Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl
Ratings26
Average rating3.9
This was an interesting portrait of a tumultuous time, but the pov character (and most of the other characters honestly) was almost unbearable to read about, and the ending felt like it kind of petered out.
It's feel like it's been forever since I've read an honest to goodness adult literary fiction book! Because of that, it took me longer than it should have to finish this but I really enjoyed it! I saw in another review or maybe a blurb that someone called Paul an “anti-hero” and I'm not sure that's strictly true. I feel like maybe he's just in his 20s?! Aren't we all kind of assholes when we're young?!
Anyway, I loved this story of becoming and fluidity and learning how to adult. Beautifully written and surprisingly funny!
Not sure why this one took me so long to finish, because I liked it very much. A gender-shifting Paul (could sort of be compared to Virginia Woolf's Orlando) mutates through college/punk life in Iowa, Provincetown, and San Francisco, pretty much being Paul/Polly throughout, depending on sexual encounter preferences. Lots of Patti Smith, classic rock music, Michigan Womyn's Festival references.