Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir

It’s impossible to really describe this book correctly. I could talk about the plot, but it’s so much more than that just the events that make up the story. I could talk about genres it touches on, but it really defies genre classification. There are autobiographical elements, letters, poems, and surreal visions that compose the parts of the book, but it’s really about the things we have to escape to find ourselves. I know exactly what the author is talking about, and will also never be able to truly get it. It’s awesome and more people should read it.

I don't think I've ever read a "memoir" like Thom's--complete with magical realism and double meanings. In an interview, Thom explains how she wanted to explore themes of love, hatred, desire, jealousy, safety, and danger within the trans community, and this definitely comes through. She gives us a look into an aspect of the trans community that seldom gets seen because we're all supposed to be about solidarity; and she does this in such a delicate way. This is, and I'll use Thom's words, both an apology and a love letter to the trans community.Thom grabs you from the beginning, "I don't believe in safe spaces. They don't exist. I do, however, believe in dangerous stories." I love that she turns the stereotypical trans memoir on its head conveying all the things that can be contained in those works: danger, safety, violence love, loss, being lost, humor, art, etc., but in a different way.I would recommend.

The writing within this book is revolutionary. A call-to-action for writers everywhere. The book's narrative is stunning and multi-disciplinary. I am grateful to have read this book with its fantastic, intersectional stories of femmes working both within and outside of the oppressive systems to be heard and to demand justice. The book challenges activists to think about reform and/or revolution, the concept of passing, and about how the intersectionality of identities contributes to privilege and oppression. Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars is more non-fiction than fiction as it incorporates the true injustices and struggles that trans women face daily.

I loved the story and the writing. The book involved a lot of traumatic events, that most trans women have to go through, but instead of victimizing the characters, the author showcased their strength and created this fairytale where the princesses are their own knights in shining armor. I really liked the use of mythological elements, especially when the subject was more sensitive , because it prevented the reader from letting those events define the character, without minimizing the emotional impact.

A super original and gorgeous fictionalized memoir written by a trans woman. It has distinct magical/surreal elements, but doesn't shy away from the issues that trans women face (medical professionals who take advantage of them, police brutality, etc). I would definitely recommend this to anyone who's looking for a trans memoir that's outside of the norm and is written to authentically share the experience of being trans rather than just satisfying the voyeuristic desires of cis readers.

Reading this for a class and... its not terrible though it can be hard to read because of its use of metaphors and fantasy that blends genres and leaves you questioning the truth in what is happening.I found it hard to dive deep into the fantasy aspect in the book when there were a lot of real life aspects that weren’t turned into magical things.It’s hard to be critical to a work of art that’s very personal.

it’s weally good uwu

Read this for a book club and it was like no other book I had read. Gave me lots to think about.

This is a wonderful book, I had to read for uni and felt underwhelmed and confussed at first; when you dive into the story and dissect the story and characters it really is a deep story. That is more complicated than one would get from surface level reading.

It was fantastic, I couldn't put it down and ended up finishing it in one sitting. It doesn't just use a trans plotline to grab your attention, or just to be different, it uses it to craft a new one of a kind story that everyone should read.