Diane DiMassa: Hothead Paisan - Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist

NYRB, 2025, softcover, 456 pages, 19 x 25.5 cm

Hothead Paisan is an icon of the ’90s lesbian DIY scene, a patron saint of those who wonder if going off the deep end is the only sane response to life in modern America.

Diane DiMassa’s Hothead starts out in a murderous frenzy - taking out a variety of chauvinists and creeps - but soon deepens into a reflection on oppression, self-destruction, and living it up outside the conservative norms of the ’90s. Hothead’s rage is stoked by her inner demon, Personality #2, but sometimes tempered with the help of Roz, her friend who offers Zen wisdom and tough love, and Chicken, her cat and constant companion