and know that I can only find happiness by embracing that truth."

The argument that trans people are just confused since there are numerous transgender folks who de-transition is proven false with extraordinary evidence by Lester. Lester argues that there are very small number of people who de-transition and even when they do so, it is mostly because they don't identify within the gender binary and are unsatisfied with the results or they need more surgery to feel more like themselves. There are rarely any trans people who regret their transition unless the results were not what they wanted or if the results were not the destination they were thinking of.

Lester talks about the famous movie "Danish Girl" and how it distorted the reality of Lily Elbe and how it contorted facts to present a much oppressive trans narrative. They beautifully explain the historical context of Lily Elbe's real story and the relationship Lily had with her wife and how Danish Girl failed to portray the reality of their loving, lesbian relationship by presenting a ruined marriage due to transition instead.

The book talks about sex and gender and the role of chromosomes in predicating the realness of trans people. Lester argues the importance of intersectionality in feminism and quotes South African activist and artist Gabrielle Le Roux -

"...a struggle for gender equality founded on the idea that we are struggling for equity between men and women is also profoundly flawed. Having worked as a feminist activist for two decades with so many issues and such diverse women, for us not to have engaged with transgender issues as gender issues made me feel cheated. Gender is the connection between transgender and feminism – I feel strongly that until we engage with transgender and intersex inclusively as gender issues, our feminisms are stuck."

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