Name: Chloe 's review of Nevada by Imogen Binnie
Item: Nevada
Rating: 3
Author: Chloe

Imogen Binnie

"Nevada is a book that changed my life: it shaped both my worldview and personhood, making me the writer I am. And it did so by the oldest of methods, by telling a wise, hilarious, and gripping story." —Torrey Peters, author of Detransition, Baby A beloved and blistering cult classic and finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction finally back in print, Nevada follows a disaffected trans woman as she embarks on a cross-country road trip. Maria Griffiths is almost thirty and works at a used bookstore in New York City while trying to stay true to her punk values. She’s in love with her bike but not with her girlfriend, Steph. She takes random pills and drinks more than is good for her, but doesn’t inject anything except, when she remembers, estrogen, because she’s trans. Everything is mostly fine until Maria and Steph break up, sending Maria into a tailspin, and then onto a cross-country trek in the car she steals from Steph. She ends up in the backwater town of Star City, Nevada, where she meets James, who is probably but not certainly trans, and who reminds Maria of her younger self. As Maria finds herself in the awkward position of trans role model, she realizes that she could become James’s savior—or his downfall. One of the most beloved cult novels of our time and a landmark of trans literature, Imogen Binnie’s Nevada is a blistering, heartfelt, and evergreen coming-of-age story, and a punk-smeared excavation of marginalized life under capitalism. Guided by an instantly memorable, terminally self-aware protagonist—and back in print featuring a new afterword by the author—Nevada is the great American road novel flipped on its head for a new generation.

A Novel

Nevada

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

I really enjoyed the non main character chapters, as well as the ending. Definitely feels like a bit of a time capsule. 

Chloe 

I read it in two settings, so very smoothly written. I am very impressed by how unapologetically Imogen Binnie has set out this narrative to reflect another direction trans stories should and can be told. Not as fetishised or even mystic stories, but real, nuanced and unfinished stories of life’s lived in the process. Thank you and excuse my English, it is hard to convey my thoughts on this book in any language though

Roxana

the character’s voices in this book were so crystalline. sometimes (most times) when i read i feel as though i can feel the author speaking through their characters but maria & the other people inhabiting ‘nevada’ felt distinct and their own. i loved all the contradictions and twists and sincerity! stayed up late & woke up early to finish it

mira lee

"The darkly comedic story of Maria Griffiths, a young trans woman living in New York City and trying to stay true to her punk values while working retail. When she finds out her girlfriend has lied to her, the world she thought she'd carefully built for herself begins to unravel, and Maria sets out on a journey that will most certainly change her forever"--P. [4] of cover.

Kristen Thomas

Seemingly so simple yet so thrilling and complex, especially when it comes to questions of The Self. 

Made me wish I was still in grad school so I could make this book my whole personality for 3-6 months.

Sésame

Les personnages sont d'une justesse incroyable et racontent avec beaucoup de finesse un parcours trans mais aussi des parcours de prolo. C'est aussi un livre que j'étais soulagé de finir. Peut être aussi parce que les épreuves des personnages étaient dures à lire pour moi. Je n'aurai sans doute pas du le lire pendant des vacances. Mais je crois qu'il faut faire lire ce livre à beaucoup, beaucoup de monde.

La fin m'a beaucoup dérouté, à tel point que j'ai cru que la version que j'avais téléchargé n'étais pas complète et ce n'est qu'en achetant la version française que j'ai compris que c'était bien la fin.

C'est le premier livre que je lis en anglais (puis j'ai réalisé qu'il sortait la semaine suivante en français oups)

Maria, a trans woman in her thirties, is going nowhere. She spends her aimless days working in a New York bookstore, trying to remain true to a punk ethos while drinking herself into a stupor and having a variety of listless and confusing sexual encounters. After her girlfriend cheats on her, Maria steals her car and heads for the Pacific, embarking on her version of the Great American Road Trip. Along the way she stops in Reno, Nevada, and meets James, a young man who works in the local Wal-Mart. Maria recognizes elements of her younger self in James and the pair quickly form an unlikely but powerful connection, one that will have big implications for them both. This hilarious, groundbreaking cult classic inspired a whole literary movement, and is now published in the UK for the very first time.

sonia turcotte

Love the story, not that keen on the writing. Far too many "whatevers" in one book. Maybe of it's time.

I’m glad I read this..definitely read it if you were considering it. I had never read a book with a trans protagonist but I look forward to reading more. 

lucy lou

This is a pretty cool book. This is actually the first book I've read that's straight up fiction centered on trans women in a realistic way that doesn't a) romanticize or b) fetishize.

jiaqi kang

sorry i dont know how to use goodreads and accidentally deleted this book from my account entirely?? how does that work. now i dont remember what day i read it so i have to put an approximate date. goodreads is basically asking me to LIE and be DISHONEST...... anyway this is good

Caitlin Berger

Well, I did enjoy the book. The style of writing is very different from a regular novel, that's for sure, so it's probably one of those books that some people can't stand or actually really love. I'm somewhere in the middle; I liked reading about what it's like to be transgender and all of the main character's monologues about society and gender and stuff. I do recommend this book but just beware that it's not a typically-written novel, that's all!

Maria is a young trans woman who after several years of personal and professional failures in bohemian New York is embarking on her version of the Great American Road Trip. James is an unhappy stoner who works in a Wal-Mart in Star City, Nevada. After a chance meeting, the pair quickly form an unlikely but powerful connection that will have big implications for them both. 
Poignant and outrageous in equal measure, this is a groundbreaking cult classic that went on to inspire a literary movement.

Julia Rutgers

Robert Vetter

Audrey Wedekind

Violaine Huisman

Maria, jeune libraire habitant à New York, porte un prénom féminin depuis quelques années seulement. Depuis qu’elle a eu le courage de fuir la ville paumée de Pennsylvanie où elle a grandi. Depuis qu’elle s’est enfin affranchie du corps assigné à sa naissance pour vivre en tant que femme, au grand jour. Cependant, malgré sa transition si libératrice, Maria ne peut s’empêcher de sentir que sa vie lui échappe. C’est alors que sur un coup de tête, elle décide de prendre la route, direction le Grand Ouest. Et si partir à l’improviste pouvait lui permettre de mieux se retrouver ?
Premier roman devenu culte aux États-Unis, Nevada nous embarque dans un foisonnant et explosif voyage intérieur qui explore toute la complexité d’une transition, avec sensibilité et mordant.

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Nevada by Imogen Binnie

Reviews

Join the club

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &Nevada by Imogen Binnie

Reviews

Join the club

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Nevada by Imogen Binnie