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Tiny Pieces of Skull
In the 1980s, poet and activist Roz Kaveney wrote a novel, Tiny Pieces of Skull, about trans street life and bar life in London and Chicago in the late 1970s. Much admired in manuscript by writers from Kathy Acker to Neil Gaiman, it has never seen print until now... Funny and terrifying by turns, and full of glimpses of other lives, it is the story of how beautiful Natasha persuades clever Annabelle to run away from her life and have adventures, more adventures than either of them quite meant her to have...
‘Tiny Pieces is fucking brilliant. A certain classic, a definitive portrait of trans outside the niceties of middle class daydreams. Brava, sister mine.’ -- Kate Bornstein, writer and activist)
‘Even now I find it hard to put into words quite how moving and marvellous I found it. It's an astonishing, troubling book; scalpel-sharp; brittle; bleak and brave. I feel sure it will upset a great number of people in all the right ways. In fact, I hope it does: literature should be a call to arms, not a sleeping-pill. Congratulations on bringing this story out of the dark.’ -- Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat and The Gospel of Loki
‘Tiny Pieces is fucking brilliant. A certain classic, a definitive portrait of trans outside the niceties of middle class daydreams. Brava, sister mine.’ -- Kate Bornstein, writer and activist)
‘Even now I find it hard to put into words quite how moving and marvellous I found it. It's an astonishing, troubling book; scalpel-sharp; brittle; bleak and brave. I feel sure it will upset a great number of people in all the right ways. In fact, I hope it does: literature should be a call to arms, not a sleeping-pill. Congratulations on bringing this story out of the dark.’ -- Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat and The Gospel of Loki
191 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 20, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 9, 2015
Sardonic, harrowing, gripping; at once savage and hilarious. A densely packed read -- felt a bit jolted and sad when I hit the last page, reluctant to leave these women behind. Highly recommended.
October 19, 2016
It took me a while to get into this book and then I was in love with it by the end. Now I'm wondering if maybe that was a super-clever author trick to echo how uncomfortable (or just awkward) Annabelle feels at first in the UK and US, and then the writing unfurls bit by bit as she finds her feet, odd strangers turn into friends, or at least known compatriots, and banter and adventures take the place of wary unease.
By the end of the book, the story that began in such an ungainly fashion has clearly transformed itself into the adventure of a lifetime. Something to look back on with a mixture of horror (omg I actually did that), pride (omg I actually did that), and delight (ditto).
I was quite fed up with Annabelle's naïveté in the New York train station - really I was traveling on my own during the same time period, although I was far younger than she was and I would never, ever have done anything so stupid.
But then she absolutely won me over with her descriptions of the underbelly of Chicago in the late 70s. Not just the background dirty, hardscrabble city with burnt bits, but mostly the relationships between oddballs on the down and out, girls scrabbling together, alternately stabbing, aiding, competing, allying, gossiping and nearly always falling for unsuitable men.
(There are, in fact, no positive men in this book that I can recall. The girls are at the center, men are on the periphery and they are weak or pompous or assholes or dull.)
It was also a bit of a shock to read of a world without cell phones, ATMs, Internet or credit cards being used by all and sundry. The shock in fact came from just how unusual it seemed, I had forgotten how we all managed. At least there was superglue!
You might say a weakness of the book is the fact that we never quite know why Annabelle takes this plunge into the underworld. Even when things were at their worst, she has an apartment and career back in London, plus a plane ticket to get there. However, that doesn't bother me because I don't think many of us always know why we do what we do, plus survival in those circumstances takes a lot out of you. And, it was a terrifically good adventure in the end. She got lucky and she knew it.
Highly recommended for anyone into the 1979-era, trans bios, stories of intense friendships between women who are close due to circumstances rather than selection, and/or just really great banter.
A side note: the book's mostly about trans women. Not one trans man is mentioned. In my memory of back then, the worlds of LGT rarely intersected. In particular the genders stayed in separate camps. So separate I think I would have called them uneasy allies at best in the immediate wake of the women's movement. That's just my recollection though, it was a long time ago and I was only ever on the periphery myself. So I could be wrong. But this narrative fits that to some extent.
By the end of the book, the story that began in such an ungainly fashion has clearly transformed itself into the adventure of a lifetime. Something to look back on with a mixture of horror (omg I actually did that), pride (omg I actually did that), and delight (ditto).
I was quite fed up with Annabelle's naïveté in the New York train station - really I was traveling on my own during the same time period, although I was far younger than she was and I would never, ever have done anything so stupid.
