is discussing Chris Bohjalian’s novel, Trans-Sister Radio tonight at
the Carolina Women’s Center. What profound intellectual discourse does
this book hold you might ask? Here’s what Publishers Weekly had to say about the book:
“The
bestselling author of Midwives and The Law of Similars continues his
tradition of incorporating social issues into his moving narratives.
Transsexuality goes mainstream in this Scarlet Letter for a softer,
gentler but more complicated age. Allison Banks–42 years old,
heterosexual, long divorced, mother of a college student and a grade
school teacher in a picturesque Vermont village–meets single,
attractive, attentive, 35-year-old Dana Stevens when she takes his film
class at a nearby college. Early on in the relationship, Dana confesses
that he has always believed he was female, though he desires women,
too–and he is soon to undergo a long-planned sex change operation.
Despite this revelation, and despite her reservations, Allison invites
Dana to move in with her, and they have great sex right up until the
night before the operation in Colorado, where Allison has loyally
accompanied Dana for post-op and moral support. On their return to
Vermont, he–now physically and emphatically “she”–continues to share
Allison’s bed and her house, though nothing can be the same as it was.
Allison’s ex-husband, Vermont Public Radio president Will, now her good
friend, and their daughter, Carly, cope well with the situation, but
the close-knit community is less understanding. Questions of what
constitutes community tolerance are explored here, but the novel’s
central focus is on the definition of sex and gender in the characters’
personal lives. Allison, Dana, Carly and Will express their views in
alternating first person chapters, and transcripts from a fictional NPR
All Things Considered series on Dana and her operation provide
additional narrative background. Gender is central to who we are,
Bohjalian concludes, but not perhaps to who we love. Sex, on the other
hand, expresses who we are. Bohjalian’s sometimes simplistic
characterizations diminish the emotional impact of the novel, and his
abundant research on gender dysfunction often gives the book a
curiously flat, documentary quality. Nevertheless, Bohjalian humanizes
the transsexual community and explains the complexities of sex and
gender in an accessible, evenhanded fashion, making a valuable
contribution to a dialogue of social and political import.”
