For a person who is usually a fan of short, disgusting stories, this just didn't do it for me. The writing was oftentimes clunky and challenging to stick with. The endings were underwhelming. I like yuck factor- even if it's just for the sake of yuck. But I didn't love this. 2 stars.

I am so thankful to Unnamed Press, Camilla Grudova, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this galley before publication day. I really enjoyed the dialogue and plot of this book and can’t wait to chat this one up with my friends!

This is a clear case of it’s me not you, but the short story collection The Coiled Serpent didn’t work for me. On the face of it, Camilla Grudova’s writing should be my thing. She writes strange stories, often horror or magical realism and has a tone of voice that reminds me of other writers I like. They even give me anti-capitalist vibes which is a huge plus and yet they don’t work for me. I’m not entirely sure what it is, but I think it’s that I don’t feel connection to the characters in the stories and that I don’t always feel like something is at stake? It bothers me that I can’t figure out exactly what it is that doesn’t work, but this was her second short story collection that I read and both left me a little indifferent. However, if you like weird stories, then could you give The Coiled Serpent a try? I’d love to discuss it and hear why I’m wrong!

Thanks to @unnamedpress for the eArc! And in case you’re interested, here is the synopsis of the book:
A little girl throws up Gloria-Jean’s teeth after an explosion at the custard factory; Pax, Alexander, and Angelo are hypnotically enthralled by a book that promises them enlightenment if they keep their semen inside their bodies; Victoria is sent to a cursed hotel for ailing girls when her period mysteriously stops. In a damp, putrid spa, the exploitative drudgery of work sparks revolt; in a Margate museum, the new Director curates a venomous garden for public consumption.
In Grudova’s unforgettably surreal style, these stories conjure a singular, startling strangeness that proves the deft skill of a writer at the top of her game.

Some stories were more interesting than others. All of them gave me gross or horrific feelings. I enjoyed this book for what it was.

This is a great set of stories for fans of horror. I would have preferred the stories to be longer, I was craving more depth in the stories. Overall enjoyed the themes and tone of these short stories. I found the prose to be uniquely weird and that kept me engaged. I enjoyed the feeling of parallelism that the stories created for the reader. The reader wasn't necessarily inside of the story but navigating alongside. Some left me feeling creeped out, and I loved it.

A collection of story to keep readers wondering, The Coiled Serpent is a horror novel that is not for the faint of heart. A wonderful October read!

Thank you to Unnamed Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchanged for an honest review.

It was a struggle to read the entirety of this book. I did not enjoy any story, which is unfortunate because typically I’ll enjoy at least one or two from a collection of short stories. Every story felt like shock value over quality. None of the stories felt cohesive.

CW: body horror, excrement, gore, blood, miscarriage, cannibalism, violence, rape, sexual content

Thank you NetGalley and The Unnamed Press for the free Arc. This did not influence my review.

Normally I am a big fan of horror or uncomfortable short stories. Though, I have to admit my experience with them has been limited to classics. I believe that is where the disconnect came from. I just could not get into these stories! Perhaps the author has gotten what she wanted, because indeed I was uncomfortable but also I keep thinking this cannot be the purpose of these texts. I feel bad because I want to give every arc the best chance and I was excited to read this one because of the premise but I had to force myself to finish this book.

First, it felt disingenuous and not well developed when every story had some sort of mention of poop. It felt like a random addition to make the story more disgusting. That is fine of course, but the fact I noticed the pattern made it not work anymore.

Second, there were not a lot of real horror elements. Most of it was absurd nonsense and I could enjoy that but for some reason I did not.

I will say however, I really enjoyed the writing and I think the author has talent. The stories were varied and I could never guess what they would be about so they were always a surprise. I feel bad this one did not click but I will hopefully one day try another book of Grudova because I do not want to give up yet.

Thanks to The Unnamed Press and NetGalley for a copy of this. The Coiled Serpent is there with the strangest books I’ve ever read. If you’re a fan of the gross and the weird, that leans towards the horror genre, you’ll love this collection of shorts stories.

“The Coiled Serpent” by Camilla Grudova (5 Stars- Out Now!) is an eyebrow raising, ‘wait, what?”, gulping swallow of a short story collection, that left me sitting in my chair, staring into the distance, mentally paging back through the imagery and absolutely astounding style trying to decide what I loved and what made me shudder the most.

