Its author, Imogen Binnie, never intended to write a novel that would cause more than that. Nevada, one of the first releases from the now-defunct trans-run and trans-lit-focused Topside Press, barely caused a blip on the broader literary world’s radar when it was released in 2013. “We’ll talk, and she’ll cry, and I’ll set her up a Livejournal so she can sort through all her feelings and then I’ll leave and totally learn something about myself, too.” Maria is not wrong to assume this about James, exactly - the duck is quacking and walking - but you can’t just tell someone she’s trans before she comes to that conclusion herself, or she’ll steal your drugs and ditch you in a casino. “I’m gonna go talk to that girl and tell her that she’s a girl,” Maria decides shortly after they cross paths. He’s intrigued by Maria’s rock-star vibe she becomes convinced that he’s actually a trans woman in desperate need of saving from his dissociative male façade. After her girlfriend dumps her and she loses her job and apartment, Maria does what any of us would do: She steals her ex’s car, snags a bunch of heroin, and road-trips out West - where she meets a small-town Nevada Walmart clerk named James H. It follows Maria Griffiths, a conflict-averse, often inebriated trans woman who sucks at communicating in every aspect of her life except when she’s blogging. Nevada opens in New York sometime immediately post–Great Recession.

Nevada imogen binnie review