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This sympathetic novel about the effect of a sex change on a romantic relationship, a family, and a community could almost be sold as a textbook--a kind of transgender Guide to the Perplexed. With its calming tone and scrupulous sensitivity to the feelings of all involved, it sometimes reads like a textbook, too. But while nobody is likely to launch a protest campaign over the cautious revelations of Trans-sister Radio, that's precisely the subject of Chris Bohjalian's seventh novel, in which a male college professor in a small Vermont town transforms himself into a woman. Even Dana Stevens's initial step in this direction--donning women's clothing--elicits a powerful reaction from the community.
And what about Dana's new girlfriend Allie Banks, a beloved local schoolteacher who fell in love with him before learning of his plan? Her initial instinct is to end the relationship. Then she decides to stand by Dana, inspired rather than daunted by her stuffy ex-husband Will's opposition to the "effeminate" guy she's dating, and by the horrified reactions of the parents at her school. She does, it's true, continue to love Dana after the sex reassignment surgery. And she stoically endures the threatening notes in her school mailbox and the crude graffiti on her front door, as well as the minor vindication of a local public radio story on their battle. Yet Allie never makes the emotional shift from heterosexual woman to lesbian. Breaking off the affair, she spends months mourning the man she had fallen in love with.
Assuming, as we are meant to, that Dana is outwardly becoming the person she always was inside--that biology is anything but destiny--there's only one character who undergoes a profound change over the course of the novel. That would be Will, Allie's ex-husband, who recoils from Dana's initial sexual ambiguity. After her surgery, however, he finds himself increasingly aware of her as a woman.
And so when I'd hug Dana or touch the inside of her palm with the inside of mine (a handshake, yet so suggestive) or my fingers would find their way to one of her arms, I would experience a sexual ripple and wonder why I had felt such a thing--why I had courted such a thing. And the answer would be because she was pretty and she was smart and she was feminine.
Structuring his story around the transcript of a fictional National Public Radio feature on transgender, Bohjalian shifts the point of view with every chapter: the characters often seem to be enlarging on comments they had made for broadcast. We hear from Dana, Allie, and Will in turn, as well as Carly, the daughter of the divorced couple. In this sense, Trans-sister Radio gives everyone equal time. And for good or ill, it has none of the bluster or transgressive charge of Gore Vidal's late-1960s bombshell, Myra Breckinridge. Instead it brings transgender home, rendering it (to quote Dana herself) "domestic as a balloon shade or a perennial garden. And just as harmless." --Regina Marler
Book Description
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 passion, and finds herself unable to leave Dana. By deciding to stay, she finds she must confront questions most people never even consider. Not only will her own life and Carly’s be irrevocably changed, she will have to contend with the outrage of a small Vermont community and come to terms with her lover’s new body–hoping against hope that her love will transcend the physical.
Download Description
Four people in a small Vermont village are about to have their livesinexorably intertwined by the uncertainties of love... and the apparentabsolutes of gender.
School teacher Allison Banks, the long-divorced mother of a teenager onthe cusp of college, has at last fallen in love. The object of herdesire? Dana Stevens, a professor at the nearby university and herinstructor for a summer film and literature course. Her daughter, Carly,watches with pleasure her mother's newfound happiness, but herex-husband, Will, the president of Vermont Public Radio, is jealous.Still secretly in love with his ex-wife, he finds himself increasinglyunsettled by the prospect of Allison's attachment to another man.
Yet Dana is unlike anyone Allison has ever been with: attentive, gentle,kind -- and an exceptionally ardent lover. Moreover, it's clear thatDana cares just as deeply for Allison. The only stumbling block? Danahas known always that in actuality he is a woman -- genitalia, plumbing,and perceptions be damned -- and he will soon be having a sex changeoperation.
At first Allison runs, but overwhelmed by the depth of her passions, shereturns. But can the pair's love transcend both the biologic imperativesthat are their bodies, as well as their ingrained notions of sexualpreference? Moreover, can their love survive the outrage of the smallcommunity in which they live?
