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Trans-Sister Radio

Chris Bohjalian (Goodreads Author)

3.74 · Rating details · 10,039 ratings · 931 reviews

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, enthusi ...more

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Paperback, 342 pages

Published August 14th 2001 by Vintage (first published May 3rd 2000)

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Sep 09, 2008 Ruby rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: people with curiosity about mtf transition who can't handle non-fiction

If you're looking for an introduction to transgender issues, this may be a great book for you. I wasn't.

It seems apparent to me that the author thought the idea of a trans character was so intriguing that he would research the phenomenon and write a convincing book about the world of the transitioning MTF. I guess this is what authors do, and I can't fault his research -- as far as I know nothing he said in the book was inaccurate.

It was, however, bland, predictable, and ultimately implausible If you're looking for an introduction to transgender issues, this may be a great book for you. I wasn't.

It seems apparent to me that the author thought the idea of a trans character was so intriguing that he would research the phenomenon and write a convincing book about the world of the transitioning MTF. I guess this is what authors do, and I can't fault his research -- as far as I know nothing he said in the book was inaccurate.

It was, however, bland, predictable, and ultimately implausible.

My biggest problem was with the obsessive way in which this transition was the only issue in any of the characters' lives. The story is told from four points of view, that of the MTF, her girlfriend, her girlfriend's ex-husband, and her girlfriend's daughter. The play on words in the title is grating, as the father, and ultimately the daughter, too, are involved in public radio.

Whenever Bohjalian ventures away from the transition (which I feel as if I should capitalize or italicize to highlight its importance as it is emphasized in the book), which is rare, the story sags and becomes paper thin. We see the ex-husband go through a divorce that barely concerns him. We hear about the daughter's love affairs as if they're handshakes in a parking lot. It's apparent that Bohjalian wanted to talk about one thing, and one thing only: the transition.

Maybe I'm jaded, being a part of the queer community, and having a number of friends who have transitioned. Maybe I've read too many coming out stories, and I'm bored with the focus on one event in a person's life taking over everything. Queers have other interests than their genetalia, I swear. Even people whose genetalia is not aligned with their gender.

Finally, the ending was predictable and convenient, and though it was satisfying to have a happy ending for a couple of characters in the story, I also felt disappointed, and disbelieving. Do we really need to return to the comfort of heterosexuality to find happiness? Should we read that into the ending?

Perhaps that is Bohjalian's answer, but it sure isn't mine. ...more

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Sep 11, 2015 Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, lgbt-themes

Correction...'Thanks, *Iris*.... lol, ...

The Guest Room", by Chris Bohjalian - will be released early Jan. 2016.
I've already heard wonderful early 'buzz-greatness' from other early readers.
I'm waiting for my pre-ordered copy to arrive early Jan.
In the meantime, I just finished "Trans-Sister Radio", which was first published in 2001
I 'love' the title and it's a gorgeous book cover. The story is intimate
realistic, and beautifully written.

The topic is 'transsexuality'. The novel shows how peopl ...more

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Sep 10, 2015 Carol rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, lifetime-favorites

Read this long ago but saw it on Bookbub today so decided to add it. It is one of my all-time favs and definitely my favorite of Chris Bohjalian's books. ...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Anne Marie rated it it was amazing

I think what a lot of people forget is that when this book came out only sleazy talk show hosts we're talking about transgender and even then, it was only for shock factor. I found it refreshing to hear about the process happens and I have met the author and spoke at length about this extensive research to prepare. If you are active in the GLBT community, you might feel like you have heard this before, but not back in 2001 when it was published you didn't--a lot of acceptance has been acheived i ...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Mackenzie rated it liked it

Shelves: mine-hardcopy

Bohjalian tried, he really really did. Over all, this was a decent book. For anyone seeking a better, safe understanding of gender and concerns of transgender individuals with a fairly interesting story line and likeable characters, it is a good choice. However, for those with an understanding of what trans* individuals face, it has several points of annoyance and often reeks of textbook cloaked in fiction.

A couple of examples that made me twitch any time I read their print:

1. the word "transg ...more

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Jul 04, 2020 Howard rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: e-book, fiction

4 Stars for Trans-Sister Radio (ebook) by Chris Bohjalian. I didn’t realize that this book was 18 years old till I was about done with it. It must have been ground breaking back in 2002. I think it was an interesting approach to tell the story from so many perspectives. That really highlighted how everyone was affected.

