You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoyed this supernatural selection of short stories. Each one played with a classic fantastical concept, twisting it into a modern form in a way that was fun and familiar. Armfield's writing was slick and rich, crafting clear scenes and players in just short snippets at a time. The end's reveal was always thought-provoking and fresh. Into it!
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
7.5/10
Mantis 8/10
- I loved the dreamlike writing style and way that this contrasted with the very objective descriptions oh her body changing. It made the metamorphosis feel like the most real thing in the story.
The Great Awake 9/10
- This was so beautifully written and strangely comforting.
The Collectables 5/10
- Interesting concept but just kind of goes nowhere; needed more build up tbh.
Formerly Feral 6/10
- Really interesting narrative but lacks a lot of impact. Still conceptually very fun though!
Stop Your Women’s Ears With Wax 8/10
- I really loved the structure of this. It was a very fun time and felt a bit more substantial!
Granite 8/10
- Genuinely just super sad. This one had so much emotional depth to it and the writing was really effective.
Smack 7/10
- I really liked the writing here but I feel like the concept would’ve worked better in something a little longer and more time for build up.
Cassandra After 9/10
- Oh I love this kind of horror. I’m so sad now.
Salt Slow 7/10
- Really interesting but didn’t hit quite as hard as I wanted especially after the previous story. Feels very much like stuff that’s been done better in Armfield’s novels.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As with most short story collections some worked and some didn't, but it was a good experience overall
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4,5✨ Julia Armfield might be one of my new favorite authors.
After reading Our Wives Under The Sea earlier this year, I decided to pick up her short story collection; Salt Slow. Her novel gave me the impression that she’d be a great short story author, and I am glad to report that this is indeed true. Armfield possesses such a talent for writing. From her poetic sentence structures to her creative ideas, settings, and imperfect characters, the metaphors, to the haunting aspects of her stories. Though horror and gothic aren’t usually my genres, I enjoyed stepping out of my comfort zone. Her stories truly made me uncomfortable and haunt me, which I believe to be the goal. My favorites from the collection were The Great Awake (in which Sleep is a character that steps out of people, leaving them permanently awake) and Formerly Feral (a incredible exploration of the ferociousness of femininity).
The collection explores ideas such as maturing, the meaning of femininity, sexuality and relationships (as well as through the lense of Catholicism), as well as mental health and loneliness all through otherworldly experiences and quiet hauntings.
I cannot reccomend this author and this collection enough to anyone, it is stunning, haunting, and incredibly well-written.
My ranking:
1. Formerly Feral / The Great Awake (ABSOLUTE GOLD)
2. Cassandra After (exploring sexuality, religion, and shame through the metaphor of a haunting from a decaying girlfriend)
3. The Collectibles (5/5, a sort of Frankenstein retelling in a fresh and new way, feminist and crazy.)
4.. Stop your women’s ears with wax (5/5 creepy harpie-like girlband whose crew was collected in mysterious ways and whose fans are slowly going more and more insane? Yes please)
5. Mantis (5/5 Changing bodies and catholic schools and what the heck is she turning into)
6. Smack (5/5, incredible masterclass in writing an unlikable character)
7. Salt Slow (4/5, very well-written but made me so uncomfortable)
8. Granite (3.5/5, maybe I missed it)
Will so re-read stories from this collection
After reading Our Wives Under The Sea earlier this year, I decided to pick up her short story collection; Salt Slow. Her novel gave me the impression that she’d be a great short story author, and I am glad to report that this is indeed true. Armfield possesses such a talent for writing. From her poetic sentence structures to her creative ideas, settings, and imperfect characters, the metaphors, to the haunting aspects of her stories. Though horror and gothic aren’t usually my genres, I enjoyed stepping out of my comfort zone. Her stories truly made me uncomfortable and haunt me, which I believe to be the goal. My favorites from the collection were The Great Awake (in which Sleep is a character that steps out of people, leaving them permanently awake) and Formerly Feral (a incredible exploration of the ferociousness of femininity).
The collection explores ideas such as maturing, the meaning of femininity, sexuality and relationships (as well as through the lense of Catholicism), as well as mental health and loneliness all through otherworldly experiences and quiet hauntings.
I cannot reccomend this author and this collection enough to anyone, it is stunning, haunting, and incredibly well-written.
My ranking:
1. Formerly Feral / The Great Awake (ABSOLUTE GOLD)
2. Cassandra After (exploring sexuality, religion, and shame through the metaphor of a haunting from a decaying girlfriend)
3. The Collectibles (5/5, a sort of Frankenstein retelling in a fresh and new way, feminist and crazy.)
4.. Stop your women’s ears with wax (5/5 creepy harpie-like girlband whose crew was collected in mysterious ways and whose fans are slowly going more and more insane? Yes please)
5. Mantis (5/5 Changing bodies and catholic schools and what the heck is she turning into)
6. Smack (5/5, incredible masterclass in writing an unlikable character)
7. Salt Slow (4/5, very well-written but made me so uncomfortable)
8. Granite (3.5/5, maybe I missed it)
Will so re-read stories from this collection
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Blood
Moderate: Grief, Pregnancy
Italian review:
3.5 stelle.
