From actress, director, and poet Amber Tamblyn, comes this shockingly original debut novel that explores the experience of victims of sexual assault as if men were targeted as women, breaking new ground on the gendered way we contemplate rape culture. Unfortunately, you don't have to look far, just to the news headlines, to find sexual violence in our world. In her provocative debut novel, Tamblyn challenges our willingness to accept women as victims of sexual violence and the destructive ways in which our society perpetuates rape culture. An English teacher has a drink at a bar and is drugged and raped. An unsuccessful standup comedian is victim of a break in and is raped. A web designer begins an online flirtation with a mysterious person who later stalks and rapes the designer. A fifteen-year-old high school student sexually assaulted in a bathroom. What each of these characters have in common is that they are victims of sexual assault, and they are men. A haunting serial rapist is on the loose, who goes by the name Maude. She preys on men, at bars, online, at parties, as they live the aftermath of their assault in the form of doubt from the police, feelings of shame, and disgust from their family and friends. All the while, the media hound the victims and publicly dissect the details of their assault. What is remarkable is how each of these men band together, and it is by voicing their stories that they find strength and a way forward. Told in alternating viewpoints, Any Man is a remarkable, challenging, and dark examination of our gendered biases when it comes to sexual violence. As bold as it is timely, Any Man is a poignant and strikingly original work about our pervasive rape culture that seeks to assert how powerful and transformative language can be in speaking about sexual assault.
