Close to Spider Man

"Close to Spider Man" marks the debut of an exciting new literary talent: a collection of connected stories whose female narrators seek out lives for themselves.
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The young women in Ivan Coyote's deeply personal stories are looking to make a break from their circumstances, but the North is in their bones: Like the protagonist in the title story, a waitress whose attempts to help a young co-worker saddled with a lunatic father finds her running across rooftops and climbing ladders; by getting close to Spider Man, she gets closer to freedom.

Startling in their intimacy, the stories in "Close to Spider Man" make up a moving scrapbook of what it's like to be a young queer woman in the North, journeys imbued with the colours of a prescient sexuality and an honest heart. Paperback , 95 pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Close to Spider Man , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Mar 01, Maciek rated it liked it Shelves: Coyote is a Canadian author and activist born and raised in the town of Whitehorse, in the northern Canadian territory of Yukon.

Close to Spider Man is Coyote's first collection of stories, but those who experience stories of remote hardship, logging and fishing are in for a big surprise, as all of them feature characters who are experimenting with sexuality and trying to find their own, which is not always easy when you're living at the ends of the earth. The stories themselves are very, Ivan E. The stories themselves are very, very short often just a few pages long , and play on the traditional ideas of gender and feature female protagonists who refuse to bow down to social expectations of sexuality for various reasons.

In No Bikini , for example, a girl refuses to put on a bikini top when going to the pool for swimming lessons, and joins other boys in the pool; she feels exhilarated by not being expected to be afraid of the water, and experiences "six weeks of boyhood, six weeks of bliss" which leave her changed forever. Manifestation is a quick short featuring an accidental dirt mustache, which is a sign of further manifestations to come; in The Cat came Back an uncle catches his niece dressing up in his clothes, and reacts in a way which surprises and empowers her.

Also worth mentioning is a two-page long non-story titled Eggcups , which features important information about the proper way to keep eggs in the fridge. The eponymous story is probably the best one; a young waitress has a secret crush on her coworker, an attractive French Canadian named Sylvia; she does not understand her feelings and does not know how to act on them, but when Sylvia does not show up for work and she hears terrible news regarding her family, she suspects the worst and runs off to help her friend, jumping across rooftops and balconies.

It's both amusing and touching and for it alone the collection is worth reading, especially since it will not take more than one afternoon. View all 7 comments.

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Jun 25, Cheyenne Blue rated it it was amazing Shelves: Teeny-tiny stories with a loose coming-of-age theme, set in the Yukon Territory. These short short stories most are only a few pages are clearly and bluntly written. The bleak setting of the Yukon is a wonderful backdrop to these stories of girls and gender and love and childhood and adolescence. Standouts for me were "No Bikini" in which the small girl narrator joins the boys in swimming class, leaving her bikini top behind, and "Red Sock Circle Dance" in which the narrator pledges Brilliant!

Standouts for me were "No Bikini" in which the small girl narrator joins the boys in swimming class, leaving her bikini top behind, and "Red Sock Circle Dance" in which the narrator pledges her ex-lover's little boy that she will be there for him to celebrate his queerness.

These are short stories in a slim book. I just wish there were more of them. Aug 30, Sarah rated it really liked it Shelves: An excellent collection of short stories, rendered with feeling and a lovely writing style. Nov 04, Janet Bristeir rated it it was amazing. Sep 14, Margie rated it it was amazing. Well-written short stories set in the Yukon. Feb 11, Robyn Obermeyer rated it really liked it.

A very nice batch of short stories, good for nitetime reading! Jun 16, Sam rated it really liked it Shelves: Short and sweet, and an excellent story about childhood in Canada's north.

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Jun 26, Carolyn rated it really liked it Shelves: Close to Spiderman by Ivan E. Coyote is a book of short stories by a talented Yukon Canadian author. Loving the poignant, honest, down-to-earth memories of childhood and gender identity from our national treasure. There were stories that stand out as fantastic, and others that were good.

I really don't care for the cover art; it could use an update for a new edition if they print a new edition. This was my first time delving into Coyote's work and I can't wait to taste their other works. Oct 18, Pam P rated it it was amazing Shelves: A beautiful book, affirming and heart warming. Especially good for the young,or those of us who are not strangled by the binary.

I read it every year and have for the past 4 I think. I am getting a new set from the author's publishers.

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My first copy was a discard from the Oakland Library, and I have to say it was a terrible decision that they made. If I had read this book as a teen enduring alienation from the world, so much of my life would have been understandable,bearable.

Grace that I surviv A beautiful book, affirming and heart warming. Grace that I survived and sadly many queer teens don't. Jan 01, Highlyeccentric rated it really liked it Shelves: Now this, I really enjoyed.


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It had two of my most favouritest things: The use of first person means that few of the stories have a named protag, although in all of them she's a gender-nonconforming AFAB person. In one she's named Ivan. It seems logical to read them all as the same person, but in that case Now this, I really enjoyed. It seems logical to read them all as the same person, but in that case, is it fiction or essays?

That confusion is probably part of the Art. But it annoyed me. Mar 27, Zoom rated it really liked it Shelves: This is one of Ivan's earlier books, but I just got around to reading it now. This slim little volume of short pieces isn't my favourite book of Ivan's, but it's still very good. I loved finding out how Frances came into Ivan's life. Ultimate Marvel and Ultimate Spider-Man.

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