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A Necessary Fiction
There’s a famous quote about “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it” but it doesn’t apply to me. I don’t remember my past, or at least from birth to about age ten. I only discovered this while taking part in an experiment in my college Psychology class that completely upended my life. For one thing, I found out that I had no memories of nearly the first half of my life. I also found out something else. There’s another famous quote about “Walk a mile in another man’s shoes …” and so on. That’s what the experiment was, to experience life from a different perspective. For one student, it meant to wear a fat suit. For another, to spend time in a wheelchair. For me, it was to experience life as a girl. And although the guy remained skinny under the suit, and the guy could get out of the wheelchair, I discovered that I was a girl, inside; I learned that I was transgender. Once I learned that, I could begin to discover my past, my lost childhood … and then I could begin to discover what my future would be. This is the long and detailed story of my discoveries.
- GenresYoung AdultTransgender
1005 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 25, 2015
25 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Karin Bishop
37 books63 followersI started writing as a child, and won my first national writing award in sixth grade. I edited and wrote for my high school and college creative writing magazines, but then life got in the way and didn’t write fiction for years—I wrote for hire. Magazine articles (in music and travel), advertising copy, corporate newsletters and software manuals paid the bills. I have always been interested in the discovery of a person’s true nature and sexual identity, and began exploring different literary genres and structures to tell those important stories.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 19, 2019
Overall, this was another winner by the author. This one was L O N G though, and made long by sometimes multiple analogies on a single topic or point in the book... over and over again. Elizabeth emerges during junior year in college when she takes part in a psychology class project. Foreshadowing was good and spot on, and at times I was reading like a maniac to ensure I got to the different parts that I was so looking forward to reading. Like many of her books, the story was fantastic and the emergence of the female within was very well described. But, like many of her books, by the end I kept hoping for more of Elizabeth's life to be shared. I am probably unrealistic, like I wished for two novels in one, or a follow on novel - the first (this one) on the transition/transformation of Anthony to Elizabeth, but a second one, maybe a different genre, where we get a chance to see Elizabeth blossom as a woman and follower her adventures as a strong, determined woman tackling romance and the world. Yes, I get so attached to these characters, that I want more more more of the great things they can accomplish. What can I say, it's a testament to the author for developing characters that I cheer for all the time. Enjoy
May 22, 2022
What caused me to drop this after around 16 chapters Despite liking the setup and the premise, is how the side characters decide, with confidence, our main characters identity. Without having any time to process anything or figure stuff out our MC's "friends" are immediately on the boat of oh he/she's trans and we're gonna refer to you with a female name we just made up. It just kinda feels icky seeing an identity pushed on someone like that even if it is with "the best intentions". The two stars is due to the writing being solid and this was enjoyable so far and me liking a previous book by the same author, however the "wrongness" of it makes me unable to continue reading this.
August 26, 2017
Left with a smile on my face
An advert on TV triggered my decision to read this again. It was for Build-a-Bear which reminded my of where Anthony worked before Elizabeth was discovered within him. The thing about this story is the characters who really make you care what happens, which is why I would be delighted to read more abour them.
An advert on TV triggered my decision to read this again. It was for Build-a-Bear which reminded my of where Anthony worked before Elizabeth was discovered within him. The thing about this story is the characters who really make you care what happens, which is why I would be delighted to read more abour them.
October 2, 2024
Living life from A to Z and everything in between.
Talk about somebody being in the right place at the right time. Wagner had to be the freakiest Psych Teacher on the planet. Of course Elizabeth met the right, influential ladies along the way. It was like living in Oz as Tony then coming out into the color of Kansas.
Talk about somebody being in the right place at the right time. Wagner had to be the freakiest Psych Teacher on the planet. Of course Elizabeth met the right, influential ladies along the way. It was like living in Oz as Tony then coming out into the color of Kansas.
November 15, 2025
Awful.
This was terrible. It was transphobic, misogynistic, ableist, fatphobic, homophobic, and worst of all: 1005 pages long.
The book could easily be 500 pages shorter had the protagonist not repeatedly rehashed all the information we'd already been given.
Do not waste your time.
This was terrible. It was transphobic, misogynistic, ableist, fatphobic, homophobic, and worst of all: 1005 pages long.
The book could easily be 500 pages shorter had the protagonist not repeatedly rehashed all the information we'd already been given.
Do not waste your time.
November 20, 2019
Anthony/Beth
Brilliant and very well written I really enjoyed this thrilling take of Anthony and his eventual change to becoming Elisabeth. The most captivating story of a transgender teenager.