Dopo quasi un mese ho finito questo libro. Mi ci sono buttata, come al solito, alla cieca, non sapevo nulla della trama, ma avevo amato Our Wives Under the Sea della stessa autrice, perció non ero molto preoccupata.
Allora, mi è piaciuto di meno rispetto a Our Wives Under the Sea, però resta comunque un bel libro.
Tra i pro sicuramente lo stile di scrittura evocativo e macabro dell'autrice, che, come fece con l'altro libro, mi ha completamente rapita. E anche il modo in cui l'autrice usa l'atmosfera horror per smascherare i veri orrori della società moderna, un genio.
Tra i contro... devo ammettere che non sapendo questo libro fosse una raccolta di storie brevi, non ero preparata (favorisco generalmente i libri con una storia sola e completa). I finali aperti di molte delle novelle... alcuni erano fatti bene ma altri non li ho capiti o li ho trovati "troppo aperti", cioè avrei voluto qualcosa di più.
E ora, breve recensione per ogni novella, così da illustrare meglio le mie impressioni.
Mantis: molto creepy, leggere il punto di vista di una ragazzina che si sta "disfacendo" e di come si "trasforma" in qualcos'altro, mi ha piuttosto traumatizzato. Sono però anche rimasta un po' delusa che la sua storia non continuasse, soprattutto dopo quel finale bomba.
The Great Awake: non ho capito tutta la roba degli Sleep, ma la reazione della società a questo nuovo "fenomeno" l'ho trovata molto realistica. Dimostra sicuramente quanto le persone possano diventare maniacali.
The Collectables: sicuramente uno dei miei preferiti. L'ossessività nel trovare l'uomo perfetto che porta alla pazzia omicida SIGN ME UP
Formerly Feral: anche qui il punto di vista di una ragazzina più giovane, che nell'affrontare sentimenti dolorosi, muta in qualcosa di più aggressivo, più feroce. In equal misura interessante e sconcertante.
Stop your women's ears with wax: la più noiosa tra le novelle. Ho capito il senso della storia, dei fans dei gruppi musicali che possono diventare ossessivi e pericolosi per se stessi e gli altri, ma come novella è veramente troppo lunga dato che non succede quasi nulla, a parte nel finale.
Granite: non ho capito bene questa qui, anche il finale non mi è piaciuto.
Smack: donna che non riesce a superare il divorzio da un uomo GIRL GET UP!! Non molto interessante, ma il finale mi è piaciuto.
Cassandra After: decisamente il mio preferito tra le novelle. Esplorazione del lutto, lesbiche e senso di colpa religioso?? Il finale mi ha lasciato un vuoto nel petto.
Salt slow: il dolore di una madre... ha fatto male, tanto male. Ho amato.
E qui è tutto! Alcuni belli, altri non tanto, ma comunque una lettura molto interessante!
-------
English review:
3.5 stars.
After almost a month I finished this book. I went into it, as usual, blindly, I didn't know anything about the plot, but I had loved Our Wives Under the Sea by the same author, so I wasn't much worried.
So, I liked this less than Our Wives Under the Sea, but it's still a good book.
Pros are for sure the evocative and macabre writing style of the author, which, like it did with the other book, completely captivated me. Also the way the author uses horror atmosphere to expose the real horrors of modern society, genius.
Cons... I admit that since I didn't know this book was a collection of short stories, I wasn't prepared (I usually prefer books with one complete story). Some novel's open finales... some were well made but others I didn't understand or I thought they were "too open", meaning I would have wanted something more.
And now, short reviews of each novella, to better illustrate my impressions.
Mantis: so creepy, reading the point of view of a little girl who is "unraveling" and "transforming" into something else, traumatised me. But I was also was left a bit disappointed her story didn't continue, especially after that bomb finale.
The Great Awake: I didn't understand anything about the Sleep, but I found the society's reaction to this new "phenomenon" very realistic. Shows how much people can become maniac.
The Collectables: one of my favourites for sure. Obsessiveness into finding the perfect man leading to homicidal craziness SIGN ME UP
Formerly Feral: here too the point of view of a younger girl, who while dealing with painful emotions, changes into something more aggressive, more feral. Both interesting and disconcerting.
Stop your women's ears with wax: the most boring of the novellas. I understood the point of the story, of musical bands' fans who can become obsessive and dangerous for themselves and others, but as a novella it is way too long since almost nothing happens, except for the finale.
Granite: did not understand this one. I didn't like the finale either.
Smack: woman can't get over a divorce with a man GIRL GET UP!! Not very interesting but I liked the finale.
Cassandra After: my favourite of the novellas for sure. Grief journey, lesbians and religious guilt? The finale left a hole in my chest.
Salt slow: a mother's pain... it hurt, it really hurt. I loved it.
And that's all! Some good, some not so much, but still a very interesting read!
3.5 stelle.
Dopo quasi un mese ho finito questo libro. Mi ci sono buttata, come al solito, alla cieca, non sapevo nulla della trama, ma avevo amato Our Wives Under the Sea della stessa autrice, perció non ero molto preoccupata.
Allora, mi è piaciuto di meno rispetto a Our Wives Under the Sea, però resta comunque un bel libro.
Tra i pro sicuramente lo stile di scrittura evocativo e macabro dell'autrice, che, come fece con l'altro libro, mi ha completamente rapita. E anche il modo in cui l'autrice usa l'atmosfera horror per smascherare i veri orrori della società moderna, un genio.
Tra i contro... devo ammettere che non sapendo questo libro fosse una raccolta di storie brevi, non ero preparata (favorisco generalmente i libri con una storia sola e completa). I finali aperti di molte delle novelle... alcuni erano fatti bene ma altri non li ho capiti o li ho trovati "troppo aperti", cioè avrei voluto qualcosa di più.
E ora, breve recensione per ogni novella, così da illustrare meglio le mie impressioni.
Mantis: molto creepy, leggere il punto di vista di una ragazzina che si sta "disfacendo" e di come si "trasforma" in qualcos'altro, mi ha piuttosto traumatizzato. Sono però anche rimasta un po' delusa che la sua storia non continuasse, soprattutto dopo quel finale bomba.
The Great Awake: non ho capito tutta la roba degli Sleep, ma la reazione della società a questo nuovo "fenomeno" l'ho trovata molto realistica. Dimostra sicuramente quanto le persone possano diventare maniacali.
The Collectables: sicuramente uno dei miei preferiti. L'ossessività nel trovare l'uomo perfetto che porta alla pazzia omicida SIGN ME UP
Formerly Feral: anche qui il punto di vista di una ragazzina più giovane, che nell'affrontare sentimenti dolorosi, muta in qualcosa di più aggressivo, più feroce. In equal misura interessante e sconcertante.
Stop your women's ears with wax: la più noiosa tra le novelle. Ho capito il senso della storia, dei fans dei gruppi musicali che possono diventare ossessivi e pericolosi per se stessi e gli altri, ma come novella è veramente troppo lunga dato che non succede quasi nulla, a parte nel finale.
Granite: non ho capito bene questa qui, anche il finale non mi è piaciuto.
Smack: donna che non riesce a superare il divorzio da un uomo GIRL GET UP!! Non molto interessante, ma il finale mi è piaciuto.
Cassandra After: decisamente il mio preferito tra le novelle. Esplorazione del lutto, lesbiche e senso di colpa religioso?? Il finale mi ha lasciato un vuoto nel petto.
Salt slow: il dolore di una madre... ha fatto male, tanto male. Ho amato.
E qui è tutto! Alcuni belli, altri non tanto, ma comunque una lettura molto interessante!
-------
English review:
3.5 stars.
After almost a month I finished this book. I went into it, as usual, blindly, I didn't know anything about the plot, but I had loved Our Wives Under the Sea by the same author, so I wasn't much worried.
So, I liked this less than Our Wives Under the Sea, but it's still a good book.
Pros are for sure the evocative and macabre writing style of the author, which, like it did with the other book, completely captivated me. Also the way the author uses horror atmosphere to expose the real horrors of modern society, genius.
Cons... I admit that since I didn't know this book was a collection of short stories, I wasn't prepared (I usually prefer books with one complete story). Some novel's open finales... some were well made but others I didn't understand or I thought they were "too open", meaning I would have wanted something more.
And now, short reviews of each novella, to better illustrate my impressions.
Mantis: so creepy, reading the point of view of a little girl who is "unraveling" and "transforming" into something else, traumatised me. But I was also was left a bit disappointed her story didn't continue, especially after that bomb finale.
The Great Awake: I didn't understand anything about the Sleep, but I found the society's reaction to this new "phenomenon" very realistic. Shows how much people can become maniac.
The Collectables: one of my favourites for sure. Obsessiveness into finding the perfect man leading to homicidal craziness SIGN ME UP
Formerly Feral: here too the point of view of a younger girl, who while dealing with painful emotions, changes into something more aggressive, more feral. Both interesting and disconcerting.
Stop your women's ears with wax: the most boring of the novellas. I understood the point of the story, of musical bands' fans who can become obsessive and dangerous for themselves and others, but as a novella it is way too long since almost nothing happens, except for the finale.
Granite: did not understand this one. I didn't like the finale either.
Smack: woman can't get over a divorce with a man GIRL GET UP!! Not very interesting but I liked the finale.
Cassandra After: my favourite of the novellas for sure. Grief journey, lesbians and religious guilt? The finale left a hole in my chest.
Salt slow: a mother's pain... it hurt, it really hurt. I loved it.
And that's all! Some good, some not so much, but still a very interesting read!
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
mysterious
medium-paced
Just love stories about unhinged women, bodies, gory weird creatures and oh so many bodies
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A