In Transit

"Was I, perhaps, castrato/a? Was the truth behind my oblivion that I had no sex?" At the airport, Pat - an Anglo-Irish character of undetermined gender at the heart ofIn Transit- is called to a heroic quest. Adrift within the confines of the airport'sphysical space and time zones, they undergo a journey of self-discovery thatembraces tangents, digressions, and undecidability. As supersonic Concordes soar in the skies outside, inside the airport Pat isuprooted: they savour a trendy cappuccino, walk through magazine stalls, engrossthemselves in the operatic melodies at the airline lounge. They hop on a baggage conveyor leading to an underground feminist movement,engage in a lively trivia game show and witness the sparks of a socialist revolution. After theybecome a character in an erotic thriller and detective novel, Pat encounters death,and emerges reborn-all while navigating sudden shifts in gender due to the onset of'sexual amnesia'. Brophy's experimental non-binary 1969 anti-novel was decades ahead of its time. Atonce a refusal to be identified, and irreverent celebration of identity's undoing.