But then she absolutely won me over with her descriptions of the underbelly of Chicago in the late 70s. Not just the background dirty, hardscrabble city with burnt bits, but mostly the relationships between oddballs on the down and out, girls scrabbling together, alternately stabbing, aiding, competing, allying, gossiping and nearly always falling for unsuitable men.
(There are, in fact, no positive men in this book that I can recall. The girls are at the center, men are on the periphery and they are weak or pompous or assholes or dull.)
It was also a bit of a shock to read of a world without cell phones, ATMs, Internet or credit cards being used by all and sundry. The shock in fact came from just how unusual it seemed, I had forgotten how we all managed. At least there was superglue!
You might say a weakness of the book is the fact that we never quite know why Annabelle takes this plunge into the underworld. Even when things were at their worst, she has an apartment and career back in London, plus a plane ticket to get there. However, that doesn't bother me because I don't think many of us always know why we do what we do, plus survival in those circumstances takes a lot out of you. And, it was a terrifically good adventure in the end. She got lucky and she knew it.
Highly recommended for anyone into the 1979-era, trans bios, stories of intense friendships between women who are close due to circumstances rather than selection, and/or just really great banter.
A side note: the book's mostly about trans women. Not one trans man is mentioned. In my memory of back then, the worlds of LGT rarely intersected. In particular the genders stayed in separate camps. So separate I think I would have called them uneasy allies at best in the immediate wake of the women's movement. That's just my recollection though, it was a long time ago and I was only ever on the periphery myself. So I could be wrong. But this narrative fits that to some extent.
October 12, 2023
This was such an easy read and really enjoyable as it went. Given it drew from the authors on experience as a trans woman in the 70s/80s I think it was an insight we don't see much from. Was also a very quick read.
June 2, 2021
A wonderful wonderful book. I can't recommend it enough, so glad it finally got published!!
March 12, 2025
On one hnd i feel this is an important documentation of the life of being a trans sex worker. I love that in the book none of the characters explicitly say that they r trans. On the other hand im sad from hearing the same type of story being told; trans woman sex worker living on the edge and being a victim of violence. This isnt a fault of the author, they simply wrote a story about life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2021
This book is a classic. If you take anything away from this review, I want to make sure it’s that. With books like Detransition, Baby and TV shows like POSE, the stories of trans women have never been such a part of the cultural zeitgeist. Perhaps that’s why Tiny Pieces of Skull was only relatively recently published, despite it having been in circulation since it was first written in the late 80’s – there’s simply more of a market for trans stories by trans authors. Whether this is because there are more people coming out and wanting to delve into their history, or simply because it is generally thought of as being “more socially acceptable”, or maybe its just because the internet is putting us in touch with trans siblings all over the globe, so that there is a general awareness of how many of us there are. No matter what the reason, queer and trans representation is so much further along even than when I first started this blog, and it makes me happier than you can even imagine.
Tiny Pieces of Skull felt like a connection to trans roots, like a placing of “now” in comparison to “then” with an extra special dash of “not that much has really changed in the meantime”. I think it’s telling that in the note to the 2015 print edition, Roz Kaveney mentions the novel has been altered to make it clearer that the majority of the female characters are trans, and that only two episodes out of the whole novel had been altered enough worth mentioning. This is a story based on real life, after all, and real life is often more timeless than anything we can make up.
Tiny Pieces of Skull provides a window, not only into the whirlwind life of a couple of trans sex workers, but also into cross-cultural (I use this term loosely, as the book takes place in two western societies – British and American) ways of acting and seeing transness. So much of Annabelle’s perceived identity is wrapped up not only in her being a trans woman, but in her being a British trans woman – it is something other characters almost constantly comment upon, as she is instantly marked as an “outsider” because of her accent. I found this an interesting part of the novel – how the trans women from different countries and cultures would band together in their own groups in a way that reminded me more than a little of a prison movie. Despite all the bickering and outright violence the trans women displayed towards one another, there was still the sense of having to forcibly bond with one another for their protection, because at the end of the day, despite fickle johns who might put them up for a month or two, all the girls really had was each other. In that respect Tiny Pieces of Skull had the one thing that many narratives do – the subvert knowledge that as much as the outside world commits violence against trans women, trans women equally enact that same cycle of violence upon one another.
Find this review and more at my website StrangeQueerThings
Tiny Pieces of Skull felt like a connection to trans roots, like a placing of “now” in comparison to “then” with an extra special dash of “not that much has really changed in the meantime”. I think it’s telling that in the note to the 2015 print edition, Roz Kaveney mentions the novel has been altered to make it clearer that the majority of the female characters are trans, and that only two episodes out of the whole novel had been altered enough worth mentioning. This is a story based on real life, after all, and real life is often more timeless than anything we can make up.