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Aug 15, 2008 Michael rated it did not like it

From my "position paper" on the book for class:

Throughout Trans-sister Radio, representation is a key issue: community members refuse to let Dana represent herself and refuse to acknowledge her identity as a woman; Allison is denied the opportunity to represent herself to parents (instead, the principal does the work of representing Allison in rather negative ways); the radio becomes a way for Dana and Allison to represent themselves; the four major characters are able to represent themselves to From my "position paper" on the book for class:

Throughout Trans-sister Radio, representation is a key issue: community members refuse to let Dana represent herself and refuse to acknowledge her identity as a woman; Allison is denied the opportunity to represent herself to parents (instead, the principal does the work of representing Allison in rather negative ways); the radio becomes a way for Dana and Allison to represent themselves; the four major characters are able to represent themselves to the reader through their first-person chapters; and, ultimately, we have a story about a transwoman written and represented by a cisgendered heterosexual man. The questions of who gets to represent themselves and how, and who gets to represent those who are denied the ability to represent themselves, are central to this book (and I am sure, this course).

As I started reading, I found the whole premise of Bohjalian writing and selling this book problematic. I'm not coming out as universally against dominant culture folks writing about and representing subaltern positions. But it appears here that we have a sentimental story written for a liberal audience whose primary goals, I feel, are to learn more about the Other through voyeurism and to feel good about their own liberal tolerance. They seem to be mirrored most by the central narrator of the story, Carly, who as a young liberal believes that Dana is weird but tolerates her. Dana's story is sensational and must be shared, not only for the readers of Bohjalian's book, but also for the listeners of NPR in the book. In the course of writing a book for liberal sensibilities, Bohjalian has domesticated trans issues as much possible: it is a private issue, and conservatives are wrong to make it public (no one in this book questions how romance, privacy, and heterosexuality are publicly mediated). Dana is portrayed as normatively and domestically as possible for a transwoman; in fact, she writes that she is “domestic as a balloon shade or a perennial garden. And just as harmless” (page unsure). Of course, a good story that means to portray trans as somewhat normative wouldn't be complete without a reinforcement of heterosexuality: now that Dana is a woman and on hormones, she begins to feel attracted to Will and they begin to date and might move together to New Mexico. In the end of the book, the most heterosexual get the last word: After Allison's last chapter, Carly gets a chapter, then Dana, then Will, and finally closing with Carly. Carly is confident that her mom will find someone some day, but Allison is unable to speak for herself at this point, and her potential future is portrayed by her young, budding heterosexual daughter who has forgotten all about questioning her own gender and sexuality. Despite a few moments where biology and romance are queered, ultimately, this is another story about heterosexual love. ...more

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Aug 22, 2013 Barbara H rated it liked it · review of another edition

This difficult, sensitive topic was handled skillfully by this author. The main character, Dana had always felt that his gender assignment was in error. At the age of 35, he has set out to have this corrected. During the process of attempting to treat this, but prior to genital transformation, he meets Allison and they fall in love. All of the dilemmas that they and family members encounter are the result of their relationship and decisions they have made. I will not introduce spoilers here, but ...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Faith Baker rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-club-books

This is our current selection for book club and I just finished it over the weekend. I very much enjoyed reading it as it was a quick and easy read about a subject that up until now, I had never thought of. I knew it existed and that eventually in my life I would run into someone who is a transsexual, but truthfully, I had never given their struggle or their relationships a thought. I found the characters interesting and I came to care for them. The explanation of the surgery and recovery was th ...more

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Feb 08, 2009 Vicky rated it did not like it

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

An account of a transsexual who has his/her gender reassigned, and the effect this has on her relationships and the community in which she lives. I suppose Bohjalian really believed he was doing a service to transsexuals by writing a sympathetic account of their experience, and maybe he would have been if it had been a better book. In fact, it's both plodding and prurient -- an amazing achievement! It's about genitals, not about the people who have, or change, those genitals. Bohjalian doesn't b ...more

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Oct 07, 2017 Kate rated it really liked it