Brilliant and very well written I really enjoyed this thrilling take of Anthony and his eventual change to becoming Elisabeth. The most captivating story of a transgender teenager.
August 11, 2022
Unnecessarily long. Too much exposition.
April 18, 2023
I cannot say enough about this book. Masterful writing. Full of interesting twists and turns as Elizabeth finds her way to womanhood. A truly wonderful book!
May 31, 2015
This is a fantastic book - the characters feel real and dimensional, there is a great deal of nuance and recurrence of themes throughout the book, and it is an amazing story of one trans-woman's coming-of-identity. For anyone who's ever read a book dealing with coming to terms with identity - whether it be transgender, homosexual, alien, what have you - and thought, "That was great, but I wish the author had gone into this aspect a little more..." - this book is the answer to all those prayers. Of course, that comes with some potential flaws, so let's get them out of the way.
This is a LONG book compared to many in similar genres. It goes into details and nuance on a level that is unprecedented outside of science fiction. The difference is that the author isn't spending all that time building the nuance and details of the physics and politics of a fictional universe - it's all going into the psychology, actions, and reactions of the characters. And because it's full of nuance, it results in a long narrative. As a function of writing such a long narrative, there are stumbling blocks - small pockets where the narrative doesn't flow linearly, and can cause confusion. One chapter may end talking about setting up an event "next Thursday" and then the following chapter or two may jump back and do a little back-fill, making it seem disjointed in places. There are also the typical small editorial mistakes one would expect in any novel, particularly one of this size and scope.
Now, the praise - this is singly the most comprehensive book I have ever read featuring a character with gender dysmorphia. The plot builds well - not in the way that a thriller or action novel would, but in the way a coming-of-age novel flows. There are small pockets and hints early on at one of the key elements of the story - the protagonist's memory block. It's a pity that it's given away in the synopsis, as it's fascinating to discover, but more fascinating to discover why it's there. As I said, the characters are fleshed out, though perhaps a bit too neat and perfect at times. Still, they stand out from each other, and complement each other well.
If I had one complaint with this book - aside from the few areas where timeline gets disjointed - it would, ironically, be that I want to see more of the protagonist's journey. Which seems strange given I already stated that the book is perhaps too long, too nuanced. But all of those nuances made THIS reader want to dive into more detail with the characters - I wanted to see more of the characters after the epilogue, and I wanted to see more of how the protagonist interacts with Jessie, and Karen, and Becky. I feel Lynette and Megan - two contributing characters, the latter of which gets very little book time, sadly - could have used more time in the light of the book. But given that the book has a VERY large cast, many of whom feature very prominently throughout, it would be difficult for readers to keep that many characters straight in their heads.
TL;DR: Overall, this is a fantastic book with amazing depth in the development of the protagonist and seeing the overall journey of the protagonist - both forwards from the book's start and backwards as we learn what happened to create the initial character we meet. Forgive it for the small areas where it stumbles - no book of this scope is without periodic stumbles, and the author did a fantastic job of minimizing them. Highly recommended for those who enjoy coming-of-identity stories and those who are curious as to the nuances of identity constructs and what happens when they are challenged.
This is a LONG book compared to many in similar genres. It goes into details and nuance on a level that is unprecedented outside of science fiction. The difference is that the author isn't spending all that time building the nuance and details of the physics and politics of a fictional universe - it's all going into the psychology, actions, and reactions of the characters. And because it's full of nuance, it results in a long narrative. As a function of writing such a long narrative, there are stumbling blocks - small pockets where the narrative doesn't flow linearly, and can cause confusion. One chapter may end talking about setting up an event "next Thursday" and then the following chapter or two may jump back and do a little back-fill, making it seem disjointed in places. There are also the typical small editorial mistakes one would expect in any novel, particularly one of this size and scope.
Now, the praise - this is singly the most comprehensive book I have ever read featuring a character with gender dysmorphia. The plot builds well - not in the way that a thriller or action novel would, but in the way a coming-of-age novel flows. There are small pockets and hints early on at one of the key elements of the story - the protagonist's memory block. It's a pity that it's given away in the synopsis, as it's fascinating to discover, but more fascinating to discover why it's there. As I said, the characters are fleshed out, though perhaps a bit too neat and perfect at times. Still, they stand out from each other, and complement each other well.
