Review: Defiance: A Narrative Poem

Defiance: A Narrative Poem by Lela E. Buis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a 4-star review.

The book is a narrative poem about a potential future time when non-binary people are compelled by the government to undergo surgery to "correct" their condition. The story features a woman in love with another person despite the fact that they seem incapable of returning her affection.

The protagonist doesn't want to have to choose a gender. Their non-choice is their identity. They fear that having to choose one or the other would be to ultimately turn them into someone else. Someone they did not choose to be.

This was a very interesting and nuanced treatment of gender-related issues. The one flaw that held back the story is the constant references to "straight white men" as being unimaginative, non-creative, and largely unproductive. In attempting a nuanced discussion of gender-related issues, the author relaxed into a one-note description of the alternative.

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