Recommended to Kate by: Carol

Shelves: 2017-books, 2017-tbr

Chris Bohjalian is one of my favorite authors. His books are smart and interesting and I have attended several author events with him. He is generous with his readers and has called into my book club twice to discuss his work. This book was on my TBR pile for a long while and I picked it up for Banned Books week. This is such an interesting story of Dana Stevens who believes he was born in the wrong body and is well on the way to transitioning to a woman. He becomes involved with Allison Banks a ...more

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Jul 02, 2007 Milo rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: fiction lovers

Shelves: queer

I loved this book. Not only did it handle transgender and transexual issues well, it was a captivating story filled with emotion and

Alison Banks, a grade-school teacher in a Vermont town, meets and falls in love with a charming and amazing man, Dana. A few months into their romance Dana confesses to Alison that she actually identifies as (gay) female, has begun hormones, will soon be dressing and living as a woman, and will be having sexual reassignment surgery several months later, that Januar ...more

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Aug 12, 2017 Vonia rated it liked it

Shelves: wanted-to-like-more-than-i-did, the-best-reviews, both-one-and-five-stars, small-town-lives, psychology, hospitalization-institutionalizatio, lgbt, religion, everything-changes-on-the-last-page, multiple-points-of-view

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I loved this book. At least I liked it a lot. I might be slightly biased, however, because a very close friend of mine revealed to me a few years ago that she was beginning her transition process. Although still a great read now, this novel would have been extremely beneficial in the first few months as I stood by her side, trying to learn everything I could about her decision.

I did, however, take issue with a few key points. All in all, still a great read today for someone to really explore th I loved this book. At least I liked it a lot. I might be slightly biased, however, because a very close friend of mine revealed to me a few years ago that she was beginning her transition process. Although still a great read now, this novel would have been extremely beneficial in the first few months as I stood by her side, trying to learn everything I could about her decision.

I did, however, take issue with a few key points. All in all, still a great read today for someone to really explore the humanistic side of the transition process for a transgender woman (male to female). Notably, this was more significant when it was published, transsexuality being far less accepted than it is now.

The Good:
* Great character study, many facts and different aspects of the transition process are explored. Very relatable, answering inquiries readers likely had on a controversial and often difficult topic that they were not inclined to ask.
* Four different perspectives was the right choice. Dana Stevens, a transgender woman; her lover through the transition process, Allison Banks; Allison's ex husband and Dana's lover shortly after the transition, Will Banks; the Banks' daughter, Carly Banks.

The Bad:
* It was a little inaccurate with the transexual terminology, usage, etcetera (i.e. transgendered connotes a flexible state). Maybe because it is nearly two decades dated now?

* It was unrealistically focused on the transition, as if nothing else ever happened in the characters' lives.

The Ugly:
* The ending. Really? Dana, who has her male to female transition, has had Allison by her side the entire time. (The fact that Dana did not tell Allison she was getting a sex change operation until days before, until they had already fallen in love; and that Allison then essentially became a lesbian for Dana seemed like a rare event but still believable to my romantic notions.) After Dana's transition; after Allison is aggressively challenged at work; sent an offensive expletive and graphic slipped between her students' papers; had students in her sixth grade classroom change to another teacher; they are both frowned and looked down upon almost everywhere in the little town they live in; their place is vandalized with offensive graffiti; their story is featured on Vermont Public Radio (Allison's ex husband Will is a lifelong employee there); then popular enough to be featured on National Public Radio with Allison & Will's daughter Carly as host- that is when the community finally steps back in their discrimination, and, without what she sees as a necessary stance to defend, Allison ends the relationship. This would have been a good time to end our story. Unfortunately, it seems the author felt the need to resort to a less controversial ending. Not only does he diminish the weight of a great LGBT character study by having Dana become heterosexual, he makes it quite inconceivable by having her fall in love with none other than Allison's ex husband Will, someone who had so far been considerably critical of her. Of course, he falls in love with her as well, and we have a nice, safe ending. What is our author trying to say? That, after all is said and done, heterosexuality saves the day?
...more

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Sep 22, 2013 Tea Time with Marce rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-on-kindle

From my blog

If you want debate, choose this for your book club. I thought this was a fascinating, thought provoking but at times uncomfortable book to read. And to know this is reality for some makes it a wow moment, I feel a little shell shocked but I also feel more educated.

