In order to get more accurate results, our search has the following Google-Type search functionality:
If you use '+' in front of a word, then that word will be present in the search results.
ex: Harry +Potter will return results with the word 'Potter'.
If you use '-' in front of a word, then that word will be absent in the search results.
ex: Harry -Potter will return results without the word 'Potter'.
If you use 'AND' between two words, then both of those words will be present in the search results.
ex: Harry AND Potter will return results with both 'Harry' and 'Potter'.
If you use 'OR' between two words, then bth of those words may or may not be present in the search results.
ex: Harry OR Potter will return results with just 'Harry', results with just 'Potter' and results with both 'Harry' and 'Potter'.
If you use 'NOT' before a word, then that word will be absent in the search results.
ex: Harry NOT Potter will return results without the word 'Potter'.
Placing '""' around words will perform a phrase search. The search results will contain those words in that order.
ex: "Harry Potter" will return any results with 'Harry Potter' in them, but not 'Potter Harry'.
Using '*' in a word will perform a wildcard search. The '*' signifies any number of characters. Searches can not start with a wildcard.
ex: Pot*er will return results with words starting with 'Pot' and ending in 'er'. In this case, 'Potter' will be a match.
Half Wild is a fictionalised account of the lives of Eugenia Falleni, a transgender convicted murderer in the early 1900s. Pip Smith’s debut novel opens up a world of questions about reality, society and identity. As a child, Eugenia questions the world around her, deconstructing and rebuilding it, so that it fits her reality. Smith doesn’t dwell on Falleni’s sexuality, instead she offers a simple illustration of gendered identity, with Eugenia living not what is desired, but simply what is. The protagonist is not only rebelling against gender, but questioning society and the seemingly futile progress that it subscribes to.
Smith’s is a complex novel—the point of view shifts between Falleni and her selves, the reader, and the public, making it difficult at times to comprehend the written text while also drawing on your thoughts about the possible narrative. In Half Wild, Falleni is the epitome of an unreliable narrator, but the questions set up in the first act, as well as Smith’s author’s note, make you realise that the only truth we will know of Eugenia Falleni/Harry Crawford/Jean Ford is drawn from a series of twisted opinions and memories.
This is a fascinating portrait of a human life, and while the specifics may not be generally applied, the surrounding context of a life and its part to play in society is illustrated in this textured narrative.