Arthur, a sensitive soul, navigates his life in academia with wit and insight that belies his own self-doubt. Told through a series of flash stories, Arthur’s search for love and acceptance means setting boundaries with his controlling mother, battling gender dysphoria, and struggling to overcome his biggest challenge – internalized hatred of his own fat, female body.
“In a series of fragmented moments that cut close to the heart, this bold yet tender novella explores Arthur’s journey of self-identity, from female to male, as he negotiates parental and societal expectations in the search for acceptance and freedom. Finnian Burnett’s confident, unflinching prose shines on the page, with characters hewn so sure and sharp we can sense the edge of a knife blade. This novella is hugely relatable and inexplicably moving, always bending towards hope. The Clothes Make the Man feels like a homecoming.”
Sara Hills, author of The Evolution of Birds
“This is a story that examines external and internal truths: how people see an individual, and how the individual explores the Self. It’s also worth noting the novella’s title here – fitting in the way it is declarative, yet drawing the reader’s attention to questions around the outer wrapping and what lies beneath.”
Michelle Elvy, Bath Novella-in-Flash Award 2022 Judge
Paperback; 152mm x 229mm; 58pp
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