I was drawn to this book for its provocative theme - as a trans person, I was half-curious, half-terrified about how this would be handled. There's so much room for the exploitation of marginalised perspectives for the sake of farming rage-fuelled attention, and I feared this would be the case with Him. I was both relieved and uplifted by the way trans narratives were portrayed; it's a source of conflict, but I feel it was never sensationalised or fetishistic. To my knowledge, Geoff Ryman is not trans, so of course there is a limit to how authentic this voice can be. I found myself wishing Yehush's internal dialogue was more accessible - to pair the stress of transition with being the son of God is a fascinating premise, and I wanted Ryman to do more with it. Even so: a fascinating read, would recommend.

This mainly piqued my interest because I love Geoff Ryman's 253. Plus an irresistible premise - an alternative universe where the virgin Maryam gives birth to a girl, Avigayll, after being exiled, with husband, Yosef, to Nazareth. Him is from Maryam's viewpoint. It takes us through Avigayll's childhood, becoming Yeshu (taking the name of a dead friend), growing up, and eventually the road to Yerusalam and final confrontation with the authorities. It's an intriguing take on such a well-known story. Seeing it via Maryam gives us an inside family view - how problematic to raise a child who is not human and the effect this has on the whole family. Understanding Yeshu and his choices is not easy, particularly for the girls/women. Yeshu drives through his choices while everyone else is expected to conform. We also see Yeshu learning and understanding what it is to be human and his acceptance of his role. With much of the book following Yeshu before he begins his ministry, we see the change from quite a difficult child to an adult carrying the weight of the world. As the last chapters hurtle towards the inevitable, the toll on Yeshu and those who love him is very moving. This is not just a transgender retelling. Him did make me re-examine events afresh - what if, multiverse, the nature of family, God, love and being human. Some will doubtless find it too provocative but I found it to be a very clever and thoughtful work.