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While Bohjalian's Manhattan murder mystery A Killing in the Real World was a somewhat quiet debut, follow-up novels (many of which are set in his adopted state) have established him as a writer to watch. A stickler for research, he fills his plotlines with rich, historically accurate details. But he never loses sight of what really draws readers into a story: multi-dimensional characters they can relate to.
The selection of his 1997 novel Midwives for Oprah's Book Club established Bohjalian as a force to be reckoned with, igniting a string of critically acclaimed crowd pleasers. His literary thriller The Double Bind was a Barnes & Noble Recommends pick in 2007.
. Two of Chris Bojalian's novels have been adapted into critically acclaimed TV movies. An adaptation of Past the Bleachers with Richard Dean Anderson was made in 1995, and a version of Midwives starring Sissy Spacek and Peter Coyote debuted in 2001.
In our interview with Bohjalian, he shared some fascinating and fun facts about himself:
"I was the heaviest child, by far, in my second-grade class. My mother had to buy my pants for me at a store called the "Husky Boys Shop," and still she had to hem the cuffs up around my knees. I hope this experience, traumatizing as it was, made me at least marginally more sensitive to people around me."
"I have a friend with Down syndrome, a teenage boy who is capable of remembering the librettos from entire musicals the first or second time he hears them. The two of us belt them out together whenever we're driving anywhere in a car.
"I am a pretty avid bicyclist. The other day I was biking alone on a thin path in the woods near Franconia Notch, New Hampshire, and suddenly before me I saw three bears. At first I saw only two, and initially I thought they were cats. Then I thought they were dogs. Finally, just as I was approaching them and they started to scurry off the path and into the thick brush, I understood they were bears. Bear cubs, to be precise. Which is exactly when their mother, no more than five or six feet to my left, reared up on her hind legs, her very furry paws and very sharp claws raised above her head in a gesture that an optimist might consider a wave and guy on a bike might consider something a tad more threatening. Because she was standing on a slight incline, I was eye level with her stomach -- an eventual destination that seemed frighteningly plausible. I have never biked so fast in my life in the woods. I may never have biked so fast in my life on a paved road."
"I do have hobbies -- I garden and bike, for example -- but there's nothing in the world that gives me even a fraction of the pleasure that I derive from hanging around with my wife and daughter."
I was eight when my parents separated, and nine when they actually divorced. That means that for a little more than a decade, I've watched my mom get ready for dates. Sometimes, until I started ninth grade, I'd even keep her company on Saturday afternoons, while she'd take these long, luxurious bubble baths. I'd put the lid down on the toilet and sit there, and we'd talk about school or boys or the guy she was dating.
I stopped joining her in the bathroom in ninth grade for a lot of reasons, but mostly because it had started to seem a little weird to me to be hanging out with her when I was fourteen and she was naked.
But she has always been pretty cool about bodies and sex, and for all I know, she wouldn't mind my joining her in the bathroom even now when I'm home from college. For better or worse--and usually for better--my mom has always been very comfortable with subjects that give most parents the shivers. A couple of days before my fifteenth birthday, she took me to the gynecologist to get me fitted for a diaphragm, and told me where in her bedroom she kept the spermicidally lubricated condoms. (Of course, I already knew: God, by then I even knew where she'd hidden a vibrator.)
I hadn't had sex yet, and my mom made it clear that she didn't want me to in the foreseeable future. But she had a pretty good memory of the hormonal chaos that hits a person in high school, and she wanted to do all that she could for my sake to ensure that she wouldn't become a grandmother any sooner than necessary.
When I think back on it, my parents' divorce was very civilized. At least it has always seemed that way to me, though it's clear there are things I don't know.
The way my mom tells it, I was in second or third grade when they realized they just didn't love each other anymore the way they had when they were first married. They'd worked together at the radio station then, and they'd shared everything. My mom insists they both came to the realization at about the same time that they should separate: My mom was thirty-two and my dad was thirty-three, and they figured they were still young enough to hook up with someone who, in the long years ahead, could keep their motors humming the way they were meant to.
Sometimes my dad hints that it wasn't quite so mutual. Most of the time he toes their party line, but every so often I'll get the impression that when he moved out, he was figuring they'd both change their minds and reconcile in a couple of weeks. I think he might have thought he was just being cool.
