A random collection of over 1994 books and audiobooks authored by or about my transgender, intersex sisters, and gender-nonconforming persons all over the world. I read some of them, and I was inspired by some of them. I met some of the authors and heroines, some of them are my best friends, and I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing some of them. If you know of any transgender biography that I have not covered yet, please let me know.
"Mau Género" (Wrong Gender) is the Portuguese language version of "Mauvais genre" (Wrong Gender) by Chloé Cruchaudet.
Chloé Cruchaudet’s Mau Genre (Mauvais genre in French, Wrong Gender in English) is one of those graphic novels that stays with the reader long after the last page has been turned. Inspired by true events, it tells the remarkable story of Paul and Louise Grappe, an ordinary Parisian couple whose lives are transformed by the brutality of war, the fluidity of gender, and the search for freedom in a society bound by rigid norms. Cruchaudet’s work moves beyond historical retelling and ventures into an exploration of identity, trauma, and the unstable boundaries between love and destruction.
At its core, Mau Genre begins as a love story. Paul and Louise meet, fall in love, and marry just before the outbreak of the First World War. Their happiness, however, is short-lived. Paul is called to the front, and what he experiences in the trenches shatters any illusion of heroism or glory. Cruchaudet captures these early war scenes with a chilling economy of color and form. Black and sickly green dominate, evoking both the decay of human life and the collapse of reason. Paul’s trauma manifests in hallucinations and despair; when a comrade’s head is blown apart before his eyes, he loses all sense of self. To escape the unbearable cycle of violence, he mutilates himself, hoping for discharge. Yet the army is merciless, and Paul soon faces the prospect of being sent back. Terrified, he deserts and makes his way to Paris, where Louise hides him in their tiny room.
2023,
Chloé Cruchaudet,
Portuguese,
"Degenerado" (Degenerate) is the Spanish language version of "Mauvais genre" (Wrong Gender) by Chloé Cruchaudet.
Degenerado, the Spanish edition of Mauvais genre by Chloé Cruchaudet, stands as one of the most audacious and haunting graphic novels of the last decade. Based on true events, the book reconstructs the tragic and extraordinary story of Paul Grappe and Louise Landy, a working-class couple from Paris whose love, passion, and despair unfolded in the turbulent years surrounding the First World War. The novel begins as a love story: Paul and Louise meet, fall in love, and marry with youthful optimism. Yet when war breaks out, the brutal reality of the trenches shatters their lives. Paul, desperate to escape the nightmare of violence and filth, deserts the army and returns to Paris to reunite with Louise. Their reunion is tender but shadowed by danger. As a deserter, Paul must hide, and the couple’s life becomes one of claustrophobic secrecy, confined to a small hotel room where fear and monotony threaten to destroy their bond.
From this claustrophobic setting emerges the novel’s central transformation. One evening, Paul, longing for freedom and a taste of normal life, puts on one of Louise’s dresses to go out for wine. What begins as a disguise soon becomes a revelation. In his new identity as Suzanne, Paul discovers not only safety but also a strange liberation. Louise, initially amused and supportive, helps him refine his appearance and mannerisms. What starts as play becomes a way of life. Suzanne soon ventures into the world, finding work alongside Louise in a textile factory, where she becomes a source of curiosity and fascination. Cruchaudet portrays these scenes with delicate irony, capturing the humor and tenderness of a couple learning to navigate a reality that defies every social expectation. Through Suzanne’s eyes, Paul experiences the world anew, noticing how women move, talk, and endure constant scrutiny. The reader senses both his fascination and discomfort, as his performance of femininity blurs into genuine identification.
2014,
Chloé Cruchaudet,
Spanish,
"Lånat Kön" (Borrowed Gender) is the Swedish language version of "Mauvais genre" (Wrong Gender) by Chloé Cruchaudet.
In Lånat kön, the Swedish edition of Chloé Cruchaudet’s celebrated graphic novel Mauvais genre, love and identity intertwine against the backdrop of one of history’s darkest periods. The story begins in early twentieth-century France, where Paul and Louise, a young couple deeply in love, are torn apart by the outbreak of World War I.
Their affection seems indestructible, yet the war forces Paul into the trenches, where the brutality of combat shatters both his body and mind. Amidst the suffocating mud and endless shellfire, he witnesses unspeakable horrors, including the gruesome death of his close friend Marcel, whose decapitated body haunts him even after his escape. When Paul can no longer bear the madness, he makes a desperate choice to desert the army, an act punishable by death. With Louise’s unwavering help, he flees to Paris, but safety proves to be another kind of prison. Confined to their small apartment, he lives in constant fear of being discovered, unable to step outside without risking execution.
2019,
Chloé Cruchaudet,
Swedish,
"Poco Raccomandabile" (Not very recommendable) is the Italian language version of "Mauvais genre" (Wrong Gender) by Chloé Cruchaudet.
The Italian edition of Chloé Cruchaudet’s acclaimed graphic novel Mauvais genre, published under the title Poco raccomandabile, tells a story as haunting as it is fascinating. Set against the backdrop of the First World War and its chaotic aftermath, it follows the extraordinary journey of Paul Grappe, a young French soldier who deserts the front and survives by living as a woman named Suzanne. What begins as an act of survival gradually transforms into a deeply personal exploration of identity, desire, and the fragile boundaries between love and betrayal. Inspired by true events, Poco raccomandabile is not simply a historical narrative but an emotional study of human transformation, where war, gender, and love collide in unpredictable ways.
At the heart of the story lies the marriage of Paul and Louise, a working-class couple in Paris whose lives are torn apart by the Great War. When Paul deserts after the unimaginable trauma of the trenches, he faces the death penalty if discovered. Louise, fiercely loyal and inventive, helps him disguise himself as a woman so he can move freely in public without attracting suspicion. Together they invent a new identity: Suzanne Landgard. What begins as a practical ruse slowly evolves into a new life, a new self, and a dangerous freedom. In Suzanne’s skin, Paul discovers sensations he never knew he possessed. He finds work at a factory, where he is surrounded by women, and experiences a different rhythm of life, one that at first feels liberating and even playful. The irony is sharp: by escaping the rigid codes of masculinity enforced by the army and the war, Paul finds himself immersed in the constraints and performative nature of femininity. Yet, paradoxically, that masquerade opens him to an uncharted inner world.
2014,
Chloé Cruchaudet,
Italian,
Original title: "Mauvais genre" (Wrong Gender) by Chloé Cruchaudet.
Chloé Cruchaudet’s Mauvais genre (Wrong Gender) is one of those rare works that straddle the line between history and imagination, between fact and artistic freedom, between love and destruction. It tells the real-life story of Paul and Louise Grappe, an ordinary Parisian couple whose lives were turned upside down by the First World War. What begins as a tale of survival gradually transforms into an exploration of gender, sexuality, and identity, culminating in tragedy. Cruchaudet’s masterful blend of documentary and invention turns this strange episode of French history into a deeply human and unsettling story that lingers long after the final page.
At its heart, Mauvais genre is the story of a deserter and his wife. Paul Grappe, a working-class man from Paris, is called up to fight in the Great War. At first he sees it as an adventure, but the horrors of the trenches quickly destroy his illusions. Cruchaudet’s depiction of the war is brief but unforgettable. Rendered in shades of green and black, the battlefield is a place of mud, madness, and mutilation. In one of the most haunting scenes, Paul’s friend Marcel is decapitated, and the hallucination of his talking corpse follows Paul even after he escapes the front. In a desperate bid to avoid returning to the killing fields, Paul mutilates himself by cutting off a finger. But the authorities are not fooled, and rather than being discharged, he is ordered back to the front. Instead, he deserts.
2013,
Chloé Cruchaudet,
French,
