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juushikaTitle: Factotum (Monster Blood Tattoo Book 3)
Author: D.M. Cornish
Narrator: Humphrey Bower
Published: Listening Library, 2010 (2009)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 690
Total Page Count: 328,535
Text Number: 1154
Read Because: continuing the series, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Perhaps because I was listening on audio, the action breezed passed me—and, as in Lamplighter, that's not entirely unpleasant but it does indicate an overlong book. Rossamund's emotional journey is more memorable; his identity has been broadcasted from the beginning, but learning to live with it is complicated and gradual. This growth doesn't age up the series, which still leans more middle grade than young adult, colorful and unsubtle, a neat package of themes and a messy bulk of action sequences. But it's charming, particularly the characters, particularly Europe, and the end centralizes those elements to a satisfying degree.
Title: Gender Queer
Author and Illustrator: Maia Kobabe
Colorist Phoebe Kobabe
Published: Lion Forge, 2019
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 240
Total Page Count: 328,775
Text Number: 1155
Read Because: reviewed by Rosamund, paperback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: There are bits of this that I wish were given an outside eye, particularly "autoandrophilia" as a term and Patricia Churchland's work on gender, and maybe also the discussion of AFAB folks's relationship with slashfic, which is a monstrously complex issue. "Problematic" things can have productive impacts on personal narratives, but when turned into a published narrative they gain a degree of authority which they may not deserve. This walks that line between personal and public, massaging the complex experience of growing up AFAB/queer/nonbinary/asexual/within A Society into a remarkably cogent and satisfying story; it's honest and individual and, for me, wildly relatable, but I imagine a straight audience would still find it approachable. I hope it becomes one of many accessible genderqueer memoirs, to introduce diversity and to challenge the perturbing language/conclusions mentioned above.
Title: This Woman's Work (Moi aussi je voulais l'emporte)
Author: Julie Delporte
Translator: Helge Dascher and Aleshia Jensen
Published: Drawn and Quarterly, 2019 (2017)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 255
Total Page Count: 329,080
Text Number: 1157
Read Because: reviewed by Rosamund, paperback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Pale, loose illustrations form an exploration-as-memoir of the author's relationship with sexism, feminism, creativity, work, and Tove Jansson. Issues like this can't be solved, but they can be progressed—and this is very much in progress, gaining new layers which both aid in and complicate resolution. But the progress didn't speak to me—more a case of wrong reader than bad text: it's relatable, in some specifics and certainly in broad strokes, but not personally provoking or insightful, and the gentle art almost diffuses the issue.
Author: D.M. Cornish
Narrator: Humphrey Bower
Published: Listening Library, 2010 (2009)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 690
Total Page Count: 328,535
Text Number: 1154
Read Because: continuing the series, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Perhaps because I was listening on audio, the action breezed passed me—and, as in Lamplighter, that's not entirely unpleasant but it does indicate an overlong book. Rossamund's emotional journey is more memorable; his identity has been broadcasted from the beginning, but learning to live with it is complicated and gradual. This growth doesn't age up the series, which still leans more middle grade than young adult, colorful and unsubtle, a neat package of themes and a messy bulk of action sequences. But it's charming, particularly the characters, particularly Europe, and the end centralizes those elements to a satisfying degree.
Title: Gender Queer
Author and Illustrator: Maia Kobabe
Colorist Phoebe Kobabe
Published: Lion Forge, 2019
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 240
Total Page Count: 328,775
Text Number: 1155
Read Because: reviewed by Rosamund, paperback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: There are bits of this that I wish were given an outside eye, particularly "autoandrophilia" as a term and Patricia Churchland's work on gender, and maybe also the discussion of AFAB folks's relationship with slashfic, which is a monstrously complex issue. "Problematic" things can have productive impacts on personal narratives, but when turned into a published narrative they gain a degree of authority which they may not deserve. This walks that line between personal and public, massaging the complex experience of growing up AFAB/queer/nonbinary/asexual/within A Society into a remarkably cogent and satisfying story; it's honest and individual and, for me, wildly relatable, but I imagine a straight audience would still find it approachable. I hope it becomes one of many accessible genderqueer memoirs, to introduce diversity and to challenge the perturbing language/conclusions mentioned above.
Title: This Woman's Work (Moi aussi je voulais l'emporte)
Author: Julie Delporte
Translator: Helge Dascher and Aleshia Jensen
Published: Drawn and Quarterly, 2019 (2017)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 255
Total Page Count: 329,080
Text Number: 1157
Read Because: reviewed by Rosamund, paperback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Pale, loose illustrations form an exploration-as-memoir of the author's relationship with sexism, feminism, creativity, work, and Tove Jansson. Issues like this can't be solved, but they can be progressed—and this is very much in progress, gaining new layers which both aid in and complicate resolution. But the progress didn't speak to me—more a case of wrong reader than bad text: it's relatable, in some specifics and certainly in broad strokes, but not personally provoking or insightful, and the gentle art almost diffuses the issue.
