Set in Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa, Paul is a queer theory student and works as a bartender. Though described as “quiet and white…like the whole state,” there is a sizable quotient of liberal, progressive students, released from their previous mundane environments and thrust into a whirlwind of new experiences. Paul’s experiences are considerably different from any conventional liberal arts student.
The title might be a bit of a head-scratcher until you delve into the story. Paul can morph into another gender, seemingly at will and with a bit of concentration. Thus, Paul can become Polly. Depending on their desires, Paul/Polly can pursue sex with gay men, lesbians, or even a more complex combination, through the magic of genital-manipulation. They pursue a lot of sex.
There are the typical college scenes, involving lots of drinking and attempts to prove one belongs with the cool kids. Paul’s best friend is Jane, a queer theorist, who landed in the midwest after undergraduate studies in the east. Through their friendship, Paul realizes he could make himself attractive to anyone.
From Iowa City, the story moves to Chicago. Paul explores Boystown, hits the bars and eventually ends up at the Eagle. From here, he migrates to Michigan for the Womyn’s Music Festival. After meeting Diane, Paul morphs into a girl and a relationship begins. Given the setting, Polly becomes immersed in lesbian culture, idioms, habits and mores, while still exhibiting behavior typical of one’s age and time. Mix tapes? Of course. It is the 90s.
When back in Iowa, Paul begins to plan another trip, to Provincetown, to be with Diane. The author captures the differences between gay men and lesbians in ways insightful and amusing. Paul whipsaws between identities so much that you are not certain what action they will take. Paul thinks that even the best men exhibit patriarchal behavior. Were all men malleable like him and just quietly decided not to reveal that they could choose?
It was puzzling to read descriptions of Provincetown that were not just off but in some instances, obviously wrong. With the number of readers who typically give advice to the writer before a manuscript is submitted, wouldn’t someone have pointed out these mistakes? Maybe they were corrected in the published version, as I am going on the content of the galleys.
From Provincetown, Paul makes his way to San Francisco, via Amtrak. He doesn’t think he can ever be enough for Diane. Like many young people, Paul always seems to be in dire financial straits. After landing a job at A Different Light, his prospects seem to improve a little bit. Working in a bookstore in the Castro presents many opportunities for exposure to ideas and relationships. There is a mysterious character named Robin who becomes an obsession for Paul.
To tell more of the plot would spoil the reader’s own discovery of the novel’s many twists. If you are searching for an interesting take on gender, sexuality and identity, this book is for you. It might generate more questions than it answers but isn’t that the whole point of reading?
Andrea Lawlor teaches writing at Mount Holyoke College, edits fiction for Fence magazine, and has been awarded fellowships by Lambda Literary and Radar Labs. Their writing has appeared in various literary journals including Ploughshares, Mutha, the Millions, jubilat, the Brooklyn Rail, Faggot Dinosaur, and Encyclopedia, Vol. II. Their publications include a chapbook, Position Papers (Factory Hollow Press, 2016), and a novel, Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl, a 2018 finalist for the Lambda Literary and CLMP Firecracker Awards. Paul, originally published by Rescue Press in 2017, has been reprinted in the US by Vintage/Knopf and published in the British Commonwealth by Picador UK in April 2019.
REVIEW: STEPHEN COYQueerguru Contributor STEPHEN COY has been an avid reader all his (very long) life ? and is finally putting his skills to good use. He lives in Provincetown full time with his husband Jim, having finally given up the bright lights of Boston and now haunts the streets mumbling to himself that no one reads anymore …
Labels: 2019, book review, Stephen Coy
