This is a historical dual-timeline sci-fi which tells the story of Griffon’s, a trans man’s, trans parents (Zaffre and Etoine) histories, through revolution and addiction, romance, and adoption of Griffon from his abusive father, as described by a diary written by Etoine in prison.
As I said while reading this book, this is a rare futuristic Rome sci-fi (written by a man, but that’s almost redundant) where I have no reservations, likely because while many use this backdrop to critique fascism, many end up (intentionally or unintentionally) validating aspects of fascism at the same time in the way that they endorse hierarchy and dominance as part of a patriarchal power fantasy.
And Etoine is a great foil to that male fantasy, he’s flamboyant, loving art and high fashion. He openly and frequently expresses emotions other than those which are male-coded, like anger, and in many ways he’s pitiful—not someone who prompts are or respect in “running away” from conflict (not wanting to die for the revolution) and in his alcohol dependence (which he very realistically cannot stop through sheer force of will). Griffon, in his consideration for others, frequent apologizing as a remnant of parental abuse, and enjoyment of female-coded hobbies like cooking and cleaning (also both a result of parental abuse) also challenges the male power fantasy, and yet together with Etoine, proves to be a lovable and compelling character despite this (despite patriarchy arguing this should not be the case).
This is a book whose whole purpose is as a critique of fascism, hierarchy, and hegemonic masculinity—the last of which many similar works are afraid to challenge as they threaten the male power fantasy many are founded upon. It uses the aesthetics of pre-collapse societies—it reminds me of just at the end of the Roman oligarchy (Roman republic) or the fall of the French Republic (and rise of Bonaparte—another period which looked back to Rome in aesthetics). As with any fragile society, at peak rise of discontent (and thus potential for social revolt of the lower classes), social changes also forebode the equal threat of rising authoritarian nationalism (fascism) which appropriates the same working class discontent into a fear of the other—a threat from within and also from abroad.
In this way, Zaffre and Etoine’s transness (very much an other in this society but especially a threat fascism mobilizes against today) and their revolutionary participation (purposeful on the part of Zaffre, and unintentional on the part of Etoine) are one and the same. (And in fact this becomes clearer with Etoine whose very existence as a flamboyant trans painter gets him crosswise with an oligarch and labeled a revolutionary—because his trans existence is itself radical.)
Similar to other books I’ve read this year (including Ray Nayler’s Where the Axe is Buried), it explores the competing values of happiness/a contented life and adhering to your morals/being a revolutionary, in the sometimes orthogonal goals of Zaffre and Etoine (with Griffon caught in between).
In Where the Axe is Buried, Nayler discusses the reality that contrary to popular belief, which argues that increasing individual freedoms progresses with time, under surveillance model of understanding empire, the highest freedom is often possible off the pages of history (or in the hic sunt dracones of the map of history), where the eyes of empire (and thus its restrictive laws of what you can do or be) cannot see. Etoine appreciates this too, becoming a house painter after his first stint in prison, and arguing that he and Zaffre should live an unremarkable life where they can experience full trans joy. In contrast, Zaffre holds the competing desire of wanting a better future for her peers and other trans individuals, and despite her significant (and sometimes disabling) mental health concerns, is willing to compromise her own joy and happily ever after for a chance at a better world.
craunch_the_marmoset commented...
I’d like to think my favorites made an impact on me: Nancy Drew, Tamora Pierce novels, Holly Black novels (I read before Cruel Prince and Spiderwick so I’m less familiar with those and I get the impression they have a much different vibe), H2G2, Chronicles of Faerie, the Ann of Green Gables series, Madeline L’Engle novels, retellings from authors like Robin McKinley and Gail Carson Levine, and Terry Pratchet novels. I also developed an interest in specific people I think inspired me like Sacagawea, Pearl Buck (starting with Pearl of China and ending with The Child Who Never Grew, which dramatically changed my impression of her as a person) and Hellen Keller (in particular I think Helen Keller really grew with me as I learned about her activism for disability rights but also her leftism and labor organizing).
However, probably the most influential authors for where I am were Caroline B Cooney (specifically the Janie Johnson series and Code Orange), Margaret Pearson Haddix (specifically Running Out of Time but more importantly Double Identity, which is about human cloning), and Madeline L’Engle (specifically her less sci-fantasy and more sci-fi O’Keefe universe, as it is often divided, but the universes interconnect so it’s kind of a fake division, particularly Arm of the Starfish, which is about stem cell research and regenerating digits)
Essentially, all of these works are about genetics and medical ethics, and specifically the genetics works present genetics as a field where not only diagnosis is possible (which was true in my early childhood as the Human Genome Project was just finishing) but also therapeutics were common (which was distinctly not possible in my childhood and actually there were concerns—as with the Jessie Gelsinger case).
I read The Child Who Never Grew without context because I’d read all of Pearl Buck’s children’s books and was shocked to learn she had a child (Carol) with PKU (before the exact nature of the condition was known) who developed brain damage and intellectual disability as a result of the phenylalanine (amino acid) Carol ingested in normal food that she was unable to process (PKU results from disease-causing changes to the enzyme which converts phenylalanine to tyrosine, another amino acid) and was kind of horrified (although now I have a more nuanced understanding for involved parents that lack the medical literacy to feel that they cannot care for medically complex children but whose insurance will not pay for adequate homecare—this is not a problem of individuals but rather the larger for-profit medical system as a whole) Pearl Buck placed her in an institution.
Later, Richard Preston’s novels (although I later learned they aren’t fully accurate) illustrated a very futuristic (but seemed near-future and achievable) view of science in his books like The Hot Zone, Demon in the Freezer, and Cobra Event (especially the more portable and fast Next Generation Sequencing (describes how the sequencing happens, but typically corresponds to broader genetic testing like a panel, exome—all coding DNA, or genome—all DNA or your entire genetic blueprint) he proposed on “dirty” samples—and now rapid [1 week] and ultrarapid [3 days] genome are pretty standard inpatient and a researcher at Stanford can sequence a genome in 6 hours—although it’s the human labor in processing and interpretation that gets you).
I have to think this influenced my interest in research (so I got a PhD) and genetics (so I’m in the process of becoming a clinical geneticist—a physician role that works with genetic counselors but is different—can physically examine and treat).