Perfect Peace

I read two great books while traveling to/from my hometown for my mom's birthday. It always feels like an accomplishment to me when I finish a book at the end of the a trip or on a long weekend.

Perfect Peace by Daniel Black - warning, this is a spoiler
This book was recommended by Amazon when I put Wench into my cart. It's a story about a mother in the 1940s-1960s in the South, who has had enough of giving birth to sons. When her final baby arrives, she proclaims he to be a she, despite the obvious signs pointing to the gender. Emma Jean raises the baby, named Perfect, above everyone else in the family. As the only daughter, Perfect is showered with all the gifts and experiences Emma Jean wishes she had as a child, including a doll of her own, a yellow party dress with matching ribbons, and a birthday party.

The story line moves through the early days where Perfect spends her early childhood as a beautiful girl adored by many, to the great metamorphosis back into the boy Paul at the tender age of eight, to the subsequent transition into manhood. Additionally, the book highlights each of Perfect/Paul's six brothers and the struggles they have with her/his as well as their own lives.

This book had such an explosive ending. So many things happened in the last 50 pages, and it created an engaging storyline that was hard to put down. I loved that each of the brothers played a specific role in the family, and they each had been conditioned in the same environment. I found it so incredible that each boy could turn out to become such a different person, simply based on the favor they received from the parents Emma Jean and Gus.

It was interesting to me how the concept of sex and sexuality was positioned in the book. For Emma Jean, it was a means to a daughter. For her husband Gus, it was a way to satisfy his urges (and only his urges). For Perfect/Paul, it was about the security of being wanted, and as she/he only felt truly wanted when being praised for beauty or when desired for physical closeness. Even the adult relationships, either perceived by he childhood friends or in describing the adult brothers/lovers, seemed to mostly be missing the thing that makes love work in the real world. To me, sexuality is innate, but it is not the thing that governs my relationship with my husband. I think of sexuality/sex as a form of expression used to display trust and is a tool to build a connection. A relationship is built on affection, surely, but it also requires common interests/goals, emotional support, and mutual respect to be successful. Many of the relationships in this book were one-dimensional, which is why the characters were so often unhappy in their one-sided partnerships.

Another theme of this book was the relationship between Emma Jean and her mother. Emma Jean was treated like Cinderella, while her mother doted on her two older sisters. I can certainly see how a relationship like this would make Emma Jean want to give Perfect all the things she missed out on as a child. What I don't understand is why the mother is the voice in Emma Jean's head when she becomes mentally unravelled. It doesn't make sense to me that the woman she hated for so many years become a voice of reason and support, that ultimately drives her to a point of no return.
I recommend this book. It was a departure from normal reading of that time in our nation's history, as well as a departure from the typical African American historical fiction that I read more commonly. In fact, I found the similarities in the characters to remind me of Middlesex. Cal in that novel goes through what feels like a more traumatic experience to me, because of the many twists and turns through her/his entire life.

I also finished The Girl Who Fell from the Sky last weekend, and will be posting on this book soon. As the Back to School advertisements are popping up on TV, I have gravitated towards more serious reading. I am in the middle of Sense and Sensibility (first time) and I just checked out a Time book from the library. I'm going to try An American Tragedy again. Lots of great stories ahead!

What are you reading?