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Judy Frank's first novel, Crybaby Butch , will be available any day now – the official publication date is November 1, but there is often a lag in getting new books to stores and internet sites. As I've mentioned before, I know Judy, think she's terrific, and I am very excited about this book. The first chapter is stunning, what I've heard about the content makes it clear that Judy is grappling with incredibly intense themes with an enormous amount of humor, integrity, tenderness and nerve.
But don't take my word for it. Judy's just been in Israel doing research for her second novel, Noah's Ark, and there was just a really wonderful article about her and her work in the Jerusalem Times.
You can click here to view the entire article:
(You have to register with the Jerusalem Times, which is kind of a pain, but the article is good enough to be worth it.)
Here's a brief excerpt from the article
Anna Singer, one of the novel's two protagonists, is mourning the loss of her lover, Patricia, who left her unexpectedly. As she struggles to get over the break-up and start a new job teaching basic literacy to adults, Anna is overcome by grief for her father, whom she was unable to truly mourn when he died two decades earlier at 32, the age she is now approaching...
Crybaby Butch is, in a way, an oxymoron that both of the novel's protagonists must deal with.
"Butch is a way of creating meaning and pleasure out of deviance, because you feel your gender not to fall within the binary of male and female," Frank explained.
The novel's other protagonist, Chris, is an old-style butch, who was rejected by her parents because she was considered flagrantly masculine, even as a child. Anna passes more easily as a woman, belonging to the world of middle-class lesbian chic. Both of them define themselves as strong, masculine women who aren't supposed to show emotion or cry. For both of them, expressing their vulnerability feels dangerously close to losing their identity. One of the things that her book is about, Frank explained, is the impact of a man's suicide on the gender identity of his daughter.
I absolutely can't wait to get my greedy, eager hands on this book.
And if you're in Western Massachusetts, you're lucky, because the book launch reading will be at Amherst College on November 15 at the Alumni House at 8 pm.
But don't take my word for it. Judy's just been in Israel doing research for her second novel, Noah's Ark, and there was just a really wonderful article about her and her work in the Jerusalem Times.
You can click here to view the entire article:
(You have to register with the Jerusalem Times, which is kind of a pain, but the article is good enough to be worth it.)
Here's a brief excerpt from the article
Anna Singer, one of the novel's two protagonists, is mourning the loss of her lover, Patricia, who left her unexpectedly. As she struggles to get over the break-up and start a new job teaching basic literacy to adults, Anna is overcome by grief for her father, whom she was unable to truly mourn when he died two decades earlier at 32, the age she is now approaching...
Crybaby Butch is, in a way, an oxymoron that both of the novel's protagonists must deal with.
"Butch is a way of creating meaning and pleasure out of deviance, because you feel your gender not to fall within the binary of male and female," Frank explained.
The novel's other protagonist, Chris, is an old-style butch, who was rejected by her parents because she was considered flagrantly masculine, even as a child. Anna passes more easily as a woman, belonging to the world of middle-class lesbian chic. Both of them define themselves as strong, masculine women who aren't supposed to show emotion or cry. For both of them, expressing their vulnerability feels dangerously close to losing their identity. One of the things that her book is about, Frank explained, is the impact of a man's suicide on the gender identity of his daughter.
I absolutely can't wait to get my greedy, eager hands on this book.
And if you're in Western Massachusetts, you're lucky, because the book launch reading will be at Amherst College on November 15 at the Alumni House at 8 pm.