CRAWL (10.21.2025) by Max Delsohn

Delsohn's debut short story collection is a stunning exploration of trans masculinity, contemporary culture, and unnerving social commentaries that left me gritting my teeth in anticipation (or horror) of each climax.

I want to say how weird it is that messy, contemporary short stories can now be about protagonists my own age. When I was a reader at my college lit mag in the 2010s, it was always stories about straight millennials and their divorces (at least, that's what was in our Submittable). Meanwhile, when I read "All Time Low" in CRAWL, it's at the height of Tumblr hipster culture on a college campus. It's messy lesbian relationships, a baby butch a few years out from transitioning, and a twee straight girl who increasingly seems to know something our protagonist doesn't, until she delivers the illusion-shattering line at the very end. *Chef's kiss*

CRAWL has a brilliant range of protagonists and supporting characters, while creating this rich, dizzying atmosphere of Seattle. "The Bubble" reminded me of John Cheever's 1964 short story "The Swimmer"—in which a man decides to swim home via 14 consecutive swimming pools in New York (It's a journey through suburbia, social class, and relationships until it feels like he can't go on any longer). Similar yet different, in Delsohn's "The Bubble" the protagonist is walking through Seattle's Cal Anderson Park running into exes, friends, rivals, queer acquaintances on this first sunny day of the year—but instead of the isolation of suburbia and cis white masculinity, Delsohn's protagonist reaches the end of the journey with understanding and connection to his trans community—no matter how much some guys in it really suck.

There are some horror stories, leaning into the sandpaper friction of cis cruelty and obliviousness in "The Machine" and "Sex Is a Leisure Activity." Others are sweet interludes of gay and trans tenderness like "The Geeks" and the solidarity of "Moon Over Denny Blaine."

If CRAWL was an album, it'd be no skips!! Preorder it, request it at your library, share it with a friend when it comes out. This is probably my favorite debut of the year.

Obsessed. This is literally so good. I was intrigued when I saw the description and the blurbs sold it but somehow it still exceeded my expectations. These short stories are set in 2010s Seattle. All feature a similar protagonist, a once lesbian, now gay trans man, but at different stages of their self-discovery.

The writing itself is so high quality and none of the stories felt especially weaker than others. I do see a comparison to Torrey Peter’s writing in terms of writing style, the types of protagonists she writes, and the themes she explores.

I’m not transmasc but my partner is so I have read a lot of transmasc work and this collection really stands out to me. I believe this will feel very relatable to trans masc readers as well as appealing to the wider queer community.

I was also really transported to the time period and setting, parts felt super nostalgic, others highlighted how little things have changed in terms of stuff like neoliberal identity politics and community infighting.

When the chapter about The National came up I had to close my e-reader and step away, having been a huge fan of the band as a teenager in the 2010s I’ve never felt so seen or personally attacked.

Everything just came together to make this a pretty perfect book for me. I can’t wait for more people to read it, and I’ll definitely be following Max Delsohn’s career going forward.

Crawl goes through several (some interconnected) experiences of trans life in 2010s Seattle. It is an immensely *human* book, the men these stories cover feel real and authentic, something that-- in an increasingly hostile world-- is important. Delsohn's prose is varied, the individual voices feel distinctly different, but it is compulsively readable-- I finished it in one sitting despite planning to just read a chapter or two to start.

“Crawl” is a collection of fictional short stories that explore themes of coming of age, coming out, and living as a transmasc individual in Seattle during the 2010s. The stories are raw, intimate, and personal, delving into identity, queer culture, sex, and relationships. Author Max Delsohn incorporates a little comedy to highlight both life’s absurdities particularly within LGBTQIA+ experiences.

Delsohn effectively contrasts the Pacific Northwest's seemingly progressive image with the reality of implicit and explicit biases. The stories feature characters on different trajectories, yet they all capture the essence of coming of age and navigating gender identity.

While the work primarily focuses on queer and trans identities, it does not specifically address other identities such as race and class. However, it engages with themes of belonging, identity, and personal experience in ways that may resonate with others.

As a queer Pacific Northwesterner of a similar age, I appreciated this nostalgic look back at a time filled with self-discovery, cringey awkward moments, and freedom. I would love to see a deeper exploration, perhaps in the form of a novel, that fully develops a character and goes beyond a glance at a specific moment in time. Thank you to NetGalley and Graywolf Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.