Alex As Well - Alyssa Brugman

Alex As Well by Alyssa Brugman

Review by M

 

Alex As Well is compulsive reading both for Brugman’s writing style and the novel’s subject matter of gender assignment. Alex As Well tells the story of Alex, who is born with indeterminate sexing but is declared a boy. Now, at fourteen, he decides that really, Alex is a girl. The true grit of this novel is in the rub:  how can something as simple as sex organs create so much fuss?

While in many ways it is an important and delving issues book, the writing style lifts it so that it becomes something much more. The internal dialogues between Alex (she) and Alex-as-well (he) are both moving and funny, and manage to say a lot about being a teenager in general. They help to make a very gritty piece of realism become something occasionally cheerful too.

Stylistically, Brugman takes some chances. There are frequent references to song lyrics, TV, and other contemporary popular culture that were unfamiliar to me. While these reinforced the notion of different experiences, this also slightly distanced me from the text.

Brugman also uses threads from Alex’s mother, Heather’s, internet forums where she vents her concerns and anxieties. These contain deliberate typos (as the immediacy of social media often does) but they work really well as a way of exploring the very different perspectives that parents (and other people) have with regards to both parenting practices and gender assignment and identification.  The parent-child relationship in this novel is a difficult and unpleasant one. It stretches well beyond gender issues and is fraught with all sorts of tensions and not always likeable characters.

Tonally and image-wise, Alex As Well is reminiscent of the film version of 'Breakfast on Pluto' and there are thematic and plot similarities with 'Ma Vie en Rose'.

The most curious and interesting element, for me, is how the novel (whether advertently or not) shows how different responses to intersexing can both subvert and reinforce gender stereotypes. Alex as two (or split) identities as boy-and-girl reinforces gender stereotypes. A focus on bodily aesthetics also takes prominence but through this, and representations of androgyny, it also cleverly asks what is a boy and what is a girl? Can we really tell the difference and does it even matter?

The novel does not offer cut and dry answers and some of the plot seems unlikely and controversial (could a fourteen year old legally and realistically do some of the things that Alex does?), but this possibly goes hand-in-hand with the complexities of the subject matter. Because of this, some readers may find the ending unsatisfying. I did – but I can also see all sorts of reasons why a different ending might not have worked at all.

Alex As Well is a straight talking book that gets down and explores some of the fundamental nitty gritties about Western gendered identities.

 

UK Publication details: Curious Fox, May 2014, London, paperback

This copy: uncorrected proof from the publisher

We Sat Down For a Chat...with Katherine Roberts

An International Women's Day and Carnegie 2013 longlist author post wrapped into one! What more could we ask for?

Myths and magic, knights and horses, and strong girl characters abound in Katherine Roberts' fantasy Pendragon Legacy series. It is another creative and adventurous development of the Arthurian legend. The first book in the series, Sword of Light, has been nominated for the Carnegie medal 2013. Today, Katherine tells us what inspired her to create a central female character for her stories and offers some further reading suggestions. There's a fantastic horse illustration by her too!

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Katherine Roberts:

 

"I love Arthurian fiction, but I was always more interested in the girls’ stories than those of the knights, who seemed to get all the fun.

There are some strong women in the legends:

• Morgan Le Fay, who uses witchcraft to plot against Arthur.
• The beautiful Guinevere, Arthur’s queen, who later falls in love with Sir Lancelot.
• Brave Igraine, Arthur’s mother, who gives up her baby son to Merlin for safe keeping.

But none of these women had real adventures like the men. So I decided to invent one who did.

Rhianna Pendragon and her horse Alba (by Katherine Roberts)

Her name’s Rhianna Pendragon, and she’s the secret daughter of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. Raised by the elves in enchanted Avalon, where Merlin spirited her away as a baby, Rhianna grows up riding a fairy horse, and later learns how to fight with her father’s sword Excalibur. When her dark cousin Mordred kills King Arthur in battle, she leads the knights on a quest to find the four magical “Lights” that have the power to restore her father’s soul to his body. She’s a bit of a tomboy, but also a bit romantic since she cares for her Avalonian friend, Prince Elphin. In fact, with her long red hair that more often than not has twigs stuck in it, she’s a bit like me when I was a girl!

Some other books to try if you are a girl/woman who likes the Arthurian legends:

Women of Camelot by Mary Hoffman

A beautifully illustrated book of short stories, based on the well-known version of the legends by Sir Thomas Malory.

The Enchantresses and The Three Damosels by Vera Chapman

Two collections of novellas based on the Arthurian stories, and where I first came across the idea that King Arthur might have had a daughter.

Mists of Avalon by Marion Bradley

A long, romantic adult novel told by several of the Arthurian women."

 

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You can read Little M's reviews of Sword of Light and Lance of Truth.

 

Katherine Roberts is a Branford Boase winning fantasy writer. You can find out more about Katherine Roberts on her website.