All four characters -- Allison, Dana, Carly, and Will -- narrate thiscompelling story, spinning a tale that will keep you turning the pageswith the eagerness we usually reserve for thrillers, while nodding inwonder at such a deeply moving and profoundly honest portrayal oflonging, love, and desire.
Customer Reviews:
Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing.......2007-09-28
***This review may contain SPOILERS***
Now that I'm somewhat familiar with Chris Bohjalian's work, I can say that this novel, like the others I've read by him, is crafted with much grace, unflinching insight...and some rather startling surprises.
The story involves a college professor who is a man, which is the wrong gender for him. He was meant to be a woman and felt this to be true since childhood. Bohjalian does a great job helping the reader understand why this is so.
Dana Stevens, the professor, falls for one of his students, Allison Banks, a strong, divorced woman with a daughter about to start college, herself.
The story is told with alternating perspectives from Dana, Allison, Carly (the daughter) and Will, Allison's Ex. Each person is affected by Dana's relationship with Allison and the decision he is about to make: to go for gender reassignment surgery in Trinidad, Colorado (the story takes place in semi-rural Vermont, a very familar - and interesting - place to readers of Bohjalian's work).
Interspersed within the book are transcripts from an NPR broadcast on Dana and the surgery. Each character participates in this broadcast and gives their own perspectives on what Dana has struggled with, and the surgery that helps her finally become the woman she is meant to be (also with the aid of hormones. Although I did struggle with Dana's drastic decision, I could also see why she made it, thanks to Chris Bohjalian's insightful writing).
To complicate these already complicated matters, the people in the town where all the characters live get wind of both the relationship between Dana and Allison, And the surgery.
Their overall reaction is not very *nice*, and becomes especially inflamed because Allison is a teacher in town. Bohjalian very convincingly shows just how narrow-minded, judgmental and downright hateful people can be Anywhere - even a small town where everyone knows each other. Maybe *especially* there, but several of the townspeople also respond with much more humane reactions, thankfully.
Overall, I loved this book, but I do wish the author had given us a bit more about Dana, beyond the struggles of being transgendered. I don't think the author wanted to short-change this extremely important part, however, so I can see why this is Dana's main focus.
More material on Dana would have probably given a bit more emphasis to why the book ends as it does; still, I believed in the ending and found it compelling and real.
Love is so often unexpected, and cannot be pinned down so easily, nor, really can gender, at least not as much as people might like to think. More open-minded (and even just curious) readers will find this book resonates with them on many levels because love is really what it's about - and the many, wonderful, diverse and interesting forms it takes.
good but too long.......2007-09-19
i thought this book was pretty good but it was way to long everyone seems to be compaling about the ending i somehow saw it coming.
Must read.......2007-08-15
I loved this book, and found it impossible to put down until I'd finished. Although the backdrop for this is a M-F transexual, the themes that are dealt with focus mainly on acceptance from the outside world, plus gender and what this really means to an average person.
I felt that as a straight, married man, Bohjalian did a great job of putting himself inside the head of someone very removed from his life, and talked about trans people in a very open and frank manner, without judgment or stereotyping. There may be some factual inaccuracies around what the protagonist would have to go through in "real life", were she seeking gender reassignment, however it doesn't matter. This book is not "All you need to know about transexuals", rather the story of one woman and events that happened to her over a certain period of time.
Loved it.
Gender Bending Romance.......2007-05-21
A college professor is a lesbian woman trapped in a man's body. The novel depicts this situation sympathetically and in a way that's true to life.
Shocking, Thought-Provoking, Sympathetic.......2007-04-08
Trans-Sister Radio pushes the envelope in exploring the fluidity of gender and sexuality.
Here's the premise: University of Vermont professor Dana Stevens is a woman trapped in a male body... more accurately, a lesbian woman trapped in a male body. So Stevens is happily and lustfully in love with Allison Banks, a Vermont schoolteacher. And Allison, not knowing that Dana is heading toward gender reassignment surgery, is in love with him. So, what happens if you are genuinely in love with someone who discloses that they intend to change their gender... and that they will still desire you sexually after the surgery?
