Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us

In this witty and wise memoir-in-essays, Boylan (She’s Not There) reflects on her status as a trans elder more than 20 years after her transition. The book opens with an essay titled “Both Sides Now,” and its namesake Joni Mitchell song offers an instructive reference point: throughout, Boylan strikes a balanced, clear-eyed tone, acknowledging that her years living as a man were not pure tragedy, and that living as a woman has not cured her of all longing. But gender is just one subject through which Boylan explores rich themes of in-betweenness. “The Heisenberg Variations” leans the furthest into literary criticism, with Boylan considering how the understanding of stories—including L. Frank Baum’s Oz series and Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts—are altered by time, context, and readership. In “Daughters,” Boylan writes movingly of her own child’s gender transition, wrestling with her complicated feelings about “my own child turn[ing] out to be someone like me.” Boylan is an accomplished and playful writer, adept at handling serious subjects with a light but poignant touch; she asserts more than once that she’s “probably the wrong guy to ask,” winking at the rigidity of gender discourse without mocking it outright. Readers will be equal parts entertained and edified. Agent: Kristine Dahl, CAA. (Feb.)