The Beatrix Gates

This haphazard but enjoyable collection, primarily a celebration and exploration of trans identities, includes short stories, an essay, and an interview with boundary-breaking author Pollack (Godmother Night). Pollack’s stories flit from fantastical descriptions of transhumanist futures to heartbreaking depictions of young queer people struggling with their bodies and beingness. In “The Woman Who Didn’t Come Back,” a surreal lesbian utopia filled with immortal women is ruined by a violation of consent. In the title story, Pollack performs an astonishing hat trick, moving from descriptions of trans individuals as constantly metamorphosing god-humans to ancient mythology to her own self-created mythology of this invented world. Each piece is different but equally cleverly woven. The collection closes with a powerful personal anecdote about the importance of trans representation to readers. In the essay “Trans Central Station,” Pollack says: “I was not trapped in the wrong body, I was trapped in the wrong universe. In order to become who I was, I had to break the world open. I had to embrace a kind of science fiction life.” Equal parts strange and captivating, this collection beautifully speaks Pollack’s truth. (Jan.)