Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl

a novel

by

Paperback, 354 pages

English language

Published Nov. 1, 2017 by Rescue Press.

ISBN:
978-0-9860869-9-1
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
1002129413
ASIN:
0986086991
Goodreads:
35838277

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(3 reviews)

It’s 1993 and Paul Polydoris tends bar at the only gay club in a university town thrumming with politics and partying. He studies queer theory, has a dyke best friend, makes zines, and is a flâneur with a rich dating life. But Paul’s also got a secret: he’s a shapeshifter. Oscillating wildly from Riot Grrrl to leather cub, Women’s Studies major to trade, Paul transforms his body at will in a series of adventures that take him from Iowa City to Boystown to Provincetown and finally to San Francisco—a journey through the deep queer archives of struggle and pleasure.

4 editions

reviewed Paul Takes the Form of A Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor

A Guide to US-American 90s Queer Cultures

Damn this book felt long and boring. Mostly, nothing happens except that Paul/Polly moves around Iowa City/Michigan/Provincetown/San Francisco and fucks around. No tension, no bigger story. I do have to appreciate however, how this book visits quite some different sides and forms and subcultures of gay and lesbian communities. Paul's shapeshifting allows it.

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Subjects

  • Gay culture
  • Fiction
  • Riot grrrl movement
  • Shapeshifting
  • Lesbian culture