Part of me found Bohjalian's premise far-fetched, but it is a big world out there and I suspect that this very situation has surfaced in someone's life. It is a testimony to Bohjalian's skills as a novelist that he depicts this unusual set of circumstances with sympathy and warmth and makes Dana Stevens and Allison Banks sympathetic and compelling, rather than garish and off-putting.
Despite a plot twist at the end of the novel that is, in the context of what transpired before it, too much to pile on (albeit interesting), Trans-Sister Radio is a good novel designed to make readers ponder the nature of gender, sexuality, and love and how they interrelate. As in his previous novels, Bohjalian's depiction of small town Vermont is finely drawn and provides a warm, grounded setting for an unusual tale.
NOTE TO BOHJALIAN & OTHER READERS: I consider Bohjalian's Water Witches, perhaps the most quiet of his novels, his finest work. (The novel revolves around the development of a ski resort, rather than a more sensational premise.) Bohjalian's oeuvre typically specializes in the theme of "ordinary people in train-wreck circumstances: film at 11". Bohjalian covers this genre beautifully and I enjoy his work, but would like to see this talented writer periodically turn his hand to making more ordinary events memorable. Water Witches amply demonstrates that Bohjalian is up to the challenge and I suspect that many readers would enjoy experiencing this aspect of his work.
Book Description
Meet the Bedwyns…six brothers and sisters--men and women of passion and privilege, daring and sensuality…Enter their dazzling world of high society and breathtaking seduction…where each will seek love, fight temptation, and court scandal…and where Aidan Bedwyn, the marriage-shy second son, discovers that matrimony may be the most seductive act of all.…
Like all the Bedwyn men, Aidan has a reputation for cool arrogance. But this proud nobleman also possesses a loyal, passionate heart--and it is this fierce loyalty that has brought Colonel Lord Aidan to Ringwood Manor to honor a dying soldier's request. Having promised to comfort and protect the man's sister, Aidan never expected to find a headstrong, fiercely independent woman who wants no part of his protection…nor did he expect the feelings this beguiling creature would ignite in his guarded heart. And when a relative threatens to turn Eve out of her home, Aidan gallantly makes her an offer she can't refuse: marry him…if only to save her home. And now, as all of London breathlessly awaits the transformation of the new Lady Aidan Bedwyn, the strangest thing happens: With one touch, one searing embrace, Aidan and Eve's “business arrangement” is about to be transformed…into something slightly surprising.
Customer Reviews:
Slightly familiar.......2007-07-13
Having long been a regency romance devotee, I recognize the conventions the plots follow. If the author can make her characters live and breathe in the reader's imagination, if she can make an old chestnut sparkle with wit and good humor, I don't care if I recognize the storyline. Unfortunately, 'Slightly Married' doesn't quite pull it off. I can overlook the details of the sexual encounters; it may not be traditional, but at least it isn't as graphic as ye olde bodice-rippers. (I like a steamy romance as well as the next person, but not in a regency.) But nothing made me look at the story with fresh eyes. Maybe the book was just too busy. The book is overflowing with minor characters; they blurred into the background without adding any flavor to the story. There seemed to be 6 or 7 subplots too many. Descriptions and dialogue seemed to be repeated to no good effect. Will I read another in the series? Probably. I only hope the next book in the Bedwyn saga is light and bright and sparkling like a regency romance should be.
Balogh's books just don't quite pull me in.......2007-06-16
Like A Summer to Remember, I found Slightly Married to be just an average book; not particulary bad, but not particularly good. I've read three books by Balogh now and something has always bothered me about them after finishing. I couldn't figure out what it was until reading this book: the books are all rather emotionless and passionless. (Though it seems many feel just the opposite).
As I'm reading them, I just don'e really feel anything. The characters are simply there. They exist, go about life, but they rarely evoke much emotion in the reader. I never really connect with them. The stories are decent enough, and the characters have much potential, but Balogh just does not seem to have that knack for bringing real emotion and passion into her books. At times, everything feels rather cold and clinical.
