Long-listed for Canada’s Scotiabank Giller Prize

Short-listed for the Lambda Literary Award

“Readers who enjoy rich details of place will find Mootoo’s writing about her settings to be luxuriant; we are especially treated to abundant descriptions of Trinidad . . . [A] thoughtful exploration of place and identity.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Mootoo’s character-driven novel is rich in setting and slow in pace, inviting the reader to linger over its closely observed details.”
—Booklist

“Mootoo has produced a stunning meditation on story . . . [This novel] portrays the beautiful (yet often tense) bond between a parent and child, the complexities of immigration, the fluidity of gender, and provides a juxtaposition between two extreme climates, Toronto and Trinidad. It is a gorgeously written novel.”
—National Post (Canada)

“Jonathan Lewis-Adey’s mother left when he was nine, but when he finds his estranged parent again, he is surprised to find that the person he knew as his mother has become a man named Sydney. Set in the Trinidad of her upbringing, Shani Mootoo’s vivid writing explores the pain and confusion Jonathan experiences as a result of Sydney’s choices.”
—World Literature Today, included in the Nota Bene section

“A fascinating premise that gives voice to the queer-identified . . . Mootoo’s brilliant evocations of [Trinidad’s] paradisiacal glow . . . are a real gift to the reader.”
—Globe and Mail (Canada)

“In rich and vivid descriptive prose, Mootoo portrays her characters’ journeys between countries and toward greater selfhood.”
—Quill & Quire, starred review

“The novel’s greatest triumph is its painfully poignant characterization of a privileged son, who cannot always embrace the transition that his mother—now father—has made.”
—Asian American Literature Fans

“Queer Canadian visual artist and writer Shani Mootoo’s latest novel Moving Forward Sideways Like a Crab follows the journey of writer Jonathan as he searches for the mother who left when his parents divorced.”
—Baltimore Out Loud

“A powerfully moving tribute to the lasting power of storytelling and the surprising and unpredictable nature of human emotion. It’s truly an excellent literary feat and a great story to get lost in!”
—Bookworm Shawn (blog)