Deuce

"What happens when you throw the dynamics of game theory, project management methodology, and Ellison's Invisible Man together on a page? Add nine players: an intersex person, a conventional dad, a crafty-cool mom, an uptight sister, a straight friend, a trans-lover, a middle-aged gay couple, and a gay co-worker. Mix in the surprising affinities of two Canadian cities, Edmonton and Montreal, where this game plays out. Deuce is what happens. On the surface, this is a novel about an intersex person: Phillipa/Phil/Pete, someone's daughter/son/child, twin sister/brother/sibling, friend/lover. And the exploration of that paradox is breathtaking: What does it mean to live between worlds? How does one escape oneself to find oneself? How does one hold all these identities together and not fall short of everyone's expectations? Funny, audacious and real. Deuce is a masterful debut by a writer with a powerful voice."
--Audrey J. Whitson, author of The Death of Annie the Water Witcher by Lightning

"In prose as deceptively straightforward as her characters, Vivian Zenari has created a tale revealed in layers, peeled away one after another, surprising the reader with the poetry and turbulent complexity beneath the surface. With compassion and true insight, she tells of a family navigating secrets, lies and identity, travelling through time as fluid as gender. Deuce reminds us that we can invent our own game with our own rules. And the win, when it finally happens, is so much more satisfying than we anticipated."
--Darrin Hagen, author of The Edmonton Queen