I have loved ones in my life who dream very detailed and vibrant dreams. I used to dream like this and as I’ve aged the dreams do not stick when I wake up in the morning, so I have enjoyed the story telling sessions I get some mornings from my family. Both of my now teenaged children, and my middle aged husband will descend upon me pre-coffee with stream-of-concsious-like retellings of their dramatic, brightly technicolor, action packed, fantastical, sometimes unsettling, always robustly detailed dreams. And similar to how smaller children recount the details of their days with short declarative sentences that do not change in style or tone between fact and fantasy, Grudova delivers “and then–and then–and then” stories that hit a bit like Roald Dahl on a fascinating but unsettling acid trip. Some read like fairy tales, some like horror, and some like a group project where one writer starts a sentence and the next adds on, never quite knowing where it will end up. All of them function like rabbit punches…short bursts of controlled and effective impact.

What worked: The whole collection pulls you along, to the next one and the next one, wondering what the hell she might say next. The intensely descriptive language, delivered in clipped sentences is also effective in that it rapid-fire lead-drags you along whether you want to keep going or not. And that ‘uh…blar” nauseous feeling you get at some point in almost every story is like hunting for a rotten easter egg. There is satisfaction in finding the most disgusting one paired with being uncertain about why you’re looking for a rotten easter egg in the first place. The feeling of being in an adjacent reality, similar to this one, perhaps even real for some of the most unlucky steel-of-stomach souls is both off-balancing and grounding at the same time. You know where you are but you really aren’t sure you should be.

Opportunities: There was really nothing about this collection that warrants a “could have done better”...honestly, tagging this as horror or fiction is oversimplifying what Grudova delivers.

This whole experience was gag-inducing, nose-wrinkling, “ew, what?” but actually laughable and relatable (which was ALSO unsettling..why do I relate to any part of this? I don’t know and I’m certain I don’t want to self-reflect for too long for fear of what I’ll determine). These stories pulled me out of a reading slump, and then rabbit punched me breathless delivering electric current shocks along the way. I’ve never been grossed out by horror in quite the way I was amusedly grossed out by all.the.fluids.and.mold. Read it, but prepare yourself. You might need to step outside for some deep breaths of fresh air. Watch out for the creatures though…I’ll not be taking my dog out after dark in the Bard Owl infested woods behind my house for quite the while.


As always, I appreciate the opportunity afforded me to have an early read by netgalley and Unnamed Press. The opinions in this review are expressly those of ButIDigressBookClub and are intended for use by my followers and friends when choosing their next book. #butidigress #butidigressbookclub #thecoiledserpent #camillagrudova #netgalley #netgalleyreviewer #arc #arcs #horror

Details
Review Shared on Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6907998087
Publishing Review 10/22/2024

Gross! (affectionate)

I wasn't familiar with Grudova before picking this up (thanks, as always, to Unnamed Press and NetGalley for the ARC) but she's definitely a talent to watch - her prose is simple but infectious, as several of the short stories in this collection snuck up on me to revolting and horrifying results. The constant deluge of bodily fluid really isn't my thing, either in life or in horror fiction, but I think that it produced the intended effect which is to bring the grotesque, nasty world of Grudova's Britain to life. The most personal work here reminded me of Carmen Maria Machado, the most detailed zoom-ins on characters reminded me of Stephen King, and the most fantastical reminded me of Lovecraftian fairy tales. There's a ton to admire here, if you have the stomach for it.

What a beautiful collection of bizarre little stories, full of gothic charm, horror, ghosts, often set in boarding schools or in Margate, with a main character full of anxiety. I loved the tone and I found these easy to get into. They're cleverly horrible and just delightful to read.

Free ARC sent by Netgalley.

Well, I’ve got to be honest with this one- I didn’t get along with it. The writing style, the stories, the whole nine yards, it wasn’t for me. Each story felt too weighty, like it was trying to convey something that I just couldn’t get...that’s on me.

Horror short stories- I felt this would’ve been better marketed as a speculative fiction collection, it just sits better as that. Maybe I’ve been too used to reading unhinged stuff because I felt like I wanted to go find some excitement while reading it, never a good sign!

I didn’t really feel anything for the stories, I perhaps should’ve just DNF’d early on, but seeing as it was an arc, I felt I owed it to the author to review like any other ARC.

The Coiled Serpent is a haunting and surreal collection of stories that masterfully blends the grotesque with the fantastical. Grudova’s writing is both eerie and enchanting, with each tale delving into themes of power, transformation, and the macabre. Her vivid and unsettling imagery pulls readers into a world where reality and the bizarre intertwine. The characters, though strange and enigmatic, evoke deep emotions, making each story feel both otherworldly and deeply human. A different read than I typically go for, but an interesting one nonetheless!

this book is a hell of gruesomeness, a dark and twisted collection of short stories. these tales will make you stare at the ceiling, the wakl, or wherever you happen to be facing. the details nearly made me gag and honestly gave me a headache. its astonishing how the author weaves so many bizarre and unsettling stories together. admittedly, in the first few stories, i didn't quite grasp the plot, but as I continued, they became more exciting and even more gruesome—and im not complaining (please don't judge me! 😄).

i liked some stories, while others didn't quite hit the mark. overall, i'd give this book a solid four stars!

