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Publisher's Summary

“HOT.” (Maggie Nelson)
“TIGHT.” (Eileen Myles
“DEEP.” (Michelle Tea)

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 flaneur with a rich dating life. But Paul's also got a secret: He's a shape-shifter. Oscillating wildly from Riot Grrrl to leather cub, Paul transforms his body and his gender at will as he crosses the country - a journey and adventure through the deep queer archives of struggle and pleasure.

Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl is a riotous, razor-sharp bildungsroman whose hero/ine wends his/her way through a world gutted by loss, pulsing with music, and opening into an array of intimacy and connections.
©2019 Andrea Lawlor (P)2019 Random House Audio

What the critics say

"Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl is playful, sexy, smart, and like nothing else I - or you - have ever read before." (Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties)

"Mixes pop culture, gender theory, and smut, but [Lawlor’s] greatest achievement is that Paul is no mere symbol but a vibrantly yearning being." (The New Yorker)

“Joyous and ever-changing, whip-smart and brilliantly perverse, Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl is quite simply one of the most exciting - and one of the most fun - novels of the decade.” (Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You)

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What listeners say about Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful romp through 90s gay America!

Paul was a bit slow to start, but was so worthwhile. It's truly special and unique, and Lawlor is a wonderful writer. This was one of my favorite books of the past few years. I'll be buying copies for many of my queer friends.

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    1 out of 5 stars

No plot

I felt there was a great lack of plot. ThonI never finished the book, it felt there there was just filler between six scenes and no actual direction to it. The writing is well done but that's all I can really say about it.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Andrew
  • 2019-06-28

The Hottest Book Ever Written

I've only dinged it a little because this book just sort of ends. No spoilers, but I wasn't very satisfied. The sex and heartbreak. Oh my god! I needed this book and it had its way with me.

1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Virginia Fraser
  • 2019-11-02

I struggled to find the plot

While an interesting glimpse into culture, I felt it lacked a significant plot. Narrator great.

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  • sarah avery sullivan
  • 2019-06-05

LOVE THIS BOOK

Loved living in the 90s queer feminist theory and music and fashion and city spots. I So relate to Paul’s sexuality/gender/desire, AL writes hard to describe feelings and actions in a way that makes them really understood validating relatable affirmed celebrated challenged