I eagerly requested an ARC of Stag Dance because of how much I loved Detransition, Baby. As I usually do with books I intend to review, I purposefully avoided reading anything about it. In this case, knowing nothing forced me to think very critically, because from the very beginning it was clear that this was not what I had expected (in a good way), and that what I was reading was a showcase of skilled and powerful writing. At first, the novel and stories in Stag Dance may not seem to have much in common as they are each a completely different genre: dystopian speculative fiction, romance(?), horror, and western. From a writing standpoint, I was impressed by how Peters was able to own each genre and give a distinct voice to each narrator while grappling with complex conflicts and themes.
What connects these seemingly disparate stories is an exploration of identity and what happens when people, for various reasons, are unable to fully express who they are meant to be. Not to mention how damaging it is when one cannot find love and acceptance. There’s also an underlying question of what it would look like to reimagine society so that people could live without hiding who they are and how liberating that would be for everyone. This is an extremely important question to consider as the trans community is increasingly under attack. What is the cost if we allow this? What will happen if we don’t stand in solidarity with the trans community and refuse to allow them to be dehumanized and denied human rights? How can so many people forget or ignore that dehumanization and silence and inaction have never ended up being on the right side of history?
Peters notes in the acknowledgements that these “were the stories I wrote to puzzle out, through genre, the inconvenient aspects of my neverending transition–otherwise known as ongoing trans life–aspects that didn’t seem to accord with slogans, ‘good’ politics, or the currently available language.” This makes me think of how real people are messy and no one fits perfectly into the socially constructed labels we’re expected to apply to ourselves. Yes, Stag Dance is excellent from a literary standpoint, but it also pushes readers to consider trans identity and how there’s no single way to define it (or any aspect of identity for that matter). There’s no universal experience, and I value Peters’s writing because, as many studies have shown, reading builds empathy. Stories like these may speak to those trying to understand trans identity and encourage more people to share their own truths.
Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories by Torrey Peters will be published on March 11, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.