Synopses & Reviews
The provocative bestseller
Shes Not There is the winning, utterly surprising story of a person changing genders. By turns hilarious and deeply moving, Jennifer Finney Boylan explores the territory that lies between men and women, examines changing friendships, and rejoices in the redeeming power of family. Told in Boylans fresh voice,
Shes Not There is about a person bearing and finally revealing a complex secret. Through her clear eyes,
Shes Not There provides a new window on the confounding process of accepting our true selves.
“Probably no book Ive read in recent years has made me so question my basic assumptions about both the centrality and the permeability of gender, and made me recognize myself in a situation Ive never known and have never faced . . . The universality of the astonishingly uncommon: thats the trick of Shes Not There. And with laughs, too. What a good book.” —Anna Quindlen, from the Introduction to the Book-of-the-Month-Club edition.
Review
"In addition to being a complete delight, this book should make us all question what we mean when we use the words love, marriage, and friendship. Jennifer Finney Boylan is a great gift to womanhood." Haven Kimmel, author of A Girl Named Zippy
Review
"[B]rings irreverence and a merrily outrageous sense of humor to this potentially serious business....What [Boylan] accomplishes, most entertainingly, is to draw the reader into extremely strange circumstances as if they were utterly normal." Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Review
"[L]impid, soul-rich....Serious, real, funny. Told so disarmingly that it's strong enough to defang a taboo." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Boylan has a good comic ear, and that humor keeps the book...on track if somewhat trivialized: most scenes are breezy and played for laughs....[F]requently poignant...yet those moments don't cut to the quick of the story..." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Probably no book I've read in recent years has made me so question my basic assumptions about both the centrality and the permeability of gender, and made me recognize myself in a situation I've never known and have never faced....The universality of the astonishingly uncommon: that's the trick of She's Not There. And with laughs, too. What a good book." Anna Quindlen, from the Introduction to the Book-of-the-Month-Club edition
Synopsis
By turns hilarious and deeply moving, Boylan's personal story of changing genders explores the territory that lies between men and women, examines friendships, and rejoices in the redeeming power of family.
Synopsis
The provocative bestseller She's Not There is the winning, utterly surprising story of a person changing genders. By turns hilarious and deeply moving, Jennifer Finney Boylan explores the territory that lies between men and women, examines changing friendships, and rejoices in the redeeming power of family. Told in Boylan's fresh voice, She's Not There is about a person bearing and finally revealing a complex secret. Through her clear eyes, She's Not There provides a new window on the confounding process of accepting our true selves.
Synopsis
The provocative bestseller She's Not There is the winning, utterly surprising story of a person changing genders. By turns hilarious and deeply moving, Jennifer Finney Boylan explores the territory that lies between men and women, examines changing friendships, and rejoices in the redeeming power of family. Told in Boylan's fresh voice, She's Not There is about a person bearing and finally revealing a complex secret. Through her clear eyes, She's Not There provides a new window on the confounding process of accepting our true selves.
Probably no book I've read in recent years has made me so question my basic assumptions about both the centrality and the permeability of gender, and made me recognize myself in a situation I've never known and have never faced . . . The universality of the astonishingly uncommon: that's the trick of She's Not There. And with laughs, too. What a good book. --Anna Quindlen, from the Introduction to the Book-of-the-Month-Club edition.
About the Author
Jennifer Finney Boylan is co-chair of the English department at Colby College. As James Finney Boylan she wrote three critically praised novels and a collection of short stories. She lives in Maine with her family.
Reading Group Guide
1. Do you feel that Boylan had a choice in becoming a woman to the world?
2. What responsibility does Jenny have for Grace and their children? What responsibility do they have to her?
3. Have you ever known someone who made a gender transition? How did the change affect people who knew the person before?
4. How central a role do you believe gender plays in our identity? How much different and in what ways do you believe you'd be if you were a member of the opposite sex? Do you think that some traits are inherent in one gender?
5. Discuss Boylans experiences buying a car and buying a pair of jeans. Have you witnessed or experienced similar situations? Do you notice the differences in expectations and attitudes in the ways people of other sexes are portrayed?
6. What role does humor play in Boylans life and in this book?
7. The title of the book, “Shes Not There,” is the title of a song that Boylan sings. What do you think the title means in this case? Who is not there, and when?
8. What is revealed about Boylan in her friendship with Richard Russo?
9. As a teenager, Boylan believes that love will cure him from his feelings. In what ways is Boylan saved by love? In what ways do people usually expect to be saved by love? How often is it successful?
10. Discuss the concept of “normal” as it relates to Boylans narrative, and to your expectations.
11. On her web site, Boylan remarks, “As I look back at the story of my own life, I occasionally feel that being born transgendered was the best thing that could have happened to me. While dealing with this condition made life difficult for me, as well as for my family, it's also true that I have been given a rare gift in life, the gift of being able to see into the worlds of both men and women with clear eyes.” Do you feel that you know more about these worlds as a result of reading Boylans book?
12. Boylan says that her first awareness of being transgendered occurred when she was about three. What do you remember about your earliest sense of your identity? How often do you feel that what the world sees in you is at odds with what you know to be true?
13. After reading the book, did you identify with Boylan more or less than you had expected?