Worthy of the Event: An Essay

by Vivian Blaxell

A trans essayist with a checkered past takes on the big questions of human existence

Move over Michel de Montaigne, there's a new girl in town

Set against a backdrop of trans life that begins with her own transition in the 1960s, Vivian Blaxell takes us on a witty and expansive sweep through history, from Australia to Japan, to Hawai’i to Mexico, to heretofore unmapped regions of the mind. In seven devastatingly intelligent parts, her essay covers a vast range in time and space — from the arson of a Japanese temple to a transformative encounter with a coral reef, from Nietzsche and Hegel to Indigenous metaphysics, from a perplexing relationship with a beautiful man to the unknowable minds of animals. Fleshy and philosophical, searching and exalted, utterly distinctive and assured, Worthy of the Event belatedly establishes Vivian Blaxell as one of the major writers of her generation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Queer, Essays, LGBT, Transgender, Philosophy, Memoir

296 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2025

Reviews

[Kate Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

life-changing shit (lol). read on planes and buses, on beaches in oregon and on breaks at work in texas, in my lover’s bed out loud to her in complete astonishment of what i was reading, and it made me want to live more fully, to be worthy of those things. probably my new favorite book tbh

[Elisabeth Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Electric, surprising and revelatory use of the memoiristic essay form. Blaxell’s passion for life lifts off every page: importantly Life Itself, not just her own. Her pursuit of life in all places, her ever-hauntedness by the legacies of imperialism and exploitative settlement are integral to her work. Becoming, not being, is where she’s pointing and I, for one, want very much to travel with her.

[Sarah Cavar · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5. A trans memoir that is not (exclusively) (primarily) (exceptionally) a trans memoir; a travelogue that is not a travelogue except through the rich archives of Blaxell's life-process; a craft essay/collage of genius and junk. I never knew how I was going to feel about this book from one page or section to the next –– from excitement, to curiosity, to disgust, to sadness. And back again. Rest assured that when you pick this book up, whatever you feel, you will never stop feeling. Blaxell is an astoundingly talented writer with lots to say and no shame left to stop her.

[Luke McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jumps between dense, embodied philosophy, pithy memoir and bizarro history with ease. Never suffers from the sense that it is trying too hard. Rather, it reads like a lifetime of inquiry corralled into something resembling an essay, every insight earned, lived in and sincere. Some chapters feel a little more impenetrable than others (or maybe solipsistic is a better word) but that is almost inevitable given the scope of the project, basically an investigation into how one can be ‘worthy of the event’, the event being life itself, living with others, being a human. No small feat that, for the most part, Blaxell’s musings are worthy of said investigation. I finished the book wanting to live more. Chapters on disappointment, animal subjectivity and shit/emulation were the highlights for me. The prose is sticky and whirlwind.

[ira · Rating 5 out of 5]

unbelievable
if you are reading this you should read this book

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful, thoughtful, revealingly non-revealing.

[Jacob Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vivian Blaxell writes:

“Animals living in close relationship to human beings frequently demonstrate an intention to resist the relationship or to modify it. Aunty Snow’s cows refused to give milk or contrived to poop in their milk if they felt disrespected, called in too early or too late, inadequately flattered before work began on their teats. The cat comes home with an entire roast chicken, still warm, in her mouth. She deposits it on the kitchen table and for days she refuses to eat anything else until presented with the carcass picked clean, at which time she curls her tail into a question mark and lets me know she intends to eat tuna in aspic tonight. A horse kicks its abusive master to death. Elephants wreck a construction camp set up to build a road through their territory. Laboratory animals move to the back of their cages to avoid the hands of scientists and must be persuaded and forced out. Dogs intervene in domestic arguments between humans. A little Cairn terrier lies down on the end of his leash on a hot day and ignores all pleas to walk Oscar, come on Oscar, and the little dog will not move and must be carried home to the climate control. A cat sits right over your malignant tumor and purrs and lets her body heat onto it until you feel you might live one more day.”

[Ada See · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel grateful to have gotten to read this kaleidoscopic, voracious, sardonic, playful, sharp-elbowed, Biblically-accurate-angel of a book. Trans elders rarely get to do this (mainly because trans people don't often survive long enough to become elders), but Vivian is having so much *fun* with her writing here. Yes, it's largely about death and disappearance and disappointment, but it's straight-spined in facing these things: a military mustering of forces, facts, memories, lies, lovers, half-remembered philosophers; anything in her long and wild life that can be conscripted to help her be worthy of the event, when it comes.

🌌

[Jane Weitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best read of my life, I am not a usual annotator but every page is specked with my adoration. In the journey that was reading this book, I verbally ooed and ‘oh my god’ ed even in public settings as I read (like a kid who watches a marvel movie and cannot help but squeal and ‘woahhh’ from how utterly impressive it all is.) Vivian Blaxell’s prose sparkles the page, it is mystical and juicy and luscious and yet - completely human, completely real, and completely honest. This is a fucking masterpiece - and most importantly … it is worthy of the event.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where has Vivian Blaxell been hiding? Oh -- Australia, it seems. I'm grateful to LittlePuss for bringing her to US readers. This book-length essay is a caravan of riches -- each section densely packed with intellect, anecdote, wit, and the fullness of life. Blaxell is a genius and a delight.

[Vanessa (V.C.) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not an essay reader, to be honest, but I LOVED Worthy of the Event. What an incredibly gifted, witty, funny, and brilliant essayist, writer, and overall person. Vivian is awesome and this is a must-have and must-read.

[Gus · Rating 4 out of 5]

sometimes too discursive, dense and smart for me but other times full of soaring, transcendent and original prose, especially when the book deviates from the academia sphere and especially-especially the final passages. many sentences whipped my face like the most refreshing sharp gust of wind.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got back on the Amazon platform just to review this book, because I think everyone should read it. You should read it.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly well-written, and unlike anything I have ever read. Powerfully personal and intricately pieced together across the various essays.

[Elyse Wanzenried · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly don’t know how she did it! The writing style takes a minute to get immersed in, but I came away with so many thoughts about writing trans-ness and not being precious about things.

[elio · Rating 4 out of 5]

consider a transgender baruch spinoza. this was good in a way i can’t articulate.

[claude · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars

all over the place but perhaps that was the point?

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

One fetching stream of consciousness transmitting trans existence through time and place. Blaxell's writing is clever in all the right places as she shares stories from growing up in a religiously oppressive environment to her sexual experience at the aquarium. Her essays' allegorical nature imparts a humorous vulnerability that's already become my favorite writing this year. She's one of these people, when you look through their eyes, everything is just new and interesting again.

[Montrose Fell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a real Concepts Book but it was lacking a sense of cohesion to me. Certain passages and topical discussions were effective and others came off as almost pretentious. I did not like the way the author discussed her travels and experiences living in other countries. It felt like she was bringing it up more to seem well-travelled than she had anything meaningful to say about her experiences there. Critique of anti-trans policies also seemed only to extend to Australia. Others in my book club expressed appreciation that this was not another coming out book or a book about the strife of being trans. While this book was certainly unique, it was not a meaningful read for me.