Tiny Pieces of Skull provides a window, not only into the whirlwind life of a couple of trans sex workers, but also into cross-cultural (I use this term loosely, as the book takes place in two western societies – British and American) ways of acting and seeing transness. So much of Annabelle’s perceived identity is wrapped up not only in her being a trans woman, but in her being a British trans woman – it is something other characters almost constantly comment upon, as she is instantly marked as an “outsider” because of her accent. I found this an interesting part of the novel – how the trans women from different countries and cultures would band together in their own groups in a way that reminded me more than a little of a prison movie. Despite all the bickering and outright violence the trans women displayed towards one another, there was still the sense of having to forcibly bond with one another for their protection, because at the end of the day, despite fickle johns who might put them up for a month or two, all the girls really had was each other. In that respect Tiny Pieces of Skull had the one thing that many narratives do – the subvert knowledge that as much as the outside world commits violence against trans women, trans women equally enact that same cycle of violence upon one another.
Find this review and more at my website StrangeQueerThings
March 5, 2021
Why is this book exceptional? Kaveney is a trans woman, and the book is a fictional depiction written in the late '80s of trans women set in London and Chicago in the late '70s. Kaveney says, however, that it's very much based on her own experiences.
I don't envy her those experiences. Sex work dominates the lives of her characters for most of the book. Not that sex work is inherently bad, but as Kaveney's protagonist Annabelle points out, trans women in that time & place didn't have many options if you didn't want to do sex work. The threats of violence from both clients and colleagues, boredom, crushingly oppressive beauty standards, and precarious existence that Kaveney depicts make me glad I was born about twenty years after Kaveney.
Bad: Kaveney has an Oxbridge education, and all her characters sound like they do too even if they're poorly educated Chicago people. Annabelle can be a bit of a Mary Sue at times. I thought the book took a bit longer to really grab my attention than it needed to.
Good: To my knowledge this is the earliest fictional depiction of what it's like to be trans that really rings true, and it does so in grand style. Kaveney also writes honestly and respectfully about BDSM and sex work. Once it gets going, it really gets going as a story.
Oh: At the beginning and end of the book, two of the few cis women characters in the book foreshadow the British academic TERFery that's running rampant now. Those parts are a little eerie to read today.
I don't envy her those experiences. Sex work dominates the lives of her characters for most of the book. Not that sex work is inherently bad, but as Kaveney's protagonist Annabelle points out, trans women in that time & place didn't have many options if you didn't want to do sex work. The threats of violence from both clients and colleagues, boredom, crushingly oppressive beauty standards, and precarious existence that Kaveney depicts make me glad I was born about twenty years after Kaveney.
Bad: Kaveney has an Oxbridge education, and all her characters sound like they do too even if they're poorly educated Chicago people. Annabelle can be a bit of a Mary Sue at times. I thought the book took a bit longer to really grab my attention than it needed to.
Good: To my knowledge this is the earliest fictional depiction of what it's like to be trans that really rings true, and it does so in grand style. Kaveney also writes honestly and respectfully about BDSM and sex work. Once it gets going, it really gets going as a story.
Oh: At the beginning and end of the book, two of the few cis women characters in the book foreshadow the British academic TERFery that's running rampant now. Those parts are a little eerie to read today.
February 28, 2025
I really wanted to like this one, but it never quite took off for me. I love books about trans women in the city, especially one that goes back to the 70's, 80's, and 90's, and I did enjoy the two main characters, but I wished there was more of a story around them. Nothing much happens. It's just the day in their lives just going about meeting people and doing things and experiencing things good and bad and that was really about it. This is one of those novels where it isn't so much about telling a story but more about capturing a singular moment in time as far as its setting and place goes. The issue with that though is that the novel ends up feeling too disjointed with a lot of unnecessary dialogue that felt like a crutch when there clearly was nowhere else for these women to go. The writing wasn't bad, though, but it felt more like I was reading episodes and vignettes than a novel. I lost interest throughout the book because there just wasn't much to the story than moments that the characters go through. By the end, I was underwhelmed and felt lost about what all the hype of this book is aside from that it was at one point approved by Neil Gaiman, which hasn't aged well, for obvious reasons. What I did love though is that this is clearly a very queer, very trans book written by/for queer people and trans women, that's where it resonated with me in that way, in how it felt very salt of the earth, spoken from lived experiences. I just wish it was more ENGAGING, and not only in its last 20 or so pages, where it finally starts to take off, but by that point, the story's over. At least it was a short and breezy read.
December 19, 2021
Not enough stars in the sky to honestly rate this book.