One of the debates is when should personal life be a factor for professional life. Allison has fell in love with a transsexual while she is a school teacher. Chris B was fantastic in the genuine characterization he used in From my blog

If you want debate, choose this for your book club. I thought this was a fascinating, thought provoking but at times uncomfortable book to read. And to know this is reality for some makes it a wow moment, I feel a little shell shocked but I also feel more educated.

One of the debates is when should personal life be a factor for professional life. Allison has fell in love with a transsexual while she is a school teacher. Chris B was fantastic in the genuine characterization he used in the book for all involved. The ex husband Will, daughter Carly, principle, parents, students and of course the couple themselves Dana and Allison. Some of the advocates at school were out of order and made me realize a great reputation will not always win over decisions that truly should only be yours.

I enjoyed the style of the book, they used the transcript of radio clips and then we heard from different characters in the book in relation to how they were affected or their role in the process. We get some details about the surgery, it can be uncomfortable to read, squeamish at times.

I loved how they alternated between calling Dana he or she, this proves as great debate also. An interesting thought was if Dana had got in an accident and was castrated by mistake, many would be supportive but to choose castration, how could he. Very complex thoughts. Allison has always been straight, now that her partner is no longer a man, is she gay, hmmm.

Every thought that you have while reading this, the author will touch on, amazing really. I live in a small community and if this happened, I can see many reacting the same, news and radio for sure. Unfortunately some of the judgments too.

My only issue was the ending and I think it just made me uncomfortable in so many ways which also makes me feel guilty. It ended a little to quickly and neatly but then I think do I really want to know.

I highly recommend this one just for the heart wrenching, emotional but thought provoking adventure it take you on.
...more

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Feb 23, 2009 SteffieStar rated it it was amazing

Shelves: chris-bohjalian

I enjoyed that each character (Allison, Dana, Carly & Will) each had chapters to tell the story from their eyes & heart & soul!

This goes to show how some people can be so predjudce just becuase you are a Transexual, Gay or Bi-Sexual. Thinking that you can catch it or teach it. God Forbid they just accept it as normal, for that person and let it be each indiviuals personal choice!

Chris Bohjalian you touched my heart & soul when you wrote:

"Or walk with me a few generations into the future. You're ...more

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Nov 24, 2012 Stacey D. rated it really liked it

I get the feeling that Bohjalian had the title in mind before writing this book. It's so perfect! A smooth read and a really interesting take on the meaning of gender in our modern world. Another great book on transexuals is The Danish Girl by the great David Ebershoff, which was published the same year as Trans-Sister Radio and is being made into a movie. ...more

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May 09, 2016 Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... rated it really liked it

I absolutely loved this book. It is authentic, deep and complicated. The latter is appropriate because the central character is male to female transsexual. Many are uncomfortable with the idea of transsexuals and see it as a choice made by the individual - a choice that is misguided and wrong; a choice that is even offensive. In this book Mr Bohjalian attacks the subject with no identifiable prejudice. He allows the character to stand for herself. He allows her to explain for herself. It is rich ...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Alena rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book

3.5 stars, but I'm going to round up because Bohjalian really got me thinking with this book, which I listened to on audio.
The story centers around Dana, a transsexual trapped in a man's body before undergoing gender reassignment surgery. Dana falls in love with Allison before the surgery. Allison, a Vermont school teacher, stands by Dana despite the fallout. Told in radio-transcript format, we also hear from the perspective of Allison's daughter Carli and her ex-husband Will.
While it took me a ...more

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Dec 15, 2015 Rina rated it liked it

I'd give this book a 3.75 because a bit of it was tedious. I love this author. When I started this novel and was about halfway through I thought it was the least favorite of Bohjalian's books that I read. Thinking about that, the first and last third of the novel was better than the middle. What I loved about it is that he took an unusual topic (like Jodi Picoult does but this is not a comparison) and really made it his own. Some people will not like the descriptive language though I believe it ...more

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Sep 20, 2010 Maicie rated it it was amazing

Astonishingly beautiful.

