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Jacs Reviews: The Spirit Bares Its Teeth

Genres: horror, historical fantasy

Themes: trans issues, misogyny, medical trauma, medical/body horror

“I want to peel off all my skin, if only so I could be anything other than a naked body, something horrifying instead of vulnerable. Nobody looks at a pig corpse and thinks it could be made beautiful.”

Honestly not quite sure how to review this one, how to sum up all my many, many thoughts on it. Because I really loved this book and it was an amazing own voices story of autistic and trans experiences.

It's visceral, it's gory, it's emotional, it's painful, it's cathartic, it's horrific, it's tender. This book is full of these seemingly contradictory emotions, and the author pulls them altogether into a symphony.

The protagonist, Silas, is a trans autistic man in the Victorian era and has violet eyes which lets him see hauntings and spirits. However because its Victorian times everybody is very sexist, and women (which is what he is perceived as by the status quo) who use their powers are either executed or sent to asylums with 'veil sickness'. All the different parts of Silas' identity were really well represented and integrated into the story.

Going in I was a bit worried about anachronisms (as a licensed history nerd) but it all slotted in very well! Certain elements, such as horrific public executions, are certainly exaggerated from history, but it never feels out of place. The author uses the exaggerations to emphasise the themes of the story, rather than in an endevour to make it more relatable to a modern audience. (There is nothing wrong with the later, it is just not my cup of tea).

I was also really impressed with the nuances and aspects of intersectionality that this book touches on. It deals a lot with women's issues and depicts a broad range of female characters within misogynistic systems in a very believable way. The way that Silas' identity weaves through these issues is also very well handling- that push and pull between his trans identity and the perception of him as a cis woman. Reading this book has given me a lot to think about

Finally, shout out to the narrator of the audiobook. Raphael Corkhill had a phenomenal performance on such a challenging book to narrate.

This all being said CHECK THE CONTENT WARNINGS before reading this book. The warnings are no joke. Trust me. There's no shame in putting down the book for a bit- I had to a few times. If you want a more extensive list, check on its storygraph page.

CW: gore, medical trauma/horror (think graphic descriptions of surgery), self harm, transphobia, sexual assault/rape, disassociation, forced institutionalisation, emotional flashbacks