The Coiled Serpent is one of the most intriguing, and most repulsive, short story collections I think I’ve ever read. These sixteen stories are not for the squeamish reader, featuring body hair and bodily fluids, cannibalism, festering and rotting things, raw meat, blood and gore, and most notably, feces. Seriously, there is lots of poop. I cannot overstate this, every story contains at least one mention of poop.

Due to this extreme body horror with a purpose, on the surface, that seems to be merely for shock value, it’s difficult at first to really absorb what Camilla Grudova is trying to do with these stories. But underneath the visceral and gruesome imagery is a searing critique of modern society, classism, materialism, capitalism, and misogyny. By taking us into a moist basement sauna, a house where the pipes are bursting with – you guessed it – poop, a retreat for girls who’ve stopped menstruating, an apartment full of starving people, a poisonous garden, and many other strange places, she shines a light on the dirtiest and darkest aspects of these topics – the parts that our society collectively works so hard to hide.

Grudova has a spare, no-nonsense style of writing which I thought worked well for these stories and their themes. There is no sugar-coating, no hiding the ugly – in the plots or in the prose. I’m not sure I necessarily had a favorite story in the collection, but the ones that I think will stick with me most are “Madame Flora’s,” “The Surrogate,” “Avalon,” and “The Coiled Serpent.” I found Grudova’s style to be reminiscent of Eric LaRocca and Agustina Bazterrica, so if you enjoy those authors this collection may work for you. But beware, I’m not sure if I mentioned this: There’s lots of poop.

3.5 stars. Thank you to The Unnamed Press for the complimentary reading opportunity.

I am not sure how I feel about this. Some of the short stories I loved and others I deeply disliked. But all made me uncomfortable and left me thinking what did I just read?

I think if you like unsettling, horrifying works this might be for you, though I still dont know if it was for me.

I will say I think the author definitely has a way with words and if their goal was to make people uncomfortable they definitely succeeded.

I do think the very first story was my least favourite and possibly the worst one to start with. It made me not want to continue and had this not been an arc I think I wouldve stopped then and there.

3.5 stars

I found each of the stories in this book to be well-written, yet they all veer into the territory of the incredibly surreal and bizarre. The prose is razor sharp, almost quaintly pastoral in places, and totally unhinged. Also, the sheer number of times that feces were discussed in this book was way more than I was expecting (which was zero). So please be forewarned that most of these stories veer into the realm of what I would describe as a subgenre of body horror.

If all that excites you then definitely go grab a copy of this book; it's well worth the read.

Thanks to NetGalley, author Camilla Grudova, and The Unnamed Press for giving me access to a digital advance readers copy of this book for free to read and review. All opinions are my own and provided voluntarily.

The Coiled Serpent is a compilation of sixteen short stories brimming with peculiar, idiosyncratic, and unsettling elements. I found it reminiscent of works such as The Eyes are the Best Part or Stories by Erica LaRocca, infused with a touch of Cassandra Khaw's style. These tales evoked a range of emotions in me, from laughter to elation, and often elicited the exclamation, "How strangely captivating!" One can anticipate an abundance of bodily fluids and unconventional situations within its pages. It is, without a doubt, a read that revels in its capacity to shock and disgust.

The coiled serpent is a solid set of short stories that explores a more mundane side of terror. Camilla Grudova comments on our society and repeatedly runs through the themes of capitalism and misogyny, seemingly without a chronological thread. This was one of the characteristics I struggled with the most, because the stories are written in an almost timeless way - apart from rare exceptions - and it was only with small elements like a pair of Doc Martens that I was pulled into the reality of the time I was reading.
The 16 stories cover a wide range of settings and characters with no apparent connection between them, except for elements that are occasionally repeated in a more or less secondary way, such as custard, eggs, the colour green and Rupert Bear.
Despite the constant allusion to excrement, Grudova's short stories are beautifully written and I would emphasise the sublime way in which the author manages to construct the environments and settings of the various narratives in just a few pages. However, at the end of most of the stories I was left with the dissatisfaction of an abrupt ending.
This was my first contact with the author's writing and I would recommend this collection to readers who are venturing into the horror genre for the first time.

Thank you to NetGalley and The Unnamed Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.