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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
thank you NetGalley & unnamed press for providing me a copy of this book in return for an honest review ❤️
this review has taken me 3 days to write. it was originally 2k words. bear with me.
this novel is insanely hard to describe, not only because it is a collection of short stories where i have vastly different opinions on each, but because this is bonkers. i think to enjoy this you need to go in with an open mind, and be aware no topics are off-limits for grudova.
overall, this is quite a unique compilation of stories. the stories often stuck with me after reading them, and i was left pondering them. i also think (for me at least), this is a sleeper hit. i’ll be honest and say i wasnt enjoying this novel until about 7 stories in, and there are 16 total, so it took me a bit to get into this book.
my biggest gripes with this book are that there feels like there’s no link between stories in terms of themes or tone. also this book CONSTANTLY mentions poop. i think i counted it up and like half of the stories mention poop in explicit detail. I KEPT A POOP COUNTER WHILST READING THIS. i was losing it. finally, the endings of each story seem like the story was cut. the endings most of the time felt like there was zero conclusion which annoyed me endlessly.
i think its best if i break down my thoughts per each story, as some of these i couldn’t stand (simply due to personal preference), whereas some i adored.
through ceilings & walls: in my opinion, this was the worst story to start the book off. compared to all the others, it felt flat, low in horror, and wasn't interesting at all. my third least-fav.
ivor: this story stuck with me for a while after reading it. it didn't raise my expectations for the collection, but i will say i did like it. but, i felt the horror elements were missing, and honestly this story had me on the fence whether i actually enjoyed it, or just had fun compared to the first story. my third favourite overall.
description and history of a british swimming pool/banya banya!: the poop bit started wearing me down at this point. i felt like this story was just aiming to be gross just for the sake of it, and felt like there were no connections between any points, and things were just being said because “oh yeah that sounds bananas”. 10/16 for me.
the custard factory: here i REALLY was getting worn down with this book. yet again, more explicit poop explanations, random things going on just for randomness, and i was not having fun. like this felt like it was gross just to be gross. this is 11/16 for me.
the green hat: here is my favourite story. i cannot rave about this one enough! i think honestly at this point if this story didnt exist i would have dreaded reading the rest of this. but GOD i loved this! the allusion towards real-life uranium girls, and the commentary of capitalism, plus some actual good-ol fashioned horror?
a novel (or a poem) about fan, aged 11 years or the zoo: i enjoyed this one! it kind of felt like it was reverting to just being crude and not horror, but i dig the themes of exploitation, and this story made sense. overall i’d say this is 7/16 in ranking for me.
mr elephant: i’ll be candid here. i dont know what was going on here. i cant even say i hated this because there was no story. it just felt like this was a full novel and this was a section isolated, because nothing felt important in this story. everything felt meaningless. my second least-fav.
avalon: i think here the entire tone of the novel does a 180, and goes from “pee pee poo poo vomit bodily fluids collecting teeth” gross kind of horror and into “murder death horrific acts but more so thriller but i guess it is horrifying” type of horror. and i enjoyed this shift in tone! this story wasn't my favourite, but compared to all the stories before it (minus the green hat my beloved), this was a step up. this is the fifth best for me.
the poison garden: i mean this was fine… i was back to not caring about the stories honestly, as it started getting repetitive with this new tone. 9/16 for me.
the surrogates: honestly i was mad as hell at this one. mainly at the ending. because seriously there was this one line that actually infuriated me. it wasnt needed, was there just for the shock factor, and made me feel icky.. and not in a horror way but an “oh this is um…” way. this is 12/16 for me.
madame flora’s: so fun, very zany yet also felt realistic? easily my second fav. BONKERS.
the coiled serpent: for the namesake of the collection, this was fine. by this point i felt like i was getting the hang of grudova’s writing.. with four stories left. for me this is the 6th best story.
the meat eater: here grudova lost me again. the last two stories were so good, and this one just felt like a very formulaic rehash of half of this collection. this is 8th for me overall.
white asparagus: i was once again disillusioned with grudova’s writing. the stories began bleeding into one, as they all seemingly followed the same pattern of “murder murder ew ew weird thing mc does with the body”. this is 13/16 for me.
the apartment: somehow grudova pulls another 180 because i enjoyed this! this felt very new yet still true to the voice established in the other stories! i was happy again! this is fourth in rankings for me.
hoo hoo! another complete tone shift. i hated this. i had no idea what was going on, it felt completely out of character for the other stories, and honestly i was over this constantly see-saw i was having with the stories. worst story imo.
i really cannot explain my thoughts on this collection coherently. it is so unique in the worst and best ways. i can only really compare this book to “bliss montage” by ling ma. i was disappointed as i was expecting horror, and i don’t know what this was, but it defo wasn’t horror. it transcends genre.
if you like gross horror or books where you don’t know what’s going on but you’re hear for the ride, this books’ for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Excrement, Murder
Moderate: Gore, Blood, Pregnancy
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
The Coiled Serpent is not for the weak stomachs among us. I don’t have a weak stomach, and still found myself gagging while reading this collection of short stories. There’s nothing too grotesque for Grudova to tackle, and she’s excellent at weaving that imagery together.
Conversely, while I thought the graphic descriptions of bodies, blood, etc were really well done, and the stories themselves inventive, I found the writing lacking something. Grudova’s stories were all stylistically the same, and kind of bare of storytelling. They felt rushed, with no time to breathe. So this was a mixed one for me.
I received this ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. It came out on October 8, 2024.
Conversely, while I thought the graphic descriptions of bodies, blood, etc were really well done, and the stories themselves inventive, I found the writing lacking something. Grudova’s stories were all stylistically the same, and kind of bare of storytelling. They felt rushed, with no time to breathe. So this was a mixed one for me.
