Published in 1993, this brave, original novel is considered to be the finest account ever written of the complexities of a transgendered existence.
Woman or man? That's the question that rages like a storm around Jess Goldberg, clouding her life and her identity. Growing up differently gendered in a blue--collar town in the 1950's, coming out as a butch in the bars and factories of the prefeminist '60s, deciding to pass as a man in order to survive when she is left without work or a community in the early '70s. This powerful, provocative and deeply moving novel sees Jess coming full circle, she learns to accept the complexities of being a transgendered person in a world demanding simple explanations: a he-she emerging whole, weathering the turbulence.
Leslie Feinberg is also the author of Trans Liberation, Trans Gender Warriors and Transgender Liberation, and is a noted activist and speaker on transgender issues.
What Others Say
Loved this book.
I finally just read Stone Butch Blues: A Novel after having it on my "to-read" list for far too long. I'm appreciative of "Stone Butch Blues" on so many levels! It's amazing to read something that relates to you in a very meaningful way and Stone Butch Blues: A Novel does that for me. I think the author did a wonderful job of injecting details of historic importance into the story. A very needed and well-executed book for our community.
Mom loved it too
When I first read Stone Butch Blues: A Novel a few years back, I remember crying through parts and never being able to put the book down.
Then my mom requested a copy for her book club. She loved it too.
Wonderful
I needed Stone Butch Blues: A Novel for a class, last minute. It arrived within a matter of days, saving me from getting behind. It was wonderful. :)
A Deeply Moving Novel
This novel/memoir chronicles the world of a working class lesbian, gay, and transgendered people from the days before Stonewall to the present. It is a classic and probably the most important book available about transgender issues. I cried reading it on the train.
Feinberg is a committed communist, and some of the scenes involving worker solidarity are a contrived, but the book is well written and deeply moving. The scenes of gay bashing are, I should warn you, horrific, but this is a book very much worth reading.
Butch to Butch
Leslie's book is not easy for many because of the truth behind the story. Butch, by Jay Rayn is a great book based on poignant truth and is now combined(Butch I and Butch II) in its re-release. Get all three. True insight into a Butch's world.