For me, it was the perfect storm of favored genres: eeking our survival, gritty street life, ‘70s punk, transness:)
I haven’t consulted the OED or Urban Dictionary, but this must’ve been one of the earliest mentions of superstraight, the reactionary, fascist-tinged anti-transgender movement of a the early ‘20s…
edits: Clean up things that I couldn't do (or do well) on iOS.
For me, it was the perfect storm of favored genres: eeking our survival, gritty street life, ‘70s punk, transness:)
I haven’t consulted the OED or Urban Dictionary, but this must’ve been one of the earliest mentions of superstraight, the reactionary, fascist-tinged anti-transgender movement of a the early ‘20s…
We wouldn’t know her if we saw her again. Sure, the kid could be in pain, but they’ll turn her into a robotic superstraight.Roz is also a proto-hipster godmother of sorts, ripping on font/type elitism that would follow in three decades…
‘Probably still agonizing over the most socially prestigious typeface,’ said Carola.‘Caslon minor can be death in this town.’Those things said, the book had a touch-up in 2014, which predates those and other modern-for-now sensibilities, but I’d still love to read this in its original form.
edits: Clean up things that I couldn't do (or do well) on iOS.
November 11, 2022
Technically, Tiny Pieces of Skull by Roz Kaveney is NOT an autobiography. It’s #ownvoices AF though and so redolent of a particular time and place in important women’s history, that I count it as such in a way. Also, it’s a masterpiece, so...
The book mostly takes place in Chicago in 1979. On the advice of a new friend, our heroine Annabelle, a newly transitioning English woman, bails on her life as a book reviewer surrounded by disappointing men in London to adventure in America.
America too is full of disappointing men. The real stars are the women, mostly trans as well. Like others, without choices Annabelle makes rent by becoming a sex worker. It’s described in such an everyday way, that it’s neither sexy nor dramatically horrid, it’s just work.
This glimpse into a life when no one had cell phone nor Internet, when gay lib was a newish thing and AIDS hadn’t blown up yet... this is an important historical moment in trans history. When you could almost smell mainstream coming, but not yet.
The book mostly takes place in Chicago in 1979. On the advice of a new friend, our heroine Annabelle, a newly transitioning English woman, bails on her life as a book reviewer surrounded by disappointing men in London to adventure in America.
America too is full of disappointing men. The real stars are the women, mostly trans as well. Like others, without choices Annabelle makes rent by becoming a sex worker. It’s described in such an everyday way, that it’s neither sexy nor dramatically horrid, it’s just work.
This glimpse into a life when no one had cell phone nor Internet, when gay lib was a newish thing and AIDS hadn’t blown up yet... this is an important historical moment in trans history. When you could almost smell mainstream coming, but not yet.
August 20, 2021
Fantastically queer work by Roz Kaveney, my first read by this badass trans, feminist activist. It's just the type of radical work I'm seeking out, a gritty depiction of trans street life mostly among sex workers in Chicago in the 1970s. I love the way the women support each other but also can dish out the T as only family can. These women are fierce, fearless, will kick the shit out of the heteropatriarchy, then go out for brunch after. The brutality is startling at times, like when a character is accused of doing drugs again by her transgodmother, locked in a camping sleeping bag, then tossed from a 7th floor window - she survives but DAMN! Talk about tough love.
The editing can be rudimentary, there are some misspellings and quite a few incoherent transitions - but the writing is whip-smart and fiendishly queer. This is not trans 101, you don't get baby explanations of these women's lives, you either know or you don't know - I love it <3
The editing can be rudimentary, there are some misspellings and quite a few incoherent transitions - but the writing is whip-smart and fiendishly queer. This is not trans 101, you don't get baby explanations of these women's lives, you either know or you don't know - I love it <3
February 26, 2021
maybe i was expecting the wrong thing, but i didn’t really start to enjoy it until page 90. once i got that far i enjoyed it quite a bit but it was already half over at that point, so maybe this rating is overly generous. for reference, it’s more comedy of manners among the transsexual demi-monde of chicago in the 80s than searing pathbreaking, and the prose can be a little *too* witty at times, but it’s also quite charming and funny, even a little heartbreaking in places
February 22, 2023
This was a good library find! bits are outdated but overall I enjoyed reading this slangy book that was both very interior and very exterior (i.e. psyhic life and social life). Def recommend if you're interested in trans* fiction that should have been published when it was written, in the 80s.
July 18, 2021
couldn't put it down!
April 4, 2023
I'm very glad to have found these roots to brush up against.
November 1, 2024
Such a beautiful and realistic view on the reality of trans life in America. Kaveney has a way to make the mundane parts of life seem so important and beautiful. Loved it!!
