In this collection of one novel and three stories, 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 stories 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 story, “The Masker,” a party weekend on the Las Vegas strip turns dark 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.
Acidly funny and breathtaking in its scope, with the inventive audacity of George Saunders or Jennifer Egan, Stag Dance provokes, unsettles, and delights.
In this collection of one novel and three stories, 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 stories 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 story, “The Masker,” a party weekend on the Las Vegas strip turns dark 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.
Acidly funny and breathtaking in its scope, with the inventive audacity of George Saunders or Jennifer Egan, Stag Dance provokes, unsettles, and delights.
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Find Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories Torrey Peters in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
Find Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories Torrey Peters in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
2 books in catalog
Contemporary trans literature gained widespread mainstream recognition through the success of Detransition, Baby, a novel exploring womanhood, gender transition, and non-traditional family structures. Writer Torrey Peters crafts narratives centered on trans and cisgender women whose lives intersect around desire, parenting, and unconventional relationships.
By examining complex interpersonal dynamics within queer communities without explaining them for a cisgender gaze, the novel resonated with broad audiences while remaining grounded in subcultural specificity.
Torrey Peters was born in July 1981 and pursued advanced studies in literature and creative writing, earning a Master of Arts in Comparative Literature from Dartmouth College and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa. Prior to her major trade publishing debut, Peters developed a readership by releasing novellas independently online, including her 2016 work Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones.
Her debut novel, Detransition, Baby, became a major bestseller after its publication in 2021. The novel won the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction and was named one of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century by The New York Times. It was also longlisted for the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction and selected as a finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize and the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize. Beyond her writing, Peters is an amateur sauna builder, rides a pink motorcycle, and splits her time between Brooklyn, New York, and Santa Marta, Colombia. Her second major release, Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories, expands her published body of fiction.
Peters's fiction is known for its candid exploration of gender identity, bodily autonomy, desire, and the intricacies of queer social networks. Rather than framing trans figures solely through political tropes or tragic themes, her narratives depict characters with nuanced motivations, internal contradictions, and flawed judgment. Her work utilizes sharp dialogue and keen social observation to examine how marginalized individuals navigate institutional structures, romance, and family formation.
Her prose balances humor with emotional precision, drawing from both trans subcultural knowledge and classical literary influences. By addressing questions of detransition, motherhood, and biological kinship, Peters engages broad existential questions through specific community contexts.
2 books in catalog
Contemporary trans literature gained widespread mainstream recognition through the success of Detransition, Baby, a novel exploring womanhood, gender transition, and non-traditional family structures. Writer Torrey Peters crafts narratives centered on trans and cisgender women whose lives intersect around desire, parenting, and unconventional relationships.
By examining complex interpersonal dynamics within queer communities without explaining them for a cisgender gaze, the novel resonated with broad audiences while remaining grounded in subcultural specificity.
Torrey Peters was born in July 1981 and pursued advanced studies in literature and creative writing, earning a Master of Arts in Comparative Literature from Dartmouth College and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa. Prior to her major trade publishing debut, Peters developed a readership by releasing novellas independently online, including her 2016 work Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones.
Her debut novel, Detransition, Baby, became a major bestseller after its publication in 2021. The novel won the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction and was named one of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century by The New York Times. It was also longlisted for the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction and selected as a finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize and the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize. Beyond her writing, Peters is an amateur sauna builder, rides a pink motorcycle, and splits her time between Brooklyn, New York, and Santa Marta, Colombia. Her second major release, Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories, expands her published body of fiction.
Peters's fiction is known for its candid exploration of gender identity, bodily autonomy, desire, and the intricacies of queer social networks. Rather than framing trans figures solely through political tropes or tragic themes, her narratives depict characters with nuanced motivations, internal contradictions, and flawed judgment. Her work utilizes sharp dialogue and keen social observation to examine how marginalized individuals navigate institutional structures, romance, and family formation.
Her prose balances humor with emotional precision, drawing from both trans subcultural knowledge and classical literary influences. By addressing questions of detransition, motherhood, and biological kinship, Peters engages broad existential questions through specific community contexts.
