In A Natural History of Transition, a collection of short fiction by Callum Angus, the journeys of transitioning are seldom one-way, one-time, or linear, but something more fluid and often transcending the realm of possibility. Through a lens of magical realism or employing the storytelling techniques of horror, Angus merges the natural process of changes in nature with the transitioning of his human characters. In one story, a trans man gives birth to a cocoon; in another, human transition from female to male is a cycle that coincides with the change of seasons. In this brilliant and inventive debut, children become swarms of bugs, a boy’s imagination is left behind as a butterfly, and a woman’s third transition is into a mountain range while her fourth transforms her into a soaring moon.
A Natural History of Transition by Callum Angus. Published by Metonymy Press. The editor is Oliver Fugler. A Natural History of Transition is a finalist for the Publishing Triangle’s Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction; the winner will be announced on May 11.