GSWS Feminist Book Club - November 2024

Detransition, Baby

Torrey Peters

One World (2021)

"Raw, brutal, honest" were some of the words used to describe Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters, a novel that follows three (very flawed) characters as their lives merge due to an unexpected pregnancy. 

The group lauded Peters' writing as well as her nuanced conversations around queerness, gender, sex and how these inform the three characters' narratives. Although the characters themselves were not popular with everyone in the group, we mostly agreed that they were well-developed. 

The plot, however, seemed a bit disjointed for some of us who struggled to resonate with all of the characters' motivations and at times the narrative lacked the necessary flow to balance the intensity of its topics. 

While some of us felt that Peters succeeded at portraying detransitioning with empathy and understanding, others thought that she could have delved deeper into this and other topics that were brought up, but never fully explored; including the ending, which felt unsatisfying and rushed for many of us. 

Ultimately, Detransition, Baby did not destroy our book club (as suggested by Andrea Lawlor in their review), but did generate amazing discussion. 

Average rate: 3.9