Once when he was visiting my mom, I overheard him telling her that he knew her heart had never been into the counseling they went through when I was eight.
Still, he was the one who got remarried.
Sometimes, when I was little, I'd help my mom pick out her jewelry or clothing for a date.
"Wear the pearls," I might suggest.
"It's a clambake," she'd remind me.
"Too formal?"
"And they might scare the oysters."
One time she especially indulged me. I was eleven years old and convinced there was no fashion statement more powerful than a kilt. And so she wore a red-and-green Christmas kilt to a backyard cookout, even though it was the middle of August and the air was just plain sticky. That night my baby-sitter spent most of the time standing in front of a fan, with her T-shirt rolled up like a halter.
If I were to count, I'd guess my mom probably had five serious boyfriends in the decade between my parents' divorce and the day she met Dana. Dana had been in pre-surgical therapy for two years by then and had probably endured close to fifty hours of electrolysis. He'd been on hormone therapy for a good four or five months.
Unlike a lot of pre-op M2Fs, he wasn't trying to pass as a woman yet, he hadn't begun his transition.
Of course, he didn't tell my mom any of this--not that he should have. When they met, he was simply the professor for a film course at the university that she was taking that summer as a lark, and she was one of his students.
What was he supposed to do, say to the class, "Hi, I'm Dana, and I've spent a good part of the last year with my upper lip deadened by Novacaine"?
Or, "Good evening, I'm your professor. I'm about to start developing breasts!"
Or, if he wanted, for some reason, to be completely candid, "You folks ever met a lesbian with a penis? Have now!"
He had no idea he was going to fall in love with my mom, even when they started to date, and she had no idea she was going to fall in love with him. It just happened.
1. What stereotypes or common misconceptions about transsexuals does Trans-Sister Radio challenge? How is it able to reveal the reality beneath the stereotypes?
2. Trans-Sister Radio is alternately narrated by Carly, Will, Allison, and Dana. What effect does Bohjalian achieve by telling the story through four narrators rather than one? How do these differing perspectives shape and control our reactions to the story?
3. As he contemplates Dana's surgery, Will asserts, "You simply couldn't, it seemed to me, change a biological imperative" [p. 143], while Dana says that being born in a man's body was a "howling chromosomal error" [p. 48]. Does the novel seem to favor either of these points of view? Is it possible for chromosomes to make an "error"? Is there a "biological imperative" that determines gender? What ethical and social dilemmas arise with our increasing scientific ability to manipulate nature?
4. Why do Dana's parents oppose his sex-change surgery? What aspects of Dana's becoming a woman concern them most? What prevents them from understanding Dana's deeper need to become a woman?
5. After Dana's reassignment surgery, she visits a young woman who is about to undergo the same procedure and is racked with worry about how her father, a football coach and mountain climber, will react. Dana tells her: "He hasn't climbed a mountain anywhere near as tall as the one you have to get here. Never in his life has he done anything as difficult as you have. Never" [p. 209]. What are the difficulties--emotional, practical, social--Dana and other transsexuals must confront? In what ways does the novel take readers inside those struggles?
6. Why does a large part of the Bartlett community object to Allison living with a transsexual? Why do even liberal parents, who at least theoretically have no objection to gay marriage, draw the line at transsexualism? Are their fears understandable and justifiable? What are they based on?
7. Sally Warwick, Allison's eleven-year-old student who masterminds the class's cross-dressing curtain call, explains that she got one of the boys to go along with her plan because he had a crush on her. "You see, when you think someone's cute, you do really weird stuff" [p. 297]. In what ways is this statement a commentary on the novel as a whole? What does it suggest about the nature of love? Why is Sally's innocent perspective on cross-dressing especially disarming?
8. In discussing transsexualism with her mother, Carly says, "we all want to cross over a lot more than we realize. We all want to be . . . other" [p. 272]. Is she right? Why would we want to be something "other" than what we are?
9. How does Will go from being a person who regards Dana as "not normal" and sex-change surgery as a mutilation, to someone who not only accepts Dana but falls in love with her? What are the stages in this process? What moments draw him closer to Dana?
10. Looking back on their relationship, Allison feels she has been used by Dana: "She'd needed someone to take care of her during transition, she'd needed a woman to tutor her in the finer points of my gender. She'd seen the way I'd fallen in love with her when she was my male professor, and taken advantage of me" [p. 312]. Is Allison right about Dana's motives? Has Dana deliberately deceived and manipulated her? Why doesn't he tell her of his plans at the beginning of their relationship?
11. The airing of the VPR interviews with Dana, Allison, and their opponents is a turning point for everyone in the novel. What effect does this program have on Dana and Allison's relationship? On Will? On those who consider Dana a "pervert"? What is the novel suggesting about the role of information in changing public opinion about sexual and gender issues?
12. Near the end of the novel, Carly seems to endorse a complete sexual relativism, where gender and sexual preference don't matter at all: "Let's face it: In reality, it's all just about muscle spasms that feel really good" [p. 341]. Is this an accurate view of human sexuality? To what extent does socialization determine sexual preference and gender behavior? Is Carly's thinking liberating or does it open the door to a confusing sexual free-for-all?
13. Dana undergoes a sex-change operation, but in fact all of the main characters in Trans-Sister Radio experience important changes. In what ways are Will, Allison, and Carly different at the end of the novel than they were at the beginning?
14. When Glenn Frazier confronts Allison with the parents' concerns, Allison says, "Who lives with me is none of Richard Lessard's business." Glenn replies, "That's not true. You teach his daughter. He pays your salary" [p. 115]. To what extent do these opposing positions mask larger anxieties--about privacy, sexuality, education, morality--in America today?
I read this book for my local book group. The story is told from the perspective of four individuals; Dana, Allison, Carly, and Will. Interspersed throughout the story are transcripts from a radio talk show interview between Carly and other characters within the book.
The book begins with Carly explaining the impact of her parent's (Allison and Will) divorce. Will remarried but was often accused of holding a torch for Allison. Allison was a grade school teacher and was taking courses at the local college; Dana was her professor. Dana, an attractive yet effeminate man, quickly caught Allison's attention and they quickly entered into a relationship.
A few months into their relationship, Dana reveals to Allison that he was born into the wrong body and is contemplating gender reassignment surgery. Though overwhelmed by this shocking news, Allison's love for Dana has grown beyond her rational control and she vows to remain by his side throughout his journey to become who he truly wants to be. The rest of the book centers around the perceptions of others and the struggles and complications the couple must face due to societal beliefs and prejudices.
This book was well-written, as is the power of this author to transform mere words into a work of art. However, the ending and "revelations" were predictable, which was highly disappointing to me knowing the abilities of the authors writing style. This book explores an extremely controversial topic in a manner that instills a sense of compassion in the reader for the characters within the book.
This story also instigated much conversation between me and my friends. I could not stop thinking about these people and their story. This work of fiction reads as a memoir and poses certain important yet debatable questions. The biggest question of all throughout this account is: can love transcend gender? Before you form your final opinion and answer to this question.read this book. Make sure you have all sides of any story before settling on a position. Enjoy.this is a book that will make you think and question all your previously held beliefs and ideals.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 15, 2012
Could not put it down. Read it in two days!! Did not expect the ending. I highly recommend it!
Flo33FB
Posted January 6, 2011
I have Heard A lot Of Compliments in this book and belive all should read it for the best understanding Of what we all gor through.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Never read anything like this before - a story about a man and woman who fall in love, except the man is in the process of becoming a woman. There's a lot to think about, but not so much that it distracts from the story, which pulls you in and keeps you there.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.ppignj
Posted February 20, 2010
I Also Recommend:
Chris Bohjalain write a beautiful account of the complexities we face when life throws us a curve. Not every person will identify with these characters- but they will understand how we all face life altering decisions of our own, and how these decisions affect not only us.
Wondefully done!
I borrowed this book from a friend and she didn't really say anything about it.. it was little challenging for my age group, but very interesting and amazing! I definetly learned a lot from this book! I think that now I have a little more sympathy towards trans-sexuals. It was a great book that hit a different group of people that many other people don't appreciate as much.
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Posted May 6, 2008
A friend read it and chose it for our book club, much to the puzzled looks of other members. However, this book was interesting, amazing, and I found myself caring about the characters. While the end is somewhat predictable, I had a difficult time putting it down. I even learned that there is a doc in CO that does this surgery...all in all, you will learn something!
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Posted July 22, 2007
Beautifully written and thought through. I have never read anything like it and I just thought it was great.