In brief, Allison falls in love with Dana the man. Dana reveals what he has known since childhood - She is a woman in a man's body. And she will soon undergo surgery to correct nature's mistake.

This book could have been a hot mess. Instead, the author tells a compassionate and tender story that asks some important questions about identity. What defines us? Does the soul have gender? What is gender?

An honest book you will interact with on many levels.
Highly recommend. ...more

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Apr 29, 2008 Sandie rated it liked it

Shelves: uvm-group

I like Bohjalian's writing. This one is set in Vermont, with a side trip to Trinidad, CO. The subject matter is a male to female gender change and a family that is affected by it. I learned more than I wanted to know about the operation but it is interesting and I have more empathy for people who make that decision. Chris came to our book group and talked about his research for the book, which added new insights. ...more

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Jun 20, 2016 Brenda rated it really liked it

loved this book. could not put it down. I am quickly becoming a big fan of his works!

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Feb 20, 2013 TamElaine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2013, favourites

I’ve found so much to discuss from this book and so let me start with a general review so that I can make the remainder a huge spoiler alert....

This is the third Chris Bohjalian Book I’ve read and while I’ve enjoyed the other two, this one is my favourite. He’s taken a subject that is sensitive and controversial and wrote with frankness, plenty of well thought out perspective from many angles, and brought it to life for a reader (most likely thousands of readers) that has not known a single tran
I’ve found so much to discuss from this book and so let me start with a general review so that I can make the remainder a huge spoiler alert....

This is the third Chris Bohjalian Book I’ve read and while I’ve enjoyed the other two, this one is my favourite. He’s taken a subject that is sensitive and controversial and wrote with frankness, plenty of well thought out perspective from many angles, and brought it to life for a reader (most likely thousands of readers) that has not known a single transsexual. He educates in his writing without making it obvious. He writes with as much curiosity as the reader reads. I don’t think there’s a better way to say it than to say that I appreciated this book. The points below contain spoilers including direct quotes from the book that I enjoyed or found intriguing....

(view spoiler)[ I had been really enjoying the book, the writing style was so smooth, and yet at the point where Dana revealed to Allison that he was going for reassignment surgery, I was beginning to wonder how reading this story would have felt for me if I had not known the secret....if the secret had been revealed to the reader at the same time Allison was finding out....but then I realized we would not have had the insight and the perspective from Dana to really understand (and I was really loving this – I think Bohjalian did a beautiful job on getting this point across without too much wordiness – but rather conviction that made me understand in way I never have before....I’ve had compassion and what I thought was understanding for people who felt they were born into the wrong sex, but the perspective that Bohjalian offered on the ‘situation’ (for lack of a better word) through his character, Dana, was rather enlightening to say the least.) And then in further contemplation, I wondered, since we knew this ‘secret’ so incredibly early in the book, and since it was being revealed to Allison fairly early, that either this book is going to read like a memoir, which would be enjoyable, or there was going to be a horrible outcome mounting to a climax.....and only a few pages after I was thinking this I was incredibly saddened to read these lines:

“In his opinion, the sole purpose of the transgender feature on VPR was to show Allie the error of her ways.

“That was never the case, and I suppose that’s become pretty obvious now. If I’d known then how our story would end, I imagine I would have done all that I could to prevent any radio programming at all about transsexuality and gender.”

As sad as I was to read these lines, if I hadn’t already been hooked by the mere curiosity of Dana’s feelings and life, I was certainly hooked now. And nearing the end, I was surprised to find such a twist.....and then it makes me wonder why Will would make the statement that he did, as quoted in the above two paragraphs...

I absolutely loved the part of the novel where Will asked Carly what she thought of Dana.....Her response made me smile just by the simple use of the pronouns....to show her respect for Dana’s feelings, Carly’s open-mindedness....her response was this: “Well, she’s a little weird and I have my doubts. But I like her. I like her a lot.”

I love that this book discusses perspectives from every angle – For example, Will is not just a character who thinks Dana is crazy and doesn’t approve of reassignment surgery – he is a guy that started with an opinion against reassignment and does research that supports his opinion – he is not open minded, but rather looking for ways, for solid intellectual reasons that validate his own – and in this way the reader is allowed the benefit of seeing these different angles. For example, Will points out “The fact is, no hormone was going to turn Dana Stevens’s Y chromosome into an X. No surgery in the world was going to offer him the particular history that went along with growing up female. No procedure was going to give him the joys or the terrors that must accompany pregnancy—that must, for teen girls, make sex a walk over Niagara Falls on a tightrope.

