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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
A wickedly sharp and dark collection of short stories where the real twists inexorably into the surreal. I love how the world and the characters feel so rooted in the real world, yet drift so far and so deep into the utterly, and spectacularly, weird.
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Do I enjoy absurdist horror? Is that even a genre? I’m still trying to figure that out after reading Camilla Grudova's The Coiled Serpent, a collection of grotesque and surreal stories that are as disturbing as they are fascinating. It’s like if Franz Kafka had a love child with a fever dream and raised it on a steady diet of nightmares, extreme female rage, and arsenic
Grudova’s world is unsettling from the very first story, which involves a little girl hurling up teeth after a mysterious custard.explosion. Yes, you read that right. The narrative doesn’t let you settle in any comfortable reality, instead whisking you away to a bizarre, often grotesque parallel universe where nothing is quite as it seems. There’s a quality to her writing that drags you into her strange worlds, even as they make you want to scrub your brain with bleach.
Each short story is outright uncomfortable. There are no boundaries here. Grudova’s writing doesn’t just push the limits of what’s socially acceptable; it bulldozes them into oblivion, then sits on the rubble with an impish grin.
As the stories progress, you start to see faint connections between them, and I can’t help but think I missed some larger, possibly sinister meaning that Grudova might reveal on a reread. I already know I’ll be rereading this book soon to piece it all together.
Is there even a label for whatever this is? Probably not—but it’s something all its own. This is one of those books that will haunt you long after you’ve finished it. Grudova is now officially on my auto-buy list.
Grudova’s world is unsettling from the very first story, which involves a little girl hurling up teeth after a mysterious custard.explosion. Yes, you read that right. The narrative doesn’t let you settle in any comfortable reality, instead whisking you away to a bizarre, often grotesque parallel universe where nothing is quite as it seems. There’s a quality to her writing that drags you into her strange worlds, even as they make you want to scrub your brain with bleach.
Each short story is outright uncomfortable. There are no boundaries here. Grudova’s writing doesn’t just push the limits of what’s socially acceptable; it bulldozes them into oblivion, then sits on the rubble with an impish grin.
As the stories progress, you start to see faint connections between them, and I can’t help but think I missed some larger, possibly sinister meaning that Grudova might reveal on a reread. I already know I’ll be rereading this book soon to piece it all together.
Is there even a label for whatever this is? Probably not—but it’s something all its own. This is one of those books that will haunt you long after you’ve finished it. Grudova is now officially on my auto-buy list.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Infertility, Pedophilia, Self harm, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A freaky collection of bizarre and revolting short stories. My favourites were 'The Green Hat', 'The Poison Garden' and 'Ivor'.
There's no rhyme or reason, each story just exists - although I felt as though some of them had linking characters/places etc., which was fun to pick up on.
There's no rhyme or reason, each story just exists - although I felt as though some of them had linking characters/places etc., which was fun to pick up on.
this book was disgusting and insane but I loved it. It was so candid and it made me want to vom a few times. Could read again and still have a crazy time
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautifully takes the piss out of everything stupid about Britishness.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Insanely weird and off-putting. A putrid 178 pages following a crowd of miserable little characters in the most bleak lives you could imagine and yet are very clever, vivid metaphors on gender and capitalism.
Felt like sh*t reading this, definitely a favorite I have read this year.
Madame Flora's and The Green Hat were some of my favorite stories from this collection.
"It looks like a drawing of the sea. Have you written down my story or have you just drawed the the sea?"
Felt like sh*t reading this, definitely a favorite I have read this year.
Madame Flora's and The Green Hat were some of my favorite stories from this collection.
"It looks like a drawing of the sea. Have you written down my story or have you just drawed the the sea?"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Abortion, Murder
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes