Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Salt Slow by Julia Armfield

52 reviews

savvylit's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

Armfield is an incredible writer. She excels at a simultaneous evocation of creepiness and dreaminess. In the realm of salt slow, a young woman transforms into a bug, a city suffers from an epidemic of insomnia, a boyfriend turns into stone, a divorcee hides out on the seaside.

If you don't already know, I love weird and unsettling short story collections. This is one of the best I have read in recent months! I can't wait to revisit salt slow again.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Miscarriage, and Blood

Moderate: Pregnancy

rhi_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Body horror

Moderate: Blood and Gore

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Blood, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Death

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Animal death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Self harm, Gore, Murder, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Bullying, Violence, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Lesbophobia, and Biphobia

peggy_racham's review

4.0

A good collection of short stories. Sometimes body horror sometimes grief imbodied. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Cannibalism, Body horror, Confinement, and Murder

megj23's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Pregnancy, and Body horror

zany25's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

As a short story collection there were definitely ones I enjoyed more and ones I enjoyed less and the reaction from anyone will likely be similar. A mixed bag, but I don’t regret reading it. The Great Awake, Granite, Formerly Feral, Cassandra After, and the namesake story Salt Slow were definite standouts to me. I like the muted realistic way love is portrayed in many of these stories, it feels very unidealistic and grounded at times but still interesting. 

Definitely not a collection that’s going to scare you, but it may make you shiver slightly once or twice. Dreamlike and occasionally meandering I think it shows the good and bad of Julia Armfield very well. I personally look forward to more. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, and Body shaming

Potential implications of “end of the world” or radical societal change/upheaval type scenarios in some of the stories, but is not graphic. Climate change and isolation come up as themes.

queerfelicity's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Minor: Homophobia

greatestheights's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

4.0

more bizarreness and defamiliarization and gorgeous writing. I'm all about Julia Armfield and her raw/weird plots, themes, and characters. perfectly executed.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

nhewitt99's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Literary, unusual, intimate, spooky. Like Our Wives, these stories blend grimy unreality with surprising moments of closeness. Many explore the chasm of unfamiliarity exposed as relationships end. Topics spanning self-image, gender, community, and religion are weaved throughout. Armfield's poetic selection of detail and her striking, uncanny dialogue are major strong points.
Most memorable: Stop Your Women's Ears with Wax
Favorite romance: Cassandra After 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Miscarriage

judereadsalot's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Body horror, Pregnancy, and Blood