 

Rhianna and her friends Elphin, Cai and Arianrhod (by Scott Altmann, cover artist)

 

 

The Quietness - M's review

The Quietness by Alison Rattle

The Quietness is an action-driven historical novel with the rights of women at its heart. In a Victorian setting, a story about unwanted pregnancies, babyfarming and belonging unfolds.

The Quietness by Alison Rattle

The Quietness is about fifteen year old Queenie and sixteen year old Ellen, two characters whose stories interweave to reveal a complex picture of what Victorian life for women and girls, both working and middle class, was like. Packed full of poverty, prostitution, pregnancy, abortion, rape, childbirth, adoption, death and body care, this story is shocking and sad (and worse, based on true events). This is not a rose-tinted novel but it is also a story full of hope. Above all, I think it tells an important historical story that is intended for a teen readership.

The idea for this novel came about after the author had done extensive research for a non-fiction title. While based on historical facts and events, the story is not packed with dull historical notes. It is an easy read with short chapters and quite a fast pace.

For me, some elements of the plot were plausible but a bit unlikely. Some other readers might love these aspects. The ending is very neatly drawn together.

I think this is a good teen read about an important story that’ll likely bring a tear to your eye. Written for the teen market, it’s still a bit of a shocker and doesn’t beat about the bush. It might make you want to ask questions. Publisher Sarah Odedina describes Rattle’s writing as being along the lines of Mary Hooper. I think she is right.

If you’ve ever read Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses or Ruta Sepetys’ Between Shades of Gray, or if you’ve ever watched Call the Midwife on television, you’re old enough and wise enough to read and enjoy The Quietness. More than anything, I’d like to see some boys reading this.

Historical notes and resource packs are available for this novel from the publisher.

Publication details: March 2013, Hot Key Books, London, paperback

This copy: review copy received from the publishers

The Edible Woman - M's review

The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

 

This review contributes towards M's Classics Club Challenge

The Edible Woman was Margaret Atwood’s first published novel. Published in 1969, Atwood says that it was written a few years before this and so was not a part of the feminist wave of the late 1960s/early 1970s. On reading it though, it certainly gives a very clear flavour of the momentum that was building for what has become an enduring social movement.

The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

Gender identity and power dynamics in accepted social and economic relationships are central to this novel. While this novel is about relationships, what was more striking for me is its portrayal and exploration of inner psyches. This is especially evident in Marian’s case as she explores what it is that makes her and what it that is eating her up.

Marian leads a mundane, middle class life. She has a university degree, works in a market research office, has a gorgeous lawyering boyfriend, and shares a non-descript flat with Ainsley. Meanwhile, their mutual friend Clara seems to be lost in married life and pregnancies.

In Marian’s office, there are only women working on her floor. The floor above, with bosses and thinkers and so on, is full of men. As the novel moves along, Marian starts to consider who she is and who – or what – the women around her are. She wonders whether she will become like them. As her plain life moves on, she is asked to help out in some market research and she meets Duncan who is quite unlike anyone she seems to have known. The spoke in the wheel, Duncan’s presence in the novel really kickstarts her contemplations and everything and everyone starts to change, not least of which is her diet.

I stayed up until the early hours to finish this novel. Someone recently said that there are novels that grip you the whole way through while there are others that perhaps ebb and flow and it is only the end that brings it all together and offers up a profound reward. In The Edible Woman’s case, for me the end of part 2 is priceless.

The Edible Woman appears to be a consciously crafted novel. Atwood (I don’t know what hand the editor had in this) develops the conceit of the edible woman, becoming particularly strong in Part 2 when the narration and Marian’s diet change. The structure is important too. It’s written in three parts moving from first person narration, to third and back to first, although really it’s all in first person but told in third. Part 2 is Marian’s detached monologue. I loved the way a seeming shifting point-of-view was really a shift in expression and really enhanced that inner exploration that I mentioned.

Atwood uses a lot of imagery, something that is probably in her other books but that I have either never noticed or paid much attention to before.

Strong themes in the novel include gender, identity, homophobia, consumerism, marriage, femininity, normality. Interestingly, some of the other themes – food production, consuming and consumerism – and even hints of Duncan, can perhaps be found in her much more recent MaddAddam novels (Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood).

While the plot situations and the characters are all adult (i.e. over 20s), I’d also recommend this to interested teen readers.

Verdict: For me, this counts as classic. Written during my parents’ generation, it has stood the test of being read across generations. While being a testament to its time, it reads like a contemporary novel. For me, the writing is also well-crafted, a slow pace that flows easily and explores many aspects. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

 

Publication details: 2012, Virago Press, London, paperback. First published 1969.

This copy: mine.