While reading Slightly Married, it never really seemed like Eve and Aidan fell in love with each, but more decided that they were...which is a bit unromantic. There just was not any...softness?...to the romance. I did like Eve, though. She was a good character. I've found myself not particularly fond of the Bedwyn's, though. Balogh's development of the main family of the series baffles me as it did in A Summer to Remember. She's made them so cold-hearted, grim, and uninspiring. It's confusing - when she's trying to entice readers to read future books in the series - that she would portray them that way. It wasn't until halfway through the book that she gave any redeeming qualities to any of them. It's hard to feel any love for the Bedwyn's though.
Even though I've bad-mouthed the book a bit, it really wasn't that bad. I didn't slog slowly through it, I just wasn't enthralled by any part. I prefer books that have more emotion and substance to them.
Love it..........2007-05-01
This book is great. I love Aidan and how he is suppose to be a tough man who shows no feelings. And as time goes on that breaks down. And I love Eve she is such an awesome charater. She has a big heart and is skeptical of Aidan but she gives him a chance. Eve maybe kind but she has a strong will power and a stubborn streak to go along with it. I love how when Eve's relative children, that she has been taking care of, are in trouble and Aidan helps her and so does Wulfric (Aidan's brother). This is a great and happy book that will make you laugh as well as make you eyes tear up.
I liked it but..........2007-02-12
This book has a good plot and story but I felt the intimate scenes were a bit...cold. I was offended, and certainly not able to let my sixteen year old daughter have this one when I was finished with it. Otherwise a good book.
Great Series!!!.......2007-02-07
The Bedwyn family series of books is extremely enjoyable. Following the Bedwyn family through the experiences of each of the siblings is interesting, funny and moving. You cannot put the books down once you start reading. I highly recommend them all.
Book Description
All Tracey wants is to get hitched without a hitch—but as the calendar marches toward her late-October wedding date, suddenly she and her fiancé can't agree on anything. From where to get married (New York City or Buffalo?) to how many attendants they're going to have (she's already asked eight; he was thinking of just a best man). Meanwhile, Tracey's friends are caught up in their own dramas. There's newlywed Raphael, who just had his gay wedding; newly pregnant Kate, who is trying to adjust to impending motherhood; and Buckley, who is acting inexplicably strange. When Buckley unexpectedly breaks off his own engagement, all but leaving his fiancé at the altar, Tracey is stunned to learn that he might be in love with her.
With plenty of snafus to keep them distracted, is being Slightly Married the road to happily ever after, after all?
Customer Reviews:
an amusing story .......2007-06-11
After waiting for what seems eternity at least to her, Jack Candell proposes to his live-in lover Tracy Spadolini. Euphoric she immediately says yes.
Tracy dives into arranging the wedding. However, she begins to doubt what she always dreamed of, a big ceremony as she receives good wishes and advice from family and friends. Meanwhile Jack is starting to doubt the wisdom of his proposal as he wants only the needs of Tracy and him to matter, not the horde of congratulatory folks in her sphere. As he planned on only a best man, her octet entourage overwhelms his sense of balance. Still the biggest issue for Tracy to decide upon is whether she loves Jack or someone else as she thinks of some the men in her life especially Buckley who abruptly ended his engagement in the final countdown stage.
The latest "slightly" chick lit tale is an amusing story when the plot focuses on the difference between Tracy and Jack re their wedding. He thinks short and quick; she ponder long and extended; paralleling their sex life. Although several sidebars involving the relationship woes of her friends add depth to Tracy, these amusing subplots take away from the humorous entertaining prime theme of the final frontier from proposal to I do.