“You simply couldn’t, it seemed to me, change a biological imperative.

“When I realized what Dana was going to do, I saw at best a parody of feminity. I saw the sort of man who could set the women’s movement back decades. Look at me, the transsexual screams, I’m a girl! I’m wearing a dress!”

I also have really enjoyed the humour in this book – I feel that while some characters poked fun of some of the points of transsexuality or of Dana’s or Allie’s situation, the humour was light, mostly respectful, made a point and got a chuckle from me regardless of the stance it made. And in a few spots, the humour was pure irony, as blatantly even pointed out here:

“Here’s an irony too good to pass up: The last name of the surgeon who in 1952 turned George Jorgensen into Christine? Hamburger. The guy with the knife was named Hamburger.”

Carly’s Grandmother, Allie’s mother, visited near Christmas before Dana’s surgery and met Dana for the first time – this was during the time that Dana was beginning to wear dresses to ‘try out his new gender before making it permanent’ (I really like Dana’s opinion on that aspect by the way – a perspective I think most readers would appreciate about authenticity.) Carly’s Grandmother’s take gave for some humour as well, but perhaps even some more open-mindedness than most would think from that generation....I loved her closing comments so much, and Dana’s response:

“Well, dear,” she said to Mom, “we all need to try new things now and then. Let’s face it: The first person to eat a lobster must have been a very brave man.”

“Or,” Dana said, smiling, “very, very hungry.”

A theme throughout this book was living the life you were meant to live – to be who you are.....and we see Dana finally getting the physical means to live who she is....and yet something that really bothered me throughout was that Dana wished for Allie to continue to be her lover....in a sense, asking Allie to be gay when clearly she was not....asking Allie to be someone she is not....and it was as if in spots Dana could not see this whatsoever....After the surgery, and preparing for the trip back home, Dana thinks:With any luck, I’d be back with Allison by dinner Thursday night, and we’d begin what I hoped –no, what I expected—would be a long and glorious and serene life together. And having said that, I can’t imagine Allison having to ‘fight’ for her job with the conviction it was going to take – how could she have conviction when she was agreeing to attempt a life living in a manner that was not who she was ? Even if she was supportive, even if she couldn’t bear not to have Dana in her life, how could she live as someone else entirely? And how could Dana expect this of her when Dana experienced how deeply painful it was to be expected to live as someone else for 35 years?

The book addressed so many moral issues that leaves us to ponder – How would it feel to BE a transsexual? How would you react if your daughter fell in love with a M2F? or a F2M for that matter? (Is this any different to your reaction if your child was to tell you he or she was gay?) How would you react if your young children were in a classroom with a teacher who cohabitated with a transsexual ? How about your neighbour? Is being transsexual in your opinion about sex or about gender? Is trans-sexuality a mental health disorder in your opinion?

Sometimes words or sentences just stick out to me, express something I haven’t been able to express as well as I’d like to....gives me a way to say what I’m feeling.... and there was such a statement in this book....

The first part is just to set up where the sentence was coming from “Was I nervous when I first started wearing women’s clothing? Lord, yes. But I also felt movie-star fabulous........” then later..... “You can’t imagine what it’s like after a lifetime in the wrong attire to finally fee the right clothing energizing your body.”

Energizing, describing clothing and even further, the RIGHT clothing, that was meant for you....oh, I understand this ! It’s awful to stuff yourself in clothes that are too tight or a fashion that doesn’t feel good....It’s horrifying to wear men’s shoes and feel like you’re are clomping around like a dinosaur simply because your feet are too wide....and it might feel cozy and comfortable to slip into a pair of jogging pants and sweat shirt, but it’s also a feeling of laziness, followed by guilt and eventually depressing....but when you find the right fit, the right style, the right material it IS energizing !