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Posted January 23, 2006
I found this book phenominally well writen and especially sensitive towards the subject of transsexuality, both from those who are transsexual and those who are their friends, family and lovers. To many the ending may have been anti-climactic but I don't see anyway else that it could have been writen. As in the case of most post-op transsexuals life simply moves on.
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Posted April 20, 2005
What a disappointment! The characters were very strong and went through so much. It was a disgrace that the ending was so weak.
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Posted March 27, 2005
Having high expectations from reading Midwives, I was really disappointed in the ending of this book. For all the soul-searching every character went through, by the time it ended, the outcome seemed a bit trite. That said, the detail was intensely given, and I appreciated the strength of each of the characters--especially Allison--in pushing back against prescribed social expectations. It seemed these characters were written with the deepest compassion and respect for all the different perspectives they represented.
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Posted July 24, 2003
I don't really enjoy reading but I came across this book in a beach house I was staying at for the weekend. I have to say I couldn't put it down. It's a book I want to keep reading and find out what happens next. It's also a very funny book, it hits all emotions and I am a hard person to please when it comes to having to read. Over all I loved it, it was great
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Posted June 13, 2003
This book was fascinating. It is such an odd concept and yet, so well-written and interesting...It made me smile and brought me to tears. A truly wonderful read!
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Posted July 7, 2002
This story made me laugh, and cry sometimes at the same time. I suppose because I could relate to a great deal of it. This book is one I would recommend to friends and family alike.
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Posted November 9, 2001
Although lacking quite a few important details, Chris Bohjalian really captures the essence in this fictional work of what it is like to be a transsexual woman in this world. The 'back-and-forth' can get confusing, but for me this detracted little from the story. This story vividly illustrates the plight of someone who has to deal with forces that are involuntarily at work in their life, as well as what issues they force others in their world to face. People do not like to peer deep within their own souls, particularly if they feel they have been tricked into doing it and are trapped staring at the uncomfortable realities they find. If you would seek to understand one who is transsexual, particularly one who may be in your life, this book will go a long ways towards educating you, as well as giving you a glimpse into the plain and simple realities of life that must be contended with.
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Posted May 2, 2001
I approached this book with some hesitation as I was hoping it wasn't a trashy sex change operation story gone wrong... What I discovered was a wonderful story of 4 very bright, educated, open-minded people whose lives were changed with the decision of 1 of the characters. My heart goes out to people who contemplate such major decisions.
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Posted March 9, 2001
This book is not just about gender. It is more about life, love & the need to be happy! Dana makes it come to life! A book that gets one to understand their are all different ways to be happy!
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Posted October 30, 2000
The premise for the story was a good one, but I didn't think he did the best job. Read Midwives for a better job for this author. This book was too talky.
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Posted June 13, 2000
This book was a real page turner! It is written about a subject that I am sure would make an excellent read for book clubs! A great deal to discuss and comment on! The book is narrated by 4 different characters, which makes it very interesting and kept me turning the pages wondering what next! After reading this book, I am going to read past books by Chris Bohjalian.
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Posted May 24, 2000
I could not put this book down! I was never drawn into a story so intensely. I openly laughed, cooed and cried while following the characters through a tragic-romantic adventure the likes of which would bend the psyche' of most people into a pretzel. That's what makes this read so delicious. Chris Bohjalian's ability to express the thoughts, sentiment's and attitudes of Dana through her journey, as well as his ability to set a scene so vivid that, by way of contrast, he makes Hemingway seem like a dime-novel hack, no less than fully captivates the reader. Dana's transition timeline and development are inaccurate/fantastic, but I will grant the author artistic license. This book isn't a documentary. It's marvelously written fictional literature dealing with the issues surrounding transsexuality in a fair and gentle manner.
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Overview
With Trans-Sister Radio, Chris Bohjalian, author of the bestseller Midwives, again confronts his very human characters with issues larger than themselves, here tackling the explosive issue of gender.When Allison Banks develops a crush on Dana Stevens, she knows that he will give her what she needs most: attention, gentleness, kindness, passion. Her daughter, Carly, enthusiastically witnesses the change in her mother. But then a few months into their relationship, Dana tells Allison his secret: he has always been certain that he is a woman born into the wrong skin, and soon he will have a sex-change operation. Allison, overwhelmed by the depth of her ...