Harriet Klausner
A quick read.......2007-06-11
Although this has been a quick and easy read (it took me less than a day to finish reading the book), I have to agree with "T. Avon." Tracey's internal monologues have become annoying and frustrating throughout these sequels. However, this has been toned down just a bit in "Slightly Married." She has also been irritatingly wishy-washy about some of her feelings, emotions, and thoughts. But, this book definitely has its memorable, heart-felt moments. Plus, there are so many different types of characters with varying personalities that only give roundness to the story. Overall, I enjoyed reading "Slightly Married" - the fact that I only put this book down once (to sleep) in between buying and finishing it is a testament to how entertaining it is!
Enjoyed it, but still....................2007-06-04
I got a little tired of Tracy thinking that someone is supposed to supply her with a home downpayment and a fantastic honeymoon. Uh, hello if you want a home downpayment, cut down on the price of your wedding, it doesn't have to be the most expensive thing in the land. Especially when you know that company layoffs are happening. Anyway, I also just wanted her to tell Buckly that he had his chance and he blew it instead of waffling in her head about it. I like these books, I hope Slightly Pregnant will be the next and last installment
Much better than the last one.......2007-05-30
Okay, so I caved in and bought this one - even after I wrote a review saying how much I did not like the previous book in the series.
Actually, this one was much, much better. I would have rated a 3.5 stars, but I did not have that option. I like the way Wendy Markham writes, but as the series advances, the main character gets more and more annoying.
Fortunately, Markham managed to make her main character much less annoying this time around. Don't get me wrong, the main character is still incredibly immature and kind of whiny, but somehow this time around, I managed to get beyond it.
The storyline is cute and there are a few unpredictables. I actually came to care a little bit about Jack even - although he seems part of the furniture - after all, this is about the obsession of getting married - not about the reality of it.
Still, it was much better than the last book. Next time around - please, please give the main character some backbone and more brains.
Book Description
Pi Steely's life is a circus. Literally. As business manager for the Steely Family Circus, sensible Pi steers her madcap troupe through the perils of life on a daily basis. Things progress from muddled to madness when her soul mate accidentally turns up married and a body is discovered on circus grounds. Aided and abetted by a zany young man with a tarantula tattooed on his forehead, and her pet chicken, Rhonda Sue, the smart and sassy Pi must fight the odds to save her circus family, reunite with Reuben, the slightly married love of her life, and manage to mollify an international cast of flamboyant, one-of-a-kind characters, one of whom could be a murderer. It's going to take a brilliant performance and a whole lot of heavenly intervention to keep the show on the road.
Customer Reviews:
Romance, Mystery and loads of Humor.......2007-03-09
This is one of those books that you hesitate to read in a public place for fear that someone will call the men in the little white coats when they see you sitting by yourself and laughing hysterically. Yes, it really is that funny. It is also filled with wonderfully developed, unique characters that you truly come to care about. While there is a Christian viewpoint, the characters are much more flawed and alas, much more like myself than the characters often found in Christian romance. So even though they are all part of a traveling circus troupe and I am just an ordinary Mom and librarian I could really relate to them. The relationship between Pi and Reuben is so wonderful. The trend in romance is hot, hot, and hotter but the way Reuben just takes Pi into his arms and holds her as if she's a very precious treasure melts my heart. Better than a steamy sex scene.
Great read!.......2006-12-14
The author does a wonderful job of character development in this entertaining story. This wacky circus family takes you on a fun trip
through the circus world which is rocked by a mystery that turns their
lives upside down. There is one surprise (and laugh) after another as Pi
struggles to find answers. Dana Mentink's first book will leave you
waiting for her next.
Product Description
Meet the Bedwyns...six brothers and sisters--men and women of passion and privilege, daring and sensuality...Enter their dazzling world of high society and breathtaking seduction...where each will seek love, fight temptation, and court scandal...and where Aidan Bedwyn, the marriage-shy second son, discovers that matrimony may be the most seductive act of all.... Like all the Bedwyn men, Aidan has a reputation for cool arrogance. But this proud nobleman also possesses a loyal, passionate heart--and it is this fierce loyalty that has brought Colonel Lord Aidan to Ringwood Manor to honor a dying soldier's request. Having promised to comfort and protect the man's sister, Aidan never expected to find a headstrong, fiercely independent woman who wants no part of his protection...nor did he expect the feelings this beguiling creature would ignite in his guarded heart. And when a relative threatens to turn Eve out of her home, Aidan gallantly makes her an offer she can't refuse: marry him...if only to save her home. And now, as all of London breathlessly awaits the transformation of the new Lady Aidan Bedwyn, the strangest thing happens: With one touch, one searing embrace, Aidan and Eve's business arrangement is about to be transformed...into something slightly surprising.
