“Obsolution” takes us into the lives of yet another happy couple whose lives are upended by gender dysphoria.

It’s about a trans woman who is an alcohol addict and is trying to connect and reconnect with women in her past and present. “Enough Trouble” is another novella length work of nearly 100 pages. “Obsolution” seems to be at the heart of this collection, a longer story that is interspersed with the alternating stand-alone stories. In addition to the short stories in the book, there are also two longer works included that are closer to novella length. This shift in perspectives is one that is used at other points in the collection, and is just one of the examples of Plett effortlessly breaking the rules in a masterful way you barely notice, allowing her characters to tell their stories in a powerful way. Most of “Hazel and Christopher” is told in third person, but the last couple pages are Hazel talking directly to Christopher and saying something she needs to say but can never tell him in real life. This first story sets the tone for the rest of the collection, which doesn’t disappoint in offering fresh new views into the lives of trans women who are constantly trying to understand themselves so they can be themselves. Hazel is a gripping and fully-realized protagonist that is easy to connect with over the course of her journey. Just when her life starts to go right, it suddenly begins collapsing around her.

As she gets older, she moves away, eventually transitioning and returning home to Winnipeg. It begins with Hazel as a child, as a boy, and her relationship with Christopher. The collection begins with “Hazel and Christopher,” a beautiful, honest, and raw story that is both reflective and innovative. The stories in this book are at once eye-opening, beautiful, and painful, just like the complex, unique, and beautiful experiences of its characters, the women becoming themselves in different ways. Plett wields language masterfully to share many vastly different trans experiences with readers. The language is tight and matter-of-fact, but also beautiful and sweeping in a way that makes you forget it’s there. Plett’s voice is strong and fully realized in this collection. Her second collection of short fiction, A Dream of a Woman, is a powerful blend of stories and perspectives. Casey Plett is the author of the novel Little Fish, and the short story collection, A Safe Girl to Love.

A dream of a woman casey plett