January 25, 2025
Probably the best trans novel i've read thus far
May 1, 2025
Light 5
January 1, 2025
'Tiny Pieces of Skull' is a semi-autobiographical novel about trans women, many of them sex workers, in 1970s Chicago. Annabelle, young British transwoman and author stand-in, moves to America on the encouragement of a friend, and gets caught up in all sorts of adventures involving sex and drugs.
Its greatest strength and appeal comes from how well it captures the lives of a particular group of people in a particular time and place - in this sense, it reminded me of novels such as The Great Gatsby, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Our Lady of the Flowers. As a result, if you are not particularly interested in the novel's people and setting, you may struggle to engage with it; however, I am sure that for those interested in trans lives and history, it is certain to become a classic.
While there is an overarching narrative, the chapters are episodic and very short, sometimes little more than a page, and thus are often more like vignettes. This gave the book a very 'stop and start' feel, with the narrative constantly being interrupted by chapter breaks and time jumps of often unspecified length, and as a result I often found myself only reading small amounts at a time, so it took me a lot longer to finish than I would expect from such a short novel.
Its greatest strength and appeal comes from how well it captures the lives of a particular group of people in a particular time and place - in this sense, it reminded me of novels such as The Great Gatsby, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Our Lady of the Flowers. As a result, if you are not particularly interested in the novel's people and setting, you may struggle to engage with it; however, I am sure that for those interested in trans lives and history, it is certain to become a classic.
While there is an overarching narrative, the chapters are episodic and very short, sometimes little more than a page, and thus are often more like vignettes. This gave the book a very 'stop and start' feel, with the narrative constantly being interrupted by chapter breaks and time jumps of often unspecified length, and as a result I often found myself only reading small amounts at a time, so it took me a lot longer to finish than I would expect from such a short novel.
April 22, 2015
A brilliant, multilayered, brave piece of writing that manages to capture a specific time -- the late 1970s -- without being at all dated. It's about trans women but never mentions that fact outright, as it's not about "being trans" but rather about the lives and adventures of a group of quite complex people who happen to be (mostly) trans women. Sure, sex and gender come up all the time, but in extremely clever and oblique ways.
This novel comes at everything in that kind of oblique way, as does its main POV character, the English Annabelle, who is living in Chicago for most of the story. A stranger in a strange land, she seems to be both living her life and studying it anthropologically at the same time. That being said, any anthropological remove that may exist in the writing style and narrative is mitigated by the depths of humor and horror constantly simmering underneath. Even the title has these layers.
I've read many of Kaveney's other books. She sure can move between genres, but always has a certain trademark wit. Wow, is it ever on display here.
This novel comes at everything in that kind of oblique way, as does its main POV character, the English Annabelle, who is living in Chicago for most of the story. A stranger in a strange land, she seems to be both living her life and studying it anthropologically at the same time. That being said, any anthropological remove that may exist in the writing style and narrative is mitigated by the depths of humor and horror constantly simmering underneath. Even the title has these layers.
I've read many of Kaveney's other books. She sure can move between genres, but always has a certain trademark wit. Wow, is it ever on display here.
July 14, 2016
A book about a transgender woman in the late 70s and early 80s. This book had a hard time finding a publisher due to its 'immorality'. This is way less explicit than that zipless fuck phenomena which got published around the same time or Choir Boys scenes.
The issue was probably around the matter of fact representation of life where drugs, prostitution and violence was common enough not to be remarkable. I can see why Kathy Acker and Neil Gaiman liked this book.
At the core of the book is, of course, the need to be loved and accepted. The common story is only queer by its characters. I do wonder at those who would be upset by this piece. Why?
I liked this book. I liked the writing.
The issue was probably around the matter of fact representation of life where drugs, prostitution and violence was common enough not to be remarkable. I can see why Kathy Acker and Neil Gaiman liked this book.
At the core of the book is, of course, the need to be loved and accepted. The common story is only queer by its characters. I do wonder at those who would be upset by this piece. Why?
I liked this book. I liked the writing.
December 23, 2016
Fairly short, I read it in paper so I kept picking it up and putting it down. Kind of reminded me of Hubert Selby or maybe Kerouac? Except it came out fairly recently and was first written in the late 80s, based on events that happened in the late 70s, early 80s. Lots of good turns of phrase, the third person keeps us a bit distant from the protagonist. Often a subtle book.
June 5, 2015
I can't say enough wonderful things about this book. I'm pretty much in love with Annabell.
August 23, 2015
Full of razor-sharp observation; snarky wit and well-timed humour; moments of quiet tragedy and utter terror. A story deeply felt, beautifully told and completely unforgettable.
August 9, 2016
Completely original.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews