From the GenderBlog review:
“Between Babette’s life and Mr. Eliot’s engaging writing, I found this to be a book I didn’t want to put down till I finished it. The writing is readable, the plot moves, and the characters are fascinating.”
BookSpin stated:
“Hollywood could have lots of fun trying to put this story on the big screen but they’d have to throw in fictional scenes to make the story more ‘believable.’ Think about that for a moment.”
According to the Portland Book Review:
Who might [this] book appeal to? Portlanders. Oregonians. Washingtonians. Francophiles. Readers interested in queer literature. People who are interested in how other people navigate this weird, marvelous experience we call life by being utterly and unapologetically themselves without undue fanfare.
From The Gal in the Blue Mask:
“Definitely an interesting story…I just wanted to know more and more about [Babette], and the author did not disappoint.”
According to Crafty Mom Zen:
“I LOVE this book! The story of Dr. Ellsworth just kept unfolding, piece by glorious piece.”
KDH Reviews said:
“I found Babette, both the person and the book, just delightful and wonderfully strange.”
Author T.B. Markinson:
“Babette is a fascinating read…it’s one of those stories that’s hard to put down…”
Book reviewer Sage Adderly says:
“Oh, Babette. How easily I was sucked into her intriguing life…I don’t think I could get enough of Babette and her eccentric ways”
Hogwash kindly declared:
“A new favorite and magnum opus! This brilliant piece of Pacific Northwestern literature really packs a punch!”
GLBT Reviews said:
“It’s hard to decide which is the more interesting character, the author or his subject. . . .Anyone who likes to read about interesting lives will find this a fascinating story…”
Portland Community College’s paper The Bridge reported: ”
“While those of us at PCC may feel an extra connection to the book and people who remember Dr. Ellsworth an even greater one, this is a book almost anyone would enjoy reading.”
From the TransGenderForum book review:
“Wow, what a roller coaster story! The main character Babette is a cross between something from a Kurt Vonnegut novel (think Elliot Rosewater) and Julia Child, with a voracious approach to life that’s a Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride through Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas.”
The Feminist Librarian had this to say:
“Part memoir, part character study, Babette echoes such works as Alan Bennett’s essay “The Lady in the Van” (1989) or Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters (2005). Like its predecessors, Babette centers around the complicated, marginal life of an individual with whom the author had personal acquaintance — but whose personal life details elude complete or coherent understanding.”