(hide spoiler)]

This is the third book I’ve read by Chris Bohjalian – and while I love his writing, I sometimes get a sense of ADHD – like he (or perhaps his characters) can’t stay on one topic or in a continuous time line for more than a few paragraphs. In the book Midwives, while I ended up loving the book a great deal, this jumping around in the beginning was almost the death of the book for me, yet it was such a fabulous story with really great characters and perspective. For some reason, I felt the jumping around seemed to work with Trans-sister Radio....and perhaps that the jumping around only appeared that way on a timeline, yet was rather quite well organized by topic....it was as if the topics or perspectives were introduced, explained or discussed exactly when the reader needed to hear them, as opposed to staying on a strict timeline....at least until it was necessary to follow a chronological sequence as it did at slightly more than the half-way point of the book.

Just as a sidenote, sometimes I pictured Dana as a taller David Spade and sometimes as a long-haired Jim Parsons. ...more

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Sep 10, 2018 Jenna rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction, lgbtqia

This book started out so beautifully, I thought I would love it. Unfortunately, that's not the case, but I think those not in the LGBQT community will like it more. It is probably a great introduction to trans-gender people for those who might not know anyone who is. I like that it is non-judgmental and strives to explain what it's like for people who are (which is why I gave it 2 stars instead of 1). The book is written from the point of view of 4 characters, one of whom is Dana, a trans-gender This book started out so beautifully, I thought I would love it. Unfortunately, that's not the case, but I think those not in the LGBQT community will like it more. It is probably a great introduction to trans-gender people for those who might not know anyone who is. I like that it is non-judgmental and strives to explain what it's like for people who are (which is why I gave it 2 stars instead of 1). The book is written from the point of view of 4 characters, one of whom is Dana, a trans-gender woman. It is about her transitioning and how it affects the lives of the woman she is dating, her 19 year old daughter, and her ex-husband who live in a small, rural town in Vermont where the people are mostly not open and accepting.

However......

(view spoiler) ...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Bridget rated it really liked it

Chris Bohjalian never ceases to amaze me. As I think Book Club Heather pointed out at a meeting when we were discussing the (horribly dumb) The Night Strangers, his books are all so different. In a way, I want some consistency with my authors; I want to know that for the most part, I can expect what I am going to get. But in another way, I like that I am surprised each time I read one of his books.

This book had a fairly deep subject matter, but I appreciated that it was actually the lightest ...more

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Feb 06, 2016 Ally Perrin rated it it was amazing

Trans-Sister Radio was my favorite book I've read in a long time. It's beautifully written and the story is eye-opening, emotional, upsetting, and happy all at once. I really loved the plot, even though I called the ending about 100 pages before it occurred. Trans-Sister Radio is written in two formats: some chapters are written as transcripts of a radio show and are used to introduce the prose chapters told by multiple characters. The general story is this: a 40-something schoolteacher divorcee ...more

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Sep 21, 2015 Charlene rated it liked it

Shelves: education, mothers-daughters, rated-not-reviewed, 1st-person-narrative, parenting, science, reviewed, academia, public-library, adult-themes

This is the first book I've read by Chris Bohjalian, and for some reason I thought it was newly published, only to discover that it was published in 2000. The author treats the topic of MtF sexual reassignment with sensitivity and his writing flows. One character is a college professor, one is an elementary school teacher, and one is a local NPR executive, in small-town Vermont.

What probably lost an entire star from my rating was the absolute implausibility of the ending. I simply did not think ...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Starlene rated it really liked it

Imagine a woman falling in love with a man; the woman is told a few months into the relationship that the man is a woman on the inside. This is the story of Allison and Dana.

When Dana tells Allison he is in love with her and then shares that he is a transsexual and is in the process of having a sex change Allison must deal with her own personal emotions and the uproar of her community. Allison’s ex husband, Will, secretly wishes the relationship between Allison and Dana will work and when it do ...more

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Jun 19, 2009 Andrea rated it did not like it

Shelves: novels, hated, fake-lgbtqi, gender

Well, this is one of those terrible and yet for me compulsively readable novels. How do normal people see/deal with gender variance? And by normal people I mean to include aspiring normal people. I always want to know, so I read their (incredibly popular, published by mainstream presses, gigantic advance bearing, totally exploitative) books.

