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Out in the Mountains |May 2000

Chris Bohjaian at home.

Voices from the Margins
continued from pg 31

“She was livid and devastated,” says Bohjalian. Upon her
return to New York City, she asked her boyfriend to move in
with her until the surgery, hoping that he would see the error of
his ways when he experienced what she was sure would be the
wonderful life they would share. He moved in, but it soon
became clear that he wasn’t going to change his mind. The cou-
ple broke up and went their separate ways.

A couple of years later, long after that former boyfriend had
recovered from surgery, the same friend came back to Vermont
for a visit. Again, she was alone. “Late one night, over too much
wine,” he recalls, “she told us that not a_ day went by where she
didn’t think of this other person.” She lamented the fact that, due
to her hang-ups about gender and sexual preference, she would
live the rest of her life without the person she was certain was
her soul mate. Here was the conflict that fascinated Bohjalian.

The result of that fascination is a compelling novel that at
once illuminates a world new to most readers and depicts one
with which many in Vermont are becoming acutely familiar.

Trans-Sister’s setting is a town that Addison County residents
may recognize as patterned on Bristol. Bohjalian has inhabited
his fictional town with characters so believable and endearing
that for weeks after finishing the book, it is difficult to fight the
urge to pick up the phone to call and see how they are doing.

Trans-Sister has four narrators. Allison Banks is an attractive,
vivacious elementary school teacher in a small Vermont town.
Will is Allison’s ex-husband, and Carly is their only daughter, in
her first year at Bennington College. University of Vermont pro-
fessor Dana Stevens is the first man Allison has fallen in love
with since her divorce years before. Together, the four lead the

photo: Barbara Dozetos

reader through fourteen remarkable months in their lives. Rather
than confusing the reader, the multiple voices give greater insight
into the emotions of this story.

Bohjalian is less a creator of his characters than a medium. He
speaks of the players in his stories as if they are real people, in
some cases dear friends. Dana Stevens is a particular favorite of
the author’s. “I always enjoyed her company,” he remembers.
“She has a great sense of humor, she’s intelligent, and a great per-
spective on the controversies she inadvertently creates.” In short,
he says, “Dana is loads of fun to hang around.”

The most gripping part of the book might be, as one would
expect, the description of the gender reassignment surgery. Using
Dana’s wit, the author imparts an enormous amount of minute
detail in a tone more reminiscent of Gramma’s chocolate chip
cookie recipe than a medical textbook. “I have to admit,” quips
Bohjalian, “I had my legs crossed the entire time I was writing
that.” '

Though the novel is a love story on many levels, it is laced
with the pain inherent in going against societal norms. Allison
has to deal with small-mindedness incarnate in the principal of
her school. Glenn Frazier, says Bohjalian, is one of the most
despicable characters he’s ever channeled. The disapproval bare-
ly veiled by insincere concern for her plight hits close to home
for Vermonters these days.

The timing of the release of the novel at the height of the furor
over same-gender relationships is purely coincidental; Bohjalian
began writing it before the Baker case was even filed.

He seems to have a knack for such timing. Water Witches,
about a drought in Vermont, came out as the state experienced
one of its driest summers on record. “Someone told me I should
have written a book about peace in Bosnia,” laughs Bohjalian.

He credits his gift for pushing thematic envelopes to marrying
well. “One of the great benefits of marrying into a family of
women,” says Bohjalian, “is that they keep me honest. I have
four sisters-in-law, any one of whom, on any given day, is happy
to remind me that most of the time, I ’m a guy who doesn’t quite
get it.” V

Chris Bohjaian at home.

photo: Barbara Dozetos