At the heart of Playboy is controlled rage at the materialism so deeply entrenched in our society that it applies even to the way people use words ... The physicality of Debré’s language is strongest when she describes Constance’s first sexual experiences with women.
It’s this transness—Constance’s existence in a crossing or in-between place—that produces some of the most controversial material in the book ... The novel is as much about how wealth can constitute a bone-marrow-deep confidence as it is about homophobia, sex, or the state.
despite giving us all the autobiographical details, Debré does not actually name her narrator. Perhaps this is a form of disavowal or repudiation. Or it could be that while going by another name would feel needlessly coy, using her own name would make it too easy for readers to forget the difference between a character and an author, a book and a life ... Part of this narrator’s appeal is how simple she makes things, especially in Playboy ... I find Debré’s exquisite achievement not to reside in the realm of advice or guides for living. It’s in that cold sliver of voice, conducting electricity at a high voltage, sending the occasional shower of sparks off the page.
