Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing and Frustrating
Review: What started as an interesting novel, became one that dragged on and then became ridiculous by the end. In a complicated situation, the characters all were very flat and unbelievable. The premise of the novel was very different and had great potential, but could have been handled in a more intelligently matter. I finished the book just to finish it!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting and Informative
Review: I enjoy a book for the way it's written as much as the storyline, and this author has a nice writing style. I also like to learn as I read, even if it's just the writer's perspective on a new subject. I used to work in the public office of a large utility company here in Southern California. We had a number of gays, transvestites and male transexuals as customers. I was always curious and somewhat troubled by the sad, almost haunted look I saw in the transexuals' eyes. And though they were usually transformed into beautiful women, that sadness never left. Now I understand why. I had never given much thought to what these people go through, having figured it was more a choice rather than a necessity. My criticism of the book? Rather slow, repetitive and plodding throughout, with a stupid and disappointing ending. Still, I read it to the end.
Rating:
Summary: How Peculiar!
Review: "Trans-Sister Radio was very odd. I'm not saying that Dana was odd for getting the operation, just that the whole book struck me as odd. I could not remember who was talking in each chapter, therefor I would have to go back to the beginning to check. Allison was purely STUPID to think that she and Dana could just "pick-up" where they left off! WRONG! What made her think she would be happy with a female Dana minus a penis? She was not a lesbian. That was probably her biggest attraction to Dana in the first place. Dana turned out to be mostly selfish and I'm almost astonished at the fact that she decided she liked men after all. The one I felt sorry for was Patricia. She clearly lost out on a good man when Will turned to Allison and Dana.
Rating: 
Summary: Trans-sister is accurate and dreamy good summer read
Review: As an avid NPR listener, I loved how Chris Bohjalian framed this exploration into the life of a transsexual woman as an interview on National Public Radio. Bohjalian joins the life of Dana as he is on the brink of moving through the magic portal of physical/social/emotional/ of change from male to female. The Bohjalian researched well the technical, familial, and social process that confronts a transsexual. Many books, and web sites, explain the technical details of transsexuals and the surgeries that change them from the sex they were physically born to into the sex which their minds tell them they really are. It is the interpersonal and emotional process of transsexual transition that needed a good storyteller. The author succeeded with a delightful story about a person who could be anybody's neighbor, living in a town which could be anybody's neighborhood. This is a wonderful story about what happens when that neighbor, Dana, switches from the guy next door to the gal next door. To spice things up Dana has fallen love with Allie, one of the town's most popular elementary teachers. The story gains more depth with Will, Allie's still emotionally involved ex-husband, and their first year college age daughter, Carly. What is most impressive about the story are the very accurate descriptions of the struggles which the characters have about Dana's changes as told from their own voices. There expereinces are believeable and very realistic. I closely identify with the story in Trans-sister Radio. In addition to being an NPR, All Things Considered regular, I am also a transsexual woman, living in a small town, with a female lover, two daughters (one college age), an active co-parent relationship with my ex, and a professional career. I have lived many of the emotional parts of this story and testify to the accuracy of the currents represented/ Although Chris Bohjalian took some license with some of the technical details, the aim was clearly not to produce a manual for sex reassignment. The aim was to tell a story of the impact these changes make on the surrounding a transsexual. Bohjalian met the mark with this story; the lives are well represented. It is a joy to read of characters that are like that family down the street and of a story where everyone grows, survives, and more than gender rules are broken successfully.
Rating: 
Summary: informative topic - sensitively written
Review: This was a real page-turner for me, an elementary teacher who can identify with a critical administrator who can too often cave into parental pressure over creative teaching. The trans-gender story line was handled in a believable and thorough manner focusing on gender feelings of all four main characters. I especially liked Mr. Bohjalian's expressive vocabulary and humorous similes, ie. "despotic pinhead". I could easily picture these characters experiencing the story's changing events over a year's time.
Rating:
Summary: Chris is Three for Three with Me!
Review: This is my third of Bohjalian's novels; started with "Midwives", thanks to Oprah, which I found extremely well written and compelling and moved on to "Law of Similars" which was not quite up to the same level but still very satisfying. I find his character development amazing; you really know these people-even the minor characters who populate his world are fleshed-out, whole individuals. The use of multiple narrators is not new, but Bohjalian handles it so well it seems like a new concept. I particularly appreciate his ability to speak for both genders (and now the transgendered) equally well. While this novel could be a little shocking for some, I highly recommend it! I just started "Water Witches." I have become a real fan!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting concept with flawed execution
Review: This is a good novel, but it could have been great. Trouble is, when a writer uses the first person omniscient point of view, they better make sure that voice is distinct. In this case, we have Dana Stevens, the center of this novel. We have his girlfriend Ally, her daughter Carly, and her ex-husband Will. Each of these voices should sound strikingly different, but throughout most of this book, they all sound the same. We find out more about the characters when someone else discusses them. Perhaps this is what Chris intended, but I think it would have been more effective if one person kept a journal and the rest of the narrative was standard third person. In any case, Chris is certainly a good writer and this is a challenging subject that was handled with sensitivity. You can only feel for Dana and what he/she is going through. I think the graphic description of Dana's operation could have been left out without losing anything. All in all, an interesting novel from an intriguing author.
Rating:
Summary: Uncomfortable at times but intriguing
Review: I could not put this book down. I love Bohjalian's stories. I found this book (as well as Midwives, my 1st Bohjalian book) intriguing. This is a look into the life of a transsexual and the people they are surrounded by at a given point in their lives. This intimate look into their lives is probably a look most people will never experience, but are always quick to judge. At times, the story line was a bit uncomfortable and I did not agree with all that happened...but I found the story, the characters, and the character's choices quite intriguing. I have learned something and I think probably have become a better person from reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: notes from Mom
Review: I just wanted to pass on my mother's reactions -- she's in her 70s, and not always very much at home in "today's world." She seems to have started the book without any idea of what it was about -- I guess she doesn't read reviews . . . The first surprise was figuring that out -- the second was discovering that she wanted to finish the book in spite fo her discomfort; she cares too much about the characters to just let go of them. The whole thing has her thinking about her world, "today's world," and the world we're raising her granddaughter to inhabit. All in all, a pretty good return on a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Just Okay
Review: Chris chose a hard to tackle topic. It most definitely had a twist, but the twist was so big it was hard to concentrate on the other things that were happening in the story. The switching of viewpoints with the radio transcripts in the middle was confusing. I kept asking myself why they were there.
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