I received this ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. It came out on October 8, 2024.
A collection of magically bizarre short stories.
Standalone however some themes are reoccurring in other stories, great selection of horror, dystopia and gothic fiction.
Incredible sharp language, At times it did feel a bit rushed.
Standalone however some themes are reoccurring in other stories, great selection of horror, dystopia and gothic fiction.
Incredible sharp language, At times it did feel a bit rushed.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2⭐️ I think this had so much potential tho 😭
I was initially really excited to read this book. As a lover of strange stories and grotesque imagery, I was really drawn in by these elements in this series of short stories. I think the writing style was great and I love how uncomfortable the prose made me feel.
Other than that, I feel like these stories were all shock and no substance. There felt like there wasn’t any proper plot within any of the stories and I really struggled to connect with the characters as the stories are so short (sometimes not even 10 pages).
I think this book had a lot of potential but just didn’t live up to my expectations with execution. I still enjoyed the absolute weirdness that was these stories tho 🤣
Thanks NetGalley & Unnamed Press for having early access to this e-arc 💕
I was initially really excited to read this book. As a lover of strange stories and grotesque imagery, I was really drawn in by these elements in this series of short stories. I think the writing style was great and I love how uncomfortable the prose made me feel.
Other than that, I feel like these stories were all shock and no substance. There felt like there wasn’t any proper plot within any of the stories and I really struggled to connect with the characters as the stories are so short (sometimes not even 10 pages).
I think this book had a lot of potential but just didn’t live up to my expectations with execution. I still enjoyed the absolute weirdness that was these stories tho 🤣
Thanks NetGalley & Unnamed Press for having early access to this e-arc 💕
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
It was not my cup of tea, unfortunately. Quite gruesome stories. If you like short horror stories you may give it a try.
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!
The most common reaction I had while reading the book was receiting "what the fuck, what the fuck, what the actual fuck" on a loop. I found most of the stories quite bizarre and didn't knew what to think of most of them tbh, especially at the beggining.
The book tackle themes of body horror here and there but imo where the book shines the most is in it's descriptions of truly the most grotesque situations. Not only is Grudova great at coming up with the exact situation/imagery to disgust you (the son in the third story, iykyk) but I think it becomes even more disgusting and disturbing when you sit for a moment and meditate the fact that this IS life for a lot of people. It is exagerated, but it also reflects accurately what a lof of folks have to go through because of 🌈capitalism🌈
Putting that aside, I did find myself kind of disapointed that a lot of the stories seemingly had no plot? They felt a bit like outlines (very curt narration, not much description) or first drafts. It would be like peering into the life of this random person one moment and then at a random point the story ends. I suspect both the language she used and the nature of the narrative might have to do, again, with the fact that this are supposed to be your random everyday person, whose lives are just kind of unremarkable? Yet the simplicity of the language makes it that more shocking when you read someone eating vomit nonchalantly because there is just no build up, there's no sensation that this is a special moment, it's just part of every day life.
I think for me this is might of those books that becomes more enjoyable when you read it a second or third time. Because on first read I think it is quite easy to fixate on the grotesque parts and overlook the social critique.
The most common reaction I had while reading the book was receiting "what the fuck, what the fuck, what the actual fuck" on a loop. I found most of the stories quite bizarre and didn't knew what to think of most of them tbh, especially at the beggining.
The book tackle themes of body horror here and there but imo where the book shines the most is in it's descriptions of truly the most grotesque situations. Not only is Grudova great at coming up with the exact situation/imagery to disgust you (the son in the third story, iykyk) but I think it becomes even more disgusting and disturbing when you sit for a moment and meditate the fact that this IS life for a lot of people. It is exagerated, but it also reflects accurately what a lof of folks have to go through because of 🌈capitalism🌈
Putting that aside, I did find myself kind of disapointed that a lot of the stories seemingly had no plot? They felt a bit like outlines (very curt narration, not much description) or first drafts. It would be like peering into the life of this random person one moment and then at a random point the story ends. I suspect both the language she used and the nature of the narrative might have to do, again, with the fact that this are supposed to be your random everyday person, whose lives are just kind of unremarkable? Yet the simplicity of the language makes it that more shocking when you read someone eating vomit nonchalantly because there is just no build up, there's no sensation that this is a special moment, it's just part of every day life.
I think for me this is might of those books that becomes more enjoyable when you read it a second or third time. Because on first read I think it is quite easy to fixate on the grotesque parts and overlook the social critique.
Such a strange, unique and interesting collection of stories. Even though it took me a few of them to fully get into it, I simply couldn't stop reading no matter what. Such an incredible writing style and an absolutely amazing way to turn the mundane into something more. Every single story is so thought-provoking, I had the best time while reading this and I found myself wanting more by the end.
Many thanks to Unnamed Press & NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.
Many thanks to Unnamed Press & NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.
I don't get these stories I don't like these stories so far. I have zero desire to continue reading.
The first short story wasn't really anything. There wasn't any story telling beyond "I saw this. I smell that" and there wasn't any point to it?? I would rather read something enjoyable
DNF at 28%, so I won’t rate this one.
There’s a weirdness to this collection that does appeal to me. There’s also a gross out factor that reminds me of Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung. But in the stories I read, it didn’t really amount to much. In that sense it reminded me of Kelly Link, which is a selling point for fans of her, of course! But I find Link has a similar weirdness without point in her writing, and I lose interest.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
There’s a weirdness to this collection that does appeal to me. There’s also a gross out factor that reminds me of Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung. But in the stories I read, it didn’t really amount to much. In that sense it reminded me of Kelly Link, which is a selling point for fans of her, of course! But I find Link has a similar weirdness without point in her writing, and I lose interest.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.