A review by thebacklistbook
Any Man by Amber Tamblyn

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book is not good. What it is, is important. Please don't read this book unless your mental health is on track and you have supports in place for if it tanks post reading. Massive trigger warnings for: rape, sodomy, transphobia, rape culture, toxic masculinity, toxic feminism, and bestiality.

Ladies you will not like this book. Feminists you will not like this book. You are not supposed to. It holds an uncomfortable mirror up to the world and how we treat rape survivors. Specifically how many women view it as proper and acceptable to ask of male survivors the very questions that we view indecent to be asked of female survivors. 

Things like "but was it rape if he got hard?". The answer is yes. Emphatically yes. the human body is complex and in both men and women wired to respond to certain stimuli in a specific manner despite us not wanting that thing to happen. It is never your fault. I have rated this book three stars to acknowledge its importance, but only three stars because it really wasn't my cup of tea to read this kind of fiction.