I am cold (frozen!) and I don't have much on my mind today, so I will
post my one or two sentence review of the latest book I just read, Kathleen Winter's Annabel.
~JT~
In a world that has a place and a role for everyone, where does a hermaphrodite fit in? Beautifully written Annabel
contrasts the untamed wilderness of Labrador Canada, where
Wayne/Annabel discovers love and beauty, with society's own conflicting,
confusing, expectations of the roles and appearances of men and women,
and of mothers and fathers.
This is an important story about the role of gender, and it is told with a sensitivity to the individual who must struggle to find their place in this world (as we all must) but with the added burden of self-determination. Anyone who has read my fiction knows that my stories are character driven, but I appreciated Kathleen Winter's use of contrasting settings in Annabel. In fact, the whole story is one of contrasts: society vs the individual, nature vs civilization, beauty vs ugliness, rationality vs instinct.
I highly recommend Annabel. It is a thought-provoking, well-written Canadian novel with a sensitivity to the subject matter as well as to the language. I'm already looking forward to Kathleen Winter's next novel!
Readers of Annabel might also like Chris Bohjalian's Trans-Sister Radio, which examines gender issues from a more mature character's perspective.
This is an important story about the role of gender, and it is told with a sensitivity to the individual who must struggle to find their place in this world (as we all must) but with the added burden of self-determination. Anyone who has read my fiction knows that my stories are character driven, but I appreciated Kathleen Winter's use of contrasting settings in Annabel. In fact, the whole story is one of contrasts: society vs the individual, nature vs civilization, beauty vs ugliness, rationality vs instinct.
I highly recommend Annabel. It is a thought-provoking, well-written Canadian novel with a sensitivity to the subject matter as well as to the language. I'm already looking forward to Kathleen Winter's next novel!
Readers of Annabel might also like Chris Bohjalian's Trans-Sister Radio, which examines gender issues from a more mature character's perspective.
~JT~
No comments:
Post a Comment