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Book Review: blond(e) BOY, Red LIPSTICK

The Editor | Dec 7, 2020

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blond(e) BOY, Red LIPSTICKby Geoff Bunn

Review by Elizbaeth Batignolles

This one came to my attention through the recommendation of a translator friend with good taste in literature.

Set in London and Birmingham in the 1980s, blond(e) BOY, red LIPSTICK is a transgender romance, the first I’ve ever read. I was intrigued to find out how the main character, a young heterosexual man, ends up falling in love with a girl who turns out to be a boy. But the main thing that comes through in this story is the universality of human emotions. No matter who you are, and who you love, you’ll recognize the feelings the unnamed protagonist experiences.

And perhaps also those small points in time where, Sliding Doors style, a choice can change your whole future. The times, too, when life seems inexplicably to pave a way for you along a certain path. As the protagonist observes, “There are moments in life that are given to us.” On a side note, I can easily imagine this as a film, with an early ‘80s aesthetic and a great soundtrack!

Available from Amazon.