book data
2,011 ratings,
4.29
average rating, 272 reviews
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published
April 1st 2004
(first published 1993)
by Alyson Books
binding
Paperback, 320 pages
literary awards
Stonewall Book Award for Literature (1994)
isbn
1555838537
(isbn13: 9781555838539)
description
Published in 1993, this brave, original novel is considered to be the finest account ever written of the complexities of a transgendered existence.
Wom
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2,486)
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5 stars (987)
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4 stars (672)
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3 stars (299)
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2 stars (49)
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1 star (4)
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avg 4.29
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
i teach this novel to college students, and have taught it for about three years now. there is no other book, in my opinion, that divides a class so radically -- some students love this book and cant stop reading it, despite acknowledging that it is one depressing representation of americas history of hatred against those who live outside of the gender binary, and others hate it for the writing style, which is admittedly not the most sophisticated out there.
other students hate it be...more
other students hate it be...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
everybody
I do not give many 5-star ratings just because I consider a 5-star rating to be hard to attain by anyone. But I HAD to give 5-stars to this book. I almost feel as if it is cliche to say this book is AMAZING since so many people feel the same way. But I suppose that is just an attestment to the fine work that Leslie Feinberg has done in presenting Jess Goldberg's story and the struggle and oppression that she went through. Utterly heartbreaking at times, this book will take you through the entire...more
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Read in March, 2008
This book reminded me of how fluent I used to be in academic-speak, and how much of that I seem to have lost. I like to think if I was immersed in it again it would come back to me. But I know from Spanish that it wouldn't be immediate, and that it's my own fault for not keeping it up. I'm finding myself unable to say anything significant about it without using the complicated words and phrasings that used to pour out of me and are now tired and dusty and put away somewhere inaccessible. The...more
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Read in January, 2000
ok, I know everyone and their mom thinks this is the best book ever, and really it is quite amazing and so is everything that Leslie Feinberg does. But i have to say besides all the reasons everyone loves this book I remember the exact moment I read the opening letter in this book and how I was totally blown away. Not just because it was this brutally honest confession about being stone butch, but just because it that kind of letter where you say everything you ever meant to and it was beautifu...more
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Read in January, 2003
Stone Butch Blues is first of all a contemporary "Well of Loneliness", which in and of itself is a remarkable accomplishment. It brings the transgender experience into the current in an intensely personal and human way. It is also a panorama of the political developments of the latter half of the 20th century,told by a Butch lesbian Communist. What is most important is that it makes that story universal. It doesn't matter whether you are straight or gay. The book speaks to you of the h...more
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Read in January, 1995
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Read in December, 2008
I’m comforted by how lonely every person’s day to day life can be, and the phases of success and depression that the main character goes through. Continue to be startled at how violent our world can be. I’ve always heard guys talk about bullies and getting beat-up….but never have I seen it….yet the stories continue to flow, this time not from your average ‘guy’. A nice exploration, from a perspective other than mine, of what it means to be a female, a male, gay, lesbian, transge...more
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Read in June, 2009
This is easily one of the best books that I have read, fiction or otherwise. Feinberg does an amazing job of bringing to light the horrible treatment that GLBT people faced during the days before and during the different political and social movements, but where the book really shines is how it functions as a chronicle of Jesse's life. Many times while I was reading Stone Butch Blues, I forgot that I was reading a novel. The attention to detail, and the amount of emotion that was expressed by Je...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone
This book was kind of formative for me, it made a big impact on me as a teenager and again, half my life later. I found my own thought echoed in the book and realized how it somehow shaped me. It's a difficult story to read - my teenage self imagined it set in such a distant past. But really the story ends well and I think that's really the part that stays with you.
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This book....where to begin? Lets just say that I have owned MANY copies. Some I wore out because of how many times I combed through it. Some I gave away. I love this book.
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God, what a book. I read it once when I bought it (probably in about 1993) and have never read it again even though it was so incredible. It's kind of like Boys Don't Cry-so moving and yet painful. It is truly astounding what my queer ancestors had to live with so I could be free to be who I am now. Leslie Feinberg really tells it how it is/was and you rarely get to hear a story like this from someone who lived through the era (yes, it is fiction but I suspect it is based on reality.)
BTW...more
BTW...more
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Read in December, 2008
wow. this book was beautiful to me. and extremely painful to read. it was as depressing as it was full of hope at every turn.
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Read in May, 2009
I am giving this book 4 stars because of the originality of the story, not because Feinberg is a particularly outstanding author. She is fine, but at time the dialogue between the characters becomes a little trite. What is outstanding is how people in our society survived during a time when being different warranted rape and beatings. Jess, the main character, is one of those people. "Stone Butch Blues" paints a vivid picture of life for one stone butch, and gives the reader a peek ins...more
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Read in April, 2002
Incredible story, incredible person.
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Read in November, 2008
I loved this book. Yeah, I read it for a class, but I loved it anyway. There are so many reasons why I fell in love with this book. One, the story just sucked me in, the way all good stories do. And I was really drawn to the main character, Jess. I relate strongly to any character that expresses a feeling of being different, of feeling like they don't fit in anywhere, no matter what the context is, because I have never felt like I really fit in anywhere. And I learned a lot from this book. I le...more
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Read in December, 2008
This is simultaneously an easy book to read--because it is a gripping story, well told--and a very difficult book to read--because the story being told is fraught with violence, heartbreak, injustice, and despair.
This is the story of Jess Goldberg, a female who feels vastly more comfortable dressed and behaving in ways that most of us would consider "male:" a he-she, as Jess calls herself. Her struggles to fit into a world that can't seem to accept her no matter what she do...more
This is the story of Jess Goldberg, a female who feels vastly more comfortable dressed and behaving in ways that most of us would consider "male:" a he-she, as Jess calls herself. Her struggles to fit into a world that can't seem to accept her no matter what she do...more
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Read in April, 2009
so it's no secret i'm not a great fan of lesbian fiction (which may be an oxymoron), Jeanette Winterson aside. I think our strength lies in non-fiction. however, this was one of those books that i promised myself i'd read to understand what the butch/femme culture was about back in the day. perhaps because my expectations were so low, i surprised myself and really ended up loving it.
it horrifies me to think what these beautiful women had to endure just because they were different....more
it horrifies me to think what these beautiful women had to endure just because they were different....more
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Dumpster Baby by:
my curiosity recommends it for: anyone and everyone with an open heart, mind, and soul....
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Read in May, 2006
recommends it for:
anyone interested in queer issues
Yipes, this book was a hard read. The pre-Stonewall era was extremely harsh for queerfolk; between the rapes, beatings, and general hatred from law enforcement and the general public alike, I frankly don't know how people survived. (I know it still happens today, but there was SO LITTLE safe space in those days). This is the personal narrative of Leslie Feinberg, categorized as fiction, but as I understand it fairly true to life. I could only award this book two stars because of the sheer de...more
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I read this book as an undergraduate and fell in love with it. I appreciated Jess's gender identity struggles as much as her struggles with class issues. Years later, I was fortunate enough to talk with Leslie Feinberg when I brought hir to Eugene to speak about gender, class and more at the Against Patriarchy conference (now the Beyond Patriarchy conference). Leslie has a rare gift for understanding the interconnectedness of oppression and is a brilliant, yet simple writer.
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quotes from this book
"'How do you find an apartment in this city?' I asked. 'You want an apartment? Go find someone who's got a rent-controlled apartment and kill them.' He wasn't smiling as he handed me a copy of the Village Voice and took my money."
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