“A quiet, gorgeous meditation on grief, race, and community, wilson-yang’s
writing more than delivers on the title’s promise ... Small Beauty joins the small but growing numbers of trans-genre novels written by transgender women that are revolutionizing our ideas of how trans people can exist within fiction.” –Morgan M. Page, Lambda Literary
In coping with the sudden death of her cousin, Mei abandons her life in the city to live in his empty house in the small town of Herbertsville. There she connects with his history as well as her own, discovers her aunt’s secret love, and reflects on the trans women she left behind.
While navigating her self-imposed isolation, Mei brushes up against
local mysteries and receives advice from departed loved ones. A complex tapestry of memory and revelation, Small Beauty explores grief, family and community in a stirring story that quietly roars.
“wilson-yang is a fucking beautiful writer and her lyrical prose about this messed-up girl is some of the most gorgeous writing that trans lit has been blessed with.” – Casey Plett, The Winnipeg Review
