Tracy June Leonard needs money now.
She's sending out applications and doing what she's supposed to, but her résumé is full of lies that she can't keep straight.
And it's hard to concentrate at the interviews with Gemini in her head, a loud and brutally honest alter-ego that won't shut up.
It's been years since Toronto legalized sex work. After the last disastrous job interview, Tracy takes weeks to prepare to become a contractor at Rosado House. With her alter ego and the perfect wig she plans to leave everything behind and start again.
But Gemini has their limits. When Tracy's worlds collide in the worst possible way she will discover just how much she'll need to sacrifice for the security and the life she wants.
Assessment:
Plot: Martin creates a deeply compelling and cathartic premise: her character carries with her an alter ego who is blistering candid, uncompromising, and desiring of a life beyond corporate offices, freelance work, and lifeless living. As the heroine acts on this internal voice and begins working in the sex industry, the two voices begin to reconcile with one another.
Prose: The prose here is sharp, well structured, and immediately engrossing. The author creates tension through the opposing ego and id voices of Tracy and Gemini.
Originality: Martin takes a unique approach to a familiar narrative of internal desires in conflict with outward expectations. Her demystifying of aspects of the sex industry is refreshing.
Character/Execution: Though the heroine’s circumstances are unique, her warring thoughts and impulses, as well as her feelings of frustration and confinement, are eminently relatable and powerfully conveyed.
Date Submitted: August 14, 2020
