Margins and Murmurations

Transfeminism. Sex work. Time travel. , #1

Paperback, 367 pages

Published March 20, 2017 by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

ISBN:
978-1-5432-8581-9
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(3 reviews)

Imagine you had the ability to move through your own life, to revisit your past and foresee your future. Which events would you long to remember and which would you forget? Would you want to know what the future holds?

This is the story of Ash, a trans woman and healer living in a corner of Europe controlled by a militarized state. Amidst the economic crash of the 2020s, this land, once a hub of diversity, saw the rise of a state-imposed monoculture of gender, sexuality, ability and race. Those that didn’t fit, known as the divergents, were imprisoned, expelled or worse.

Ash and her best friend Pinar long ago escaped the City, left behind their days of fighting State oppression, and are eking out a calmer life in the forest, ravaged by the effects of climate change. One day, Jason, a resistance fighter, arrives abruptly into their life, reigniting …

4 editions

The message takes flight – but the style struggles to soar

Even the foreword strikes a nerve: "Since I started writing this novel, I’ve been amazed – and terrified – by how much of it is already coming true. A splintering Europe, the rise of authoritarian states in the West, the backlash against so-called minorities." The author wrote these words back in 2017 – let that sink in...

The plot is set only slightly ahead of our time, reaching into the 2040s. Its piercing glimpses into our present-day reality honestly gave me more than one nightmare-night when reading just before bed-time. The characters illustrate how urgent it is to begin now with what Arne Semsrott calls "prepping love": building structures and alliances, developing skills and knowledge – everything that can be shared with those who will need it. Anyone who ticks one or more boxes: queer, trans, non-binary, disabled, sex worker, BIPoC. The book presses a dystopian finger into wounds that …

Margins and Murmurations

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Content warning trans hate mentioned, no spoilers

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