Tag Archives: independent publisher

Book Review: The Default World by Naomi Kanakia

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The Default World by Naomi Kanakia

Publisher: The Feminist Press

Pub date: 5/28/24 – OUT NOW!

Thank you to the publisher for my gifted ARC!

Goodreads Synopsis:

“A trans woman sets out to exploit a group of wealthy roommates, only to fall under the spell of their glamorous, hedonistic lifestyle in tech-bubble San Francisco.

Years after fleeing San Francisco and getting sober, Jhanvi has made a life for herself working at a grocery co-op and saving for her surgeries. But when her friend (and sometimes more) Henry mentions that he and his techie festival-goer friends spent $100,000 to transform a warehouse basement into a sex dungeon, Jhanvi starts wondering if there’s a way to exploit these gullible idiots. She returns to San Francisco, hatching a plan to marry Henry for his company’s generous healthcare benefits.

Jhanvi enters a world of beautiful, decadent fire eaters and their lavish sex parties. But as her pretensions to cynicism and control start to fade, she develops a Gatsbyesque attraction to these happy young people and their bold claims of unconditional love. But do any of her privileged new friends really like or accept her? Her financial needs expose the limits of a community built on limitless self-expression, and soon she has to choose between doing what’s right, and doing what’s right for her.

This darkly funny novel skewers privileged leftist millennial tech culture, and asks whether “found family” is just another of the 21st-century’s broken promises.”

My thoughts:

What initially piqued my interest in THE DEFAULT WORLD (besides the gorgeous cover) was the transfeminine main character, Jhanvi. Although it sounds counterintuitive, I enjoyed Jhanvi’s POV, because she is terribly unlikeable. She is a major hypocrite, quite self-centered, and generally unkind to most people she encounters in life. Though this characterization choice doesn’t always pan out in literature, Kanakia definitely made it work for Jhanvi.

Sometimes, a flawed main character irks me to the point of not finishing a book, but this wasn’t the case for THE DEFAULT WORLD at all. I found it amusing to recognize Jhanvi’s hypocrisy throughout the story in the same way I do when reading Holden Caufield’s narration in THE CATCHER IN THE RYE. Holden would certainly call Jhanvi a phony and a sycophant, and I would absolutely back him up.

Although I found Jhanvi’s unlike-ability quite amusing, I wish there had been at least one redeeming character in THE DEFAULT WORLD. Not every novel needs a character for readers to root for, but I think this title could have benefited from it.

I’m so glad I came across THE DEFAULT WORLD while perusing Goodreads. I am always, always on the lookout for trans-centered literary fiction and, I must say, the book gods have been blessing me/readers in general lately! Seeing new release lists with queer-normative titles brings my heart so much joy, as this was not the case a few years ago. Thank you to The Feminist Press for my gifted copy of THE DEFAULT WORLD; I enjoyed it very much!

Book Review: The Nerves by Lee Suksi

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Book Review: The Nerves by Lee Suksi

Pub date: 9/24/20

Publisher: Metatron Press (thank you for my gifted copy!)

Goodreads synopsis:

“The Nerves is set in an imaginary world where our sense memories tell us who we are. The Nerves subverts the literary approach to sexuality by treating the erotic not as a site of anxiety but of reverie. Psychedelic, attentive, cinematic and hot, this book writes toward sensitivity and ecstasy. Exploring touch as healing abandon, The Nerves is charged with desire, devotion, and creative fantasy. Through a series of joyful encounters, Lena Suksi reminds us that pleasure can be abundant, nuanced and that it can heal. Engaging in a queer erotics of language, Suksi’s debut is a bundle of wet atmospheres, speaking to faith in touch.”

My thoughts:

This book may be small, but its impact on me as a reader is mighty. One of my very favorite things about THE NERVES is its center around transnormativity. They/them pronouns are the default for each character regardless of their names or bodies. Getting to immerse myself within a world where gender-neutrality is the norm was an absolute joy and eye-opener. I actually think THE NERVES would be great reading for a women & gender studies course, so the class could discuss how using non-gendered pronouns for every character within a book subverts society, relationships, social expectations, and even capitalism (to take it a step further). This collection certainly challenged me to dig deep, while also being an enjoyable and engaging read.

I also love the erotic components of THE NERVES. It’s sensual in a way that queers sex and intimacy. Each chapter (or very short story) centers around individuals who are intimate with one another, but not quite in a romantic sense. The sex is striking and queer with no sugar-coating. Overall, reading THE NERVES and watching relationships between the characters unfold was an absolute privilege. Thank you so much to Metatron Press for my gifted copy!

Mini Book Reviews- Featuring Poetry Collections from Independent Publishers

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I recently came across a wonderful, eclectic collection of poetry books and chapbooks published by indie presses. So far, I’ve worked my way through three of the titles and knew I HAD to share them with the world. Their themes include, but are not limited to, mental illness, sexual trauma, queerness, and intersectional feminism. The following reviews are listed in the order that I read them.

THE RAVENOUS AUDIENCE by Kate Durbin (Black Goat/Akashic Books, 2009)

This was Durbin’s debut collection and I fully believe it put them on the map of contemporary, talented poets to keep an eye out for. Many of the poems in THE RAVENOUS AUDIENCE incorporate themes of horror that kept me hungry for the next page. Motifs such as “cum, blood, vomit, and other bodily fluids” mix into Durbin’s work (quotation from back of the book). This collection is all things I love: queer, subversive, even perverted at times… absolutely enthralling.

HOARDERS by Kate Durbin (Wave Books, 2021)

I didn’t realize HOARDERS and THE RAVENOUS AUDIENCE had the same author, because their styles and content are so different. Of course, this only further illustrates Durbin’s talent. Her 2021 collection is broken up into different chapters, each depicting the lives and perspectives of different hoarders (or individuals who struggle with hoarding; I am unsure if person-first language is appropriate here). Getting into the minds of each protagonist was enlightening and emotional. I learned quite a lot while reading HOARDERS without realizing I was learning in the moment— this is an absolutely stimulating and thought-provoking collection of work!

MAYBE SHE’S BORN WITH IT, MAYBE IT’S TRAUMA by Cait Thomson (Beyond the Veil Press, 2023)

Of course, the title and cover art immediately drew me into this chapbook, but to let those be the main focus of my mini review would be doing it a major injustice. The current political climate and (albeit slow) destigmatization of mental illness has understandably led to a rise in poetry collections about therapy, medication, and mental health. MAYBE SHE’S BORN WITH IT, MAYBE IT’S TRAUMA stands out when compared to others I’ve read, though. Thomson isn’t afraid to dive into the ‘ugly’ parts of mental illness, like struggling to brush their teeth and passive suicidal ideation. Furthermore, Thomson’s formatting choices challenge me to look deeper into their words, as this collection is anything but surface-level. I greatly look forward to reading more of Thomson’s work!