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.

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.

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.

Have to tip my hat to how uncomfortable a lot of these short stories made me at times - just descriptions that are built to make your spine shiver and you cringe a bit. Whether intentional or not, just a great read for spooky season.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

“The Coiled Serpent” by Camilla Grudova is a mesmerizing collection of short stories that plunges readers into a surreal and often grotesque world.

Known for her distinctive style that blends the macabre with the mundane, Grudova’s latest work continues to push the boundaries of contemporary fiction, offering a series of unsettling yet captivating tales.

The collection features a variety of stories, each more bizarre and thought-provoking than the last. Stories include a woman sent to a cursed hotel for ailing girls and a museum director curating a venomous garden.

Each tale is a journey into the absurd, where the lines between reality and fantasy blur, and the ordinary becomes extraordinary.

Grudova’s characters are as peculiar as the worlds they inhabit. They are often grappling with personal anxieties, societal pressures, and existential dilemmas.

Despite their oddities, these characters are deeply human, reflecting the fears and desires that lie beneath the surface of everyday life. The protagonists in these stories are frequently marginalized individuals, whose struggles and resilience add depth to the surreal landscapes they navigate.

Grudova’s writing is lyrical and visceral, evoking strong visual and emotional responses. Her prose is rich with imagery, often drawing on elements of body horror and the grotesque to create a sense of unease. The language is precise and evocative, capturing the strangeness of her worlds with a painterly attention to detail. Grudova’s ability to blend the fantastical with the familiar makes her stories both unsettling and compelling.

“The Coiled Serpent” explores themes of transformation, identity, and the human condition. Grudova delves into the absurdities of contemporary life, using her surreal narratives to critique societal norms and expectations. The stories often reflect on the impact of capitalism, the fragility of the human body, and the search for meaning in a chaotic world. Grudova’s work challenges readers to confront their own perceptions of reality and the boundaries of the possible.

“The Coiled Serpent” is a testament to Camilla Grudova’s skill as a storyteller and her ability to craft narratives that linger in the mind long after the final page.

This collection is a must-read for fans of surreal and speculative fiction, offering a series of stories that are as thought-provoking as they are unsettling.

Grudova’s work is a reminder of the power of fiction to explore the darkest corners of the human psyche and the strange beauty that can be found there.

I primarily requested Camilla Grudova’s “The Coiled Serpent” because I love single-author short story collections that are horrific – writers using horror to subvert real-world issues – and in some stories that felt obvious and in others not so much. I enjoyed how Grudova incorporated horrific and gory elements to shine a light on women’s reproductive rights and assumptions about what women’s bodies should be used for (birthing children) in addition to how women’s bodies are used (consensually or not) to satiate heterosexual men’s desires, and the role women are expected to play in caring for others (like children).

Each short story is a complete story (thank goodness Grudova knows the structure of a short story), and not one story is overwritten. Most of the stories are on the shorter side of short stories, so if you prefer longer ones, just keep that in mind. However, all of the stories are well-written, interesting, weird, sometimes absurd, and hilarious. There were also moments I felt rage and sadness and when I was finished reading this collection, I wanted to read more of Grudova’s work! I now definitely want to try out her other works of fiction!

If you do not enjoy horrific or gory writing, then avoid this. However, if you enjoyed Bora Chung’s collection, “Cursed Bunny,” Sayaka Murata’s “Life Ceremony,” and/or Maria Enriquez’s “The Dangers of Smoking in Bed,” then I think you would enjoy Camilla Grudova’s “The Coiled Serpent”!
My absolute favourite stories are “The Custard Factory,” “The Green Hat,” “Avalon,” “The Poison Garden,” “Madame Flora’s,” the titular story “The Coiled Serpent,” “The Meat Eater,” “The Apartment,” and “Hoo Hoo”…Pretty much the entire collection!

Many thanks to Netgalley and The Unnamed Press for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this great short story collection!

The Coiled Serpent-Stories-Camilla Grudova-Publishing October 8th, 2024 by Unnamed Press.

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2024 DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE

A book of strange short stories that remind me of Ottessa Moshfegh. These stories are quirky, and the characters and settings are just as odd. But that’s a good thing. The strangeness of each story works. The characters and the grotesque things they do. Grudova uses sentences and words sparingly, creating surreal unsettling images that the reader will love or hate. Not for the faint of heart. A writer to keep your eye on. (* This is the second book from Unnamed Press I’ve read. The first was States of Emergency by Chris Knapp. They keep putting out cool books.) 3.8 goldfish. There was no emoji for 0.8 of a goldfish.

This was definitely a unique and strange read but it really had me hooked. The stories in this collection felt very unusual, gory and vivid.

The Coiled Serpent is a collection of eclectic horror stories, most of which contain commentary on society, capitalism and the human experience.

The concept behind most stories were unique and utterly bizarre, but ultimately I was left wanting more. I felt that a lot of the stories had no clear direction and every time I felt like I was finally learning about the characters and the world, the story would end abruptly. Most, if not all the stories also include grotesque descriptions of bodily fluids and unnatural transformations of the body, which I