Description
“Wait—rewind. I was still a girl back then, before the universes converged.”
Guided by premonitions and a fateful car ride, a burned-out retail worker stumbles into the grand exit from womanhood. Meanwhile, in a galaxy not so far away, an alien prince goes rogue with his sentient spaceship, seeking purpose in the great glimmering void. As the two of them come together in a fusion of body and mind, they must reckon with their assigned identities.
Tender, witty, and daring, Pluralities is a slipstream-meets-space-adventure story honoring the long and turbulent journey into gender euphoria.
Cover Artist: Lorna Antoniazzi
Accolades
Finalist – 2024 Aurora Awards for Novelette/Novella
Longlist – 2023 British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) Awards for Shorter Fiction
Media
Pluralities reviewed by Amal El-Mohtar in the New York Times
Pluralities reviewed by P.L. Stuart on the Before We Go Blog
Pluralities on the Locus Magazine 2023 Recommended Reading List
Pluralities on the Books & Bao “32 Best Sci-Fi Books Ever”
Pluralities on Another Book on the Shelf podcast
Reviews:
“A tender exploration of gender and body that revels in its own strangeness. Avi Silver never shies away from the awkward, horny, or complicated aspects of nonbinary identity. This is the 401-level nonbinary speculative fiction I’ve been waiting for.” — Nino Cipri, author of Finna
“Pluralities offers two subtly converging stories of a young person quitting a dismal retail job in a reality slightly at an angle from ours, and a space-opera prince on the run with his sentient spaceship friend. This novella truly pushes the envelope of gender exploration in fiction. It does not shy away from tackling the uneasy, messy, but also potentially liberating aspects of sex, T4T relationships, Jewish feminism, and resigning from your job on the spot even if it means having to walk off half-naked. My ideal world would be full of books like this one. Sadly we’re not living there, but you can get and read this particular story in the meanwhile!” — Bogi Takács, Hugo and Lambda award winning author and editor
“A gleaming, quicksilver flash of a book. Silver’s writing is funny and tender, and that self-aware humor manages to keep the book’s earnestness from turning twee, while the prose is often shockingly beautiful.” — Amal El-Mohtar, New York Times Book Review and co-author, with Max Gladstone, of This is How You Lose the Time War
“Pluralities is a cosmic journey through transness so relatable that it emB.O.D.Y.ied the beauty of being trans. Avi Silver’s grasp of the art of story is so great that it spans galaxies (and an entire mall) to bring the reader finally home to what is gender. A must read for anyone trans, questioning, or any trans ally.” — Jordan Kurella, author of I Never Liked You Anyway
“Pluralities arrives at a timely point to explore how speculative fiction might engage with journeys towards non-binary identities. This is a welcome and frank, challenging exploration of the issue that is at once ambitious and sensitive. Witty and touching, these characters will linger with you as they push the boundaries of exploring who we are, and what we desire. I look forward to reading more from Avi Silver in the future!” — Bryan Thao Worra, author of American Laodyssey
“Years into my own journey, this story was especially meaningful to me. I love that the narrative is filled with queer love, friendship, and euphoria. This novella doesn’t shy away from challenging questions about the intersection of feminism and trans identity, and it doesn’t offer glib answers, but faces those questions head-on. I found the read experience-broadening, and hope this book finds the audience it deserves.” — José Pablo Iriarte, Hugo and Nebula Finalist
“Avi Silver’s Pluralities is a heartfelt story about what it means to be human in a world that demands our nuanced identities give way to simple hashtags and easy takes. Complex, lyrical and surprising, it will take you on a journey from the parking lot down the road to the vast reaches of space… and if you sign on for this voyage, the thing you’re most likely to find may be yourself.” — L.X. Beckett, author of Gamechanger
“If you’ve been craving something soft and thoughtful and loving – with spaceships that talk through lightbulbs and trans besties living their best lives in Stardew Valley – then it’s absolutely perfect.” — Every Book a Doorway