If I had one complaint with this book - aside from the few areas where timeline gets disjointed - it would, ironically, be that I want to see more of the protagonist's journey. Which seems strange given I already stated that the book is perhaps too long, too nuanced. But all of those nuances made THIS reader want to dive into more detail with the characters - I wanted to see more of the characters after the epilogue, and I wanted to see more of how the protagonist interacts with Jessie, and Karen, and Becky. I feel Lynette and Megan - two contributing characters, the latter of which gets very little book time, sadly - could have used more time in the light of the book. But given that the book has a VERY large cast, many of whom feature very prominently throughout, it would be difficult for readers to keep that many characters straight in their heads.
TL;DR: Overall, this is a fantastic book with amazing depth in the development of the protagonist and seeing the overall journey of the protagonist - both forwards from the book's start and backwards as we learn what happened to create the initial character we meet. Forgive it for the small areas where it stumbles - no book of this scope is without periodic stumbles, and the author did a fantastic job of minimizing them. Highly recommended for those who enjoy coming-of-identity stories and those who are curious as to the nuances of identity constructs and what happens when they are challenged.
December 26, 2024
A Necessary Fiction is the third book I've read by Karin BIshop.
TG people need all the wind we can gather under our wings and Ms. Bishop's books are invariably tremendously uplifting!
Her stories are relentlessly upbeat and positive in their affirmation of us as humans.
Some may find them overly saccharine in their tone; some may be disappointed in the way that heroines overcome problems generally with ease; and some may even complain that ultimate outcomes are always positive. Honestly, for this reader, her stories are as refreshing as a Spring rain. I heartily recommend them, and I can easily imagine young adults especially being captivated by her tales.
I have always been a Pollyanna by nature and finishing one of her stories leaves me with just the right feelings inside
To this specific story, whereas the other two books I read ("In Concert" and "Connections") featured intersex (XXY) heroines, Elizabeth Drummond starts our life as a cisgendered male and discovers her lost femininity through an (admittedly contrived) experiment for a college psychology class. Her voyage of discovery from there is typically Karin Bishop (with dei ex machina in every corner) but it's always delightful and one can't help pulling for her to surmount every obstacle. I found strange resonance to one plot element in particular: Elizabeth re-discovering suppressed memories from her childhood where every time she expresses her femininity, she's corrected by a well meaning parent. As she begins to remember the 'necessary fictions' that guided her to masquerade as a boy until college she unravels the personal mystery of her life.
This is the longest of Ms. Bishop's works I have read thus far but frankly I wish it had been even longer! I'd like to follow Elizabeth's life well into her (deservedly) happy future
TG people need all the wind we can gather under our wings and Ms. Bishop's books are invariably tremendously uplifting!
Her stories are relentlessly upbeat and positive in their affirmation of us as humans.
Some may find them overly saccharine in their tone; some may be disappointed in the way that heroines overcome problems generally with ease; and some may even complain that ultimate outcomes are always positive. Honestly, for this reader, her stories are as refreshing as a Spring rain. I heartily recommend them, and I can easily imagine young adults especially being captivated by her tales.
I have always been a Pollyanna by nature and finishing one of her stories leaves me with just the right feelings inside
To this specific story, whereas the other two books I read ("In Concert" and "Connections") featured intersex (XXY) heroines, Elizabeth Drummond starts our life as a cisgendered male and discovers her lost femininity through an (admittedly contrived) experiment for a college psychology class. Her voyage of discovery from there is typically Karin Bishop (with dei ex machina in every corner) but it's always delightful and one can't help pulling for her to surmount every obstacle. I found strange resonance to one plot element in particular: Elizabeth re-discovering suppressed memories from her childhood where every time she expresses her femininity, she's corrected by a well meaning parent. As she begins to remember the 'necessary fictions' that guided her to masquerade as a boy until college she unravels the personal mystery of her life.
This is the longest of Ms. Bishop's works I have read thus far but frankly I wish it had been even longer! I'd like to follow Elizabeth's life well into her (deservedly) happy future
October 6, 2020
Necessary Fiction is a very good book its about Tony who through a class project finds out he is actually Elizabeth she/he is a engineering major but does not want to be the book is well written and enjoyable Tony finds out what he wants in life and the story tells you how he/she does it. I highly recommend this book
June 9, 2019
Just about perfect
Every time I return to reading this story I am totally drawn into it by the beautifully drawn characters that Karin Bishop came up with.
Every time I return to reading this story I am totally drawn into it by the beautifully drawn characters that Karin Bishop came up with.
May 5, 2016
By far my favorite novel by Karin Bishop!!!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews