In this collection of one novel and three novellas, the bestselling author of Detransition, Baby pushes trans-genre to its limits to explore who gets included--and excluded--from the possibilities of gender. In Stag Dance, this collection's titular novel, a Paul Bunyan-type lumberjack working an illegal winter logging outfit recounts how the lonely woodsmen entertain themselves with a dance at which some of the loggers must volunteer to attend as women. Obsession, repressed desires, and betrayal lead up to the big night, as The Lumberjack grows increasingly jealous of Lisen, the prettiest young man in camp, weaving a surreal tall tale that questions the nature of transition. Three equally visionary novellas surround Stag Dance: Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones imagines a sci-fi future in which everyone must choose their own gender--the vengeful consequence of a rogue trio of charismatic trans women who destroy civilization as we know it. In The Chaser, a secret romance between roommates at a Quaker boarding school brings out intrigue and cruelty. In the last novella, The Masker, a party weekend on the Las Vegas strip turns horrific when a young crossdresser must choose between two guides: a handsome mystery man who objectifies her in thrilling ways, or a cynical veteran trans woman offering unglamorous sisterhood. Radical, witty, and gripping, these four narratives coalesce to form a portrait of identity-in-crisis that unsettles and delights.
The kaleidoscopic follow-up to the bestselling Detransition, Baby In this collection of one novel and three novellas, Torrey Peters's keen eye for the rough edges of community and desire push the limits of trans writing. In Stag Dance, the titular novel, a group of restless lumberjacks working in an illegal winter logging outfit plan a dance that some of them will volunteer to attend as women. When the broadest, strongest, plainest of the axmen announces his intention to dance as a woman, he finds himself caught in a strange rivalry with a pretty young jack, provoking a cascade of obsession, jealousy, and betrayal that will culminate on the big night in an astonishing vision of gender and transition. Three startling novellas surround Stag Dance "Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones" imagines a gender apocalypse brought about by an unstable ex-girlfriend. In "The Chaser," a secret romance between roommates at a Quaker boarding school brings out intrigue and cruelty. In the last novella, "The Masker," a party weekend