Trans fiction: Easy as Falling off a Bike
For the last week or so, I’ve been making my way through Angharad’s epic piece of trans fiction, Easy as Falling off a Bike. It follows the tale of Cathy, a trans woman in her early twenties, as she’s pushed toward transitioning, love, and, well, I’ll let the author describe it:
Stella, someone who could get women drivers a bad name, literally knocks Charlie off his expensive racing bike. She discovers that Charlie, a research field biologist, has a secret. He’s gearing up to transition as a woman, only he’s too frightened to do it. Stella takes control and her brother, Simon not only fancies ‘Cathy’ but falls in love with her.
Follow the mayhem, as this romantic and at times adventure story rambles all over the place as they pursue their lives. Keep the tissues handy, it has pathos, humour and real life, as Cathy deals with the triumphs and tribulations of being a woman.
It’s fun. If you’re looking for something easy to read, this is a good pick The chapters are all pretty short, nice bite-sized pieces, which makes it easy to read quite a lot without realizing it. (I’m almost at chapter 200, out of 957 so far, with more chapters still being added.)
That said, I haven’t caught up to the most recent chapters, so read my review with that in mind.
At the end of the day, it’s nice reading about a character who actually identifies as trans. Cathy has to deal with being out (or not) sleeping with her partner (or not) feeling ignorant about how to ‘be a woman,’ and so on. Likewise, Angharad occasionally touches on really difficult pieces about being trans, in feelings of inadequacy, regret, family members, romantic relationships, and more. For all that, though, I think Falling off a Bike has some shortcomings, and I’m not convinced it’ll keep my attention for another 700+ chapters.
To begin, the story has something of a ridiculous narrative, and I feel like I can only put up with so much. Cathy is wooed by a British Lord, promoted (and promoted and promoted) at work, is inherently so graceful and beautiful as to provoke a coworker’s murderous rage, saves babies from burning cars and befriends small children and forest animals (literally), and cries all the fucking time. Now, I’m aware I occasionally accuse myself of that: of having a really good life and still being down in the dumps all the time. But I sure as hell hope I’m not as tiring to my friends as Cathy occasionally has been to me as a reader.
Coupled with that, I don’t love some of the gender politics in the story. Cathy refuses to have sex until marriage, which is fine, but rejects any possibility of having sex before surgery. That’s fine too, although I would have rather read about a character who (like myself) is able to enjoy sex with the equipment they have. But I think the author portrays Cathy’s feeling around her body and sexuality in a pretty superficial way. Cathy also mentions she doesn’t like interacting with other trans people, but rather than explore that as a point for character growth it’s just brushed off. I also think the story’s characters sometimes stray over the line of ‘playful banter’ into ‘sexist jackassery.” (And then Cathy rushes off to her room to cry again.)
Do I recommend this as something to read? Yes, but with those caveats. It doesn’t fall into the trap of “Oh no, I’m really a man but [ridiculous situation] has made me a woman!” which is quite refreshing. I also do appreciate the story’s humor, and have grown to care about the characters. But that makes it all the more frustrating when I think an opportunity was missed, or don’t like how a relationship or character is being developed.
(Again, it’s somewhat unfair to judge this entire work by only 1/5 of it. But the 200 chapters I’ve read so far are at least as long – if not far longer – than some of the trans fiction out there, so I don’t feel totally out of line reviewing it at this point. If/when I catch up to the current chapters, or if/when I decide to give up, I’ll let y’all know.)
Themocracy
Hello:
I find this story while at my sister house. First time, I think it is funny that boy is riding in country in rain. But, I am having fun reading it. My little secret from husband, mother and sisters. I have read many chapters this book for long time and very funny I think.
Hala