Blog tour: People Collide

Welcome to the blog tour for People Collide by Isle McElroy!

More about the book…

When Eli leaves the cramped Bulgarian apartment he shares with Elizabeth, his more organized and successful wife, he discovers that he now inhabits her body.

Not only have he and his wife traded bodies, but Elizabeth, living as Eli, has disappeared without a trace.

What follows is Eli’s search across Europe and to America for his missing wife—and a roving, no-holds-barred exploration of gender and embodied experience.

As Eli comes closer to finding Elizabeth—while learning to exist in her body—he begins to wonder what effect this metamorphosis will have on their relationship and how long he can maintain the illusion of living as someone he isn’t.

Will their new marriage wither completely?

Or is this transformation the very thing Eli and Elizabeth need for their marriage to thrive?

A rich, rewarding exploration of ambition and sacrifice, desire and loss, People Collide is a portrait of shared lives that shines a refreshing light on everything we thought we knew about love, sexuality, and the truth of who we are.

More about the author…

Isle McElroy (they/them) is a non-binary author based in New York.

Their writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, New York Times Magazine, The Cut, GQ, The Guardian, Vogue, Bon Appétit, and other publications.

They have received fellowships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Tin House Summer Workshop, the Sewanee Writers Conference, and they were named one of The Strand's 30 Writers to Watch.

In May 2021, Isle founded Debuts & Redos, a reading series for authors who published books during the pandemic.

Their first novel, The Atmospherians, was named an Editor's Choice by the New York Times and a book of the year by Esquire, Electric Literature, Debutiful, and many other outlets.

My impressions…

I reached the end of the first chapter and I thought to myself, ‘Whoa, what has just happened?’

Do you think the beginning of this review is somewhat abrupt? That’s how I felt by the end of the opening chapter of this slim and gorgeous book. I mean, I had read the synopsis, but I guess I wasn’t ready to be plunged in right in the middle of the action. And I thought that was brilliant!

I thought that’s how Eli and Elizabeth must have felt, finding themselves suddenly inhabiting each other’s bodies with no warning or preparation.

The novel was a breeze to read with a writing style that draws you in and so much to ponder about gender roles, stereotypes and relationships. If you like books that make you look at the world with fresh eyes, I couldn’t recommend this more.

Three words to describe it. Unique. Fascinating. Thought-provoking.

Do I like the cover? Yes, I love it!

Have I read any other books by the same author? No, but I’m super interested now.