The Boy in a Bikini by Russell Frank (REVIEW)

This fine novel features an extremely narcissistic and bereaved mother who creates havoc in a young boy’s life by slowly and inexorably turning him into a girl, totally against his wishes.

The Boy in a Bikini is a story of child abuse and forced feminization leading to gender transition, told primarily from the point of view of the victim. Offering many plot twists, Russell Frank weaves a deft tale that eventually concludes in a manner reminiscent to the 1967 movie, The Graduate, but with an unexpected counter twist that I won’t reveal.

A particularly interesting technique that the author employs advantageously is the 360 degree overview afforded as each of the central characters has the opportunity to describe his or her own perspective on things, offering justifications and rationalizations for sometimes aberrant behavior that will make you cringe.

[Reviewed by Samuel]

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