“An exceptional work of historical fiction about one of the key figures in the development of 19th-century New York City.” the great mistake
man whom Pen both worships and despises. Aiden represents a “trans-father whose shadow [he] wanted to step out of even tho dude was younger.” Unable to handle another perfect post from Aiden on the Gram, Pen decides to place a hex on him, asking his Bushwick roommates, the Witch and the Stoner-Hacker, to help him “curse someone, in both the old ways and the new.” This plan goes awry when a trans man named Blithe Freeman encounters Pen’s curse before Aiden does, and he’s sent deep into the Shadowlands. Enter the Rhiz, an underground trans network, which enlists both Pen and Aiden to find the cursed man and bring him back. The two frenemies set out to rescue Blithe from the Shadowlands, which, despite functioning as a metaphor for deep depression, is physically located in Joshua Tree. The journey is akin to a queer millennial version of The Alchemist, complete with proverbs and personal growth. Pen’s raw reflections on his insecurities as a trans man—“my feet were still sweating from my encounter with the airport scanners. I knew they saw I was missing a big dick”—provide a realness to this dreamlike, allegorical narrative. The attempts to orient the story in the future, from subway cars that glow with
Bio-meter readings to vague mentions of climate-related natural disasters, only serve to distract from a more powerful reality: For underrepresented communities, the everyday experience can be alien enough. This is a modern allegory with a unique voice—searching, questioning, vulnerable, witty.
THE GREAT MISTAKE
Lee, Jonathan Knopf (304 pp.) $25.95 | Jun. 15, 2021 978-0-525-65849-8
An exceptional work of historical fiction about one of the key figures in the development of 19th-century New York City. In November 1903, on Friday the 13th, Andrew Haswell Green was shot
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kirkus.com
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fiction
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1 april 2021
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