 

Reminders for me in my old age about the plot:

BIG SPOILER! SPOILER:

 

* Marian’s body starts to reject food. At first, it seems she is becoming vegetarian. Then it starts rejecting vegetables too. A flash thought is that she is pregnant – and that would be ironic (seeing as Ainsley is deliberately pregnant, Clara seems to be lost in pregnancies and Marian thinks she’d be much better at organising married life). But then, it’s neither of these: it’s because the prospect of marriage to Peter is destroying her. So she bakes a cake and forms it into the edible woman.

Review - Secrets of the Henna Girl

Secrets of the Henna Girl by Sufiya Ahmed

Secrets of the Henna Girl -Sufiya Ahmed

Straight off, I’ll say that Secrets of the Henna Girl is a book that I think all teen girls should read.  And then pass it on to their brothers, friends, mothers and fathers.  It’s hardhitting realist fiction without the grit. Charmingly, it reads like a sunshine-laced thriller.

Picture this.  You’re sixteen years old. You’ve finished your GCSEs. You’re having fun with your friends and you’re brimming with anticipation and excitement for what college and your future holds. That is Zeba Khan’s life – and she’s happy.  

But in a flash, without warning, this is all wrenched from her. A family holiday to Pakistan and the announcement of what will be a forced marriage snatches everything from Zeba. And she is scared, scared, scared that her parents are going to let this to happen to her. How could her father do this?!!!

From here on, Secrets of the Henna Girl starts to read like a tense thriller: a couple of teenage girls have been trapped, virtually imprisoned and they’re in real danger if they try to escape. But they’re also in danger of losing their freedom (or even their health) if they don’t escape. And for anyone who tries to help them – well…..!!! This story will have you on tenterhooks the whole way through as Zeba deals with family betrayal, loneliness, entrapment, imprisonment, complicated friendships, honour, death, and guilt.

Amidst the tension, there are also some truly individual and inspirational women characters: Zeba’s Nannyma, Zehar, Farhat and Nusrat-kala. For all the seriousness of the novel, these characters fill the story with the beautiful warmth that the book's cover conveys.  And they will have you quietly chuckling too.

Without a doubt, this is an ‘issues’ novel tackling the problems of forced marriage and honour. The novel makes it clear that forced marriage is illegal in the eyes of Islam and that it is a human’s rights abuse under the terms of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  It also explores the myths that bond religion with tradition and highlights the impossible situation of having to choose between self and family honour. 

Above all, Secrets of the Henna Girl urges people to have courage in standing up for their individual rights and the rights of others – including women and girls!

Publication details:

Puffin, 2012, London, paperback

This copy: uncorrected proof sent by Puffin

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Come back here this Friday 15 June when Sufiya Ahmed answers questions about forced marriages and other important issues that her book raises.

Review - Changeling

Changeling by Philippa Gregory

Changeling by Philippa Gregory

Changeling is bestselling author, Philippa Gregory’s YA debut.  I haven’t read any of Philippa Gregory’s adult novels and wasn’t too sure what to expect.  What caught my eye was that the plot revolved around a teen girl being suspected of witchcraft in 1453. 

The story is set in Italy in the year 1453.  Goodlooking, clever, and rumoured to be a changeling, seventeen year old Luca is a novice priest. He is sent out on a religious mission to map the fears that are rife throughout Christendom because many suspect that the end of days is near. Luca’s search brings him to a nunnery where strange and deadly events have taken place since the arrival of, Isolde, the new and unwilling abbess.

Changeling is a work of fiction that weaves an historical adventure that will especially appeal to younger teens.  It is a very light and easy read. The story emphasis is on mystery and action with only limited period detail – just enough so that you can get a feel for the surroundings and settings of the story. And amidst the witchcraft, there is a lot of humour in this novel. The narrator also provides a lot of clues along the way so it is not a taxing read.

Luca, Isolde, Freize, Brother Peter and Ishraq are all likeable characters. There is a lot of banter between them and various friendships develop that cross social and religious divisions. The humorous banter and master-servant relationships reminded me a lot of the BBC television series, Merlin. Fans of that may well enjoy Changeling.

Dealing with witchcraft, the novel also places great emphasis on the lack of rights for women during this time. Readers may realise that what they take for granted today was not the way things used to be. For this bit alone, I would recommend this novel to teen girls.

Possible romance is alluded to frequently but stereotypes of feminine and masculine beauty also run throughout the story. I wonder what teens will make of this and whether or not they think it jars with the bits about gender inequalities? For readers hoping for very steamy romance, you will be disappointed although there is an underlying sexual current that runs throughout the novel that might be tantalising.

This looks like it is going to be the first in a number of books. Who knows where this strongwilled band and their merry fellows will take us? To the end of Christendom and back perhaps?

I think this book is suitable and could be enjoyed by readers 12+.

Publication details:

Simon and Schuster, 24 May 2012, London

This copy: uncorrected proof from Simon and Schuster