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Paul Takes the Form of A Mortal Girl

By Andrea Lawlor
Series: Picador Collection
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Brief Description
"One of the most exciting - and one of the most fun - novels of the decade" - Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You It's 1993 and Paul Polydoris tends bar at the only gay club in a university town thrumming with politics and... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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Transposing Virginia Woolf’s Orlando to 90s San Francisco, this novel of transgender metamorphosis is a wild, sexy, funny and moving story of living on the edge.

Transposing Virginia Woolf's Orlando to 90s San Francisco, this novel of transgender metamorphosis is a wild, sexy, funny and moving story of living on the edge.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

"One of the most exciting - and one of the most fun - novels of the decade" - Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You

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 lesbian 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.

Andrea Lawlor's debut novel offers a speculative history of early '90s identity politics during the heyday of ACT UP and Queer Nation. Paul Takes the Form of A Mortal Girl is a riotous, razor-sharp bildungsroman whose hero/ine wends his way through a world gutted by loss, pulsing with music, and opening into an array of intimacy and connections.

Now part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the very best of modern literature.

"Playful, sexy, smart" - Carmen Maria Machado

"Evocative and urgent . . . and very funny" - The Observer

'"90s punk Orlando". . . a pretty wild ride' - Dazed & Confused

"Sexy, outrageous, completely compulsive" - Daisy Johnson

Series: Picador Collection

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781035091355

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 April 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Picador

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 22.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 242g

Pages: 352

Collections

Andrea Lawlor Fiction General Fiction LGBTQ+ Literary Fiction Pop Culture: Best-Selling Books Series: Picador Collection

About the Author

Andrea Lawlor lives in Western Massachusetts and teaches writing at Mount Holyoke College. Lawlor is a fiction editor for Fence and the author of a chapbook, Position Papers. Paul Takes The Form of A Mortal Girl is their debut novel.

Also by Andrea Lawlor

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  • Paul Takes the Form of A Mortal Girl
    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...
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