Customer Reviews:
The first of a series and one of the best in it.......2007-01-16
For those who know Jo Beverly's "Malloren" series, the main characters (the Bedwyn family) may cause echoes to ring. While the Malloren series is set in the early year of the reign of George III, Balogh's "Slightly" series begins in 1814 after Napoleon's abdication and the last "Peninsular" battle at Toulouse.
However, Mary Balogh's "voice" is unique from Jo Beverly's, although both are master writers as fans of both know well.
This begins the story of the six Bedwyn siblings, all unmarried, two brothers and four sisters, led and governed strictly by their eldest brother the Duke of Bewcastle. (Shades of the Mallorens!)
In this book, the second eldest, Lord Aidan Bedwyn, returns from Toulouse to keep a promise to a dying man. He discovers the promise ends up entailing far more than he thought. As Balogh fans can probably predict, what starts as an unlikely marriage of convenience turns into an equally unlikely but marvelously told journey of self-discovery for two people of very different backgrounds where, as always, love triumphs in the end.
This is one of Balogh's best long books, and my favorite of the series. I was captivated by the characters from the beginning. Lord Aidan, a dour, serious career Army Colonel and a dedicated man of honor meets his comrade's sister, Eve, a woman of the gentry but definitely not the aristrocracy who has a penchant for attracting unwanted "strays", including two young relatives who have been bounced from home to home until she takes them in.
As Lord Aidan is drawn further an further into her troubles with the two young relatives after their hasty marriage, he is also drawn further and further back to the young man he was before he left for his Army career. Eve herself learns to find trust and even joy where she had thought neither was possible.
As with most Balogh books, this is a relationship story, frought with emotional struggles within each of the main characters, and outside influences that seem to either pull them together or push them apart.
Excellent character development, endearing supporting characters and a formidable Bedwyn family all contribute to the classic Balogh "mixed family" story in a way that is not at all trite, as some of her books can seem to regular fans.
This book kicks off the series in fine style.
If you have never read Mary Balogh, start here if you like.
Veteran fans like me will also, I think, enjoy this story.
I certainly did!
Product Description
**** ($3.99 USA POSTAGE FOR ALL 4 BOOKS, WHICH WILL BE MAILED AT THE MEDIA - BOOK RATE WHICH IS SLOW SURFACE MAIL, 7 - 21 DAYS DELIVERY TIME).
Product Description
Multiple books shipped as one item. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.
Product Description
Balogh's Wonderfully Entertaining Bedwyn Family Series
Average customer rating:
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Ligeramente casados/ Slightly Married
Mary Balogh
Manufacturer: Plaza & Janes Editories Sa
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books
Spanish | Foreign Language Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literaria | General | Literatura y ficción | Libros en español | Formats | Books
ASIN: 8401379598 |
Books:
- Ugly As Sin: Why They Changed Our Churches from Sacred Places to Meeting Spaces and How We Can Change Them Back Again (Forthright Edition)
- Watch for Me on the Mountain (Originally Published As : Cry Geronimo)
- What We Keep
- Windfall (2 Novels in 1)
- Wolf's Hour
- A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul: 101 More Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit
- A Cold-Blooded Business (Kate Shugak Mystery)
- A New Leaf (Cape Light Series #4)
- A Story Like the Wind
- Against the Tide of Years
Books Index
Books Home
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- How to Cut Kids' Hair
- Generos de orquideas de Costa Rica
The Law of Similars
Water Witches
The Buffalo Soldier: A Novel
Before You Know Kindness
Midwives (Oprah's Book Club)
