Two Strand River by Keith Maillard

Two Strand River is an absolutely magnificent book about gender identity, gender roles and gender stereotypes that carries the power and depth of Virginia Woolf's classic work "Orlando." Much has been written about this novel, which was originally published in the 1970's. Yet not only have Keith Maillard's words stood the test of time, his novel may be even more relevant today, as the expression of "felt" gender has become more commonplace.

Although we, as a society, have become more accepting of gender fluidity, the stigma and strangeness of shifting gender roles and gender variance remains. Rare books like this one serve not only to document our changing world, but to act as catalysts to assist us in learning to "normalize" our internalized and repressed guilty feelings.

Reviewed by Samuel