Obviously heavily researched, and written by an obviously gender-conforming, heterosexual, Extremely Liberal dude. Not quite as offensive to my sensibilities ...more

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May 13, 2010 Cindy rated it really liked it

This is a very interesting and fascinating book about a transsexual and the lives that she affects. I found myself wanting to read this book then not wanting to read it because of the subject matter. Bohjalian really knows how to get your attention and then keep it. There are 4 main characters and each chapter tells their point of view. The description of the surgical procedure was amazing although it made me a little queasy!

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About Chris Bohjalian

Chris Bohjalian

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Chris Bohjalian is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 21 books. His work has been translated into 35 languages and three times become movies.

His forthcoming novel, "Hour of the Witch," arrives on May 4, 2021. It's a novel of historical suspense set in 1662 Boston, a tale of the first divorce in North America for domestic violence -- and a subsequent witch trial.

His most recent novel, “The Chris Bohjalian is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 21 books. His work has been translated into 35 languages and three times become movies.

His forthcoming novel, "Hour of the Witch," arrives on May 4, 2021. It's a novel of historical suspense set in 1662 Boston, a tale of the first divorce in North America for domestic violence -- and a subsequent witch trial.

His most recent novel, “The Red Lotus,” just arrived in paperback. It's a twisting story of love and deceit: an American man vanishes on a rural road in Vietnam and his girlfriend, an emergency room doctor trained to ask questions, follows a path that leads her home to the very hospital where they met. Publishers Weekly called it “a diabolical plot reminiscent of a Robin Cook thriller,” and Booklist described it as “masterful…a cerebral and dramatic dive into what happens when love turns to agony.”

His 2018 novel, “The Flight Attendant,” debuted as a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and National Indiebound Bestseller. It is now an an 8-hour HBO Max limited series, starring Kaley Cuoco (who is also an Executive Producer), Rosie Perez, Michelle Gomez, Michiel Huisman (“Game of Thrones” and “The Haunting of Hill House”), and T.R. Knight (“Grey’s Anatomy”).

He is also a playwright and screenwriter. He has adapted his novel, “Midwives,” for a play, which premiered January 21, 2020 at the George Street Playhouse, and was directed by David Saint. Broadway World said of it, “The fine playwriting by Bohjalian, the directorial talents of the Playhouse’s Artistic Director, David Saint, and the show’s accomplished cast make this play unforgettable.”

His first play, “Grounded,” premiered at the 59 East 59th Theatres in New York City in the summer of 2018 and is now available as an audiobook and eBook, “Wingspan.”

His books have been chosen as Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Hartford Courant, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Bookpage, and Salon.

His awards include the Walter Cerf Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts; the ANCA Freedom Award for his work educating Americans about the Armenian Genocide; the ANCA Arts and Letters Award for The Sandcastle Girls, as well as the Saint Mesrob Mashdots Medal; the New England Society Book Award for The Night Strangers; the New England Book Award; Russia’s Soglasie (Concord) Award for The Sandcastle Girls; a Boston Public Library Literary Light; a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Trans-Sister Radio; a Best Lifestyle Column for “Idyll Banter” from the Vermont Press Association; and the Anahid Literary Award. His novel, Midwives,was a number one New York Times bestseller, a selection of Oprah’s Book Club, and a New England Booksellers Association Discovery pick. He is a Fellow of the Vermont Academy of Arts and Sciences.

He has written for a wide variety of magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Reader’s Digest, and The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. He was a weekly columnist in Vermont for The Burlington Free Press from 1992 through 2015.

Chris graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from Amherst College. He has been awarded Honorary Degrees as well from Amherst, Champlain College, and Castleton University.

He lives in Vermont with his wife, the photographer Victoria Blewer.

Their daughter, Grace Experience, is a young actor in New York City. Among the audiobooks she has narrated are The Flight Attendant; Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands; and The Guest Room. ...more

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Quotes from Trans-Sister Radio

“No surgery in the world was going to offer him the particular history that went along with growing up female. No procedure was going to give him the joys or the terrors that must accompany pregnancy- that must, for teen girls, make sex a walk over Niagara Falls on a tightrope.” — 8 likes

“Nothing -- and I mean nothing, Carly Banks -- is crazy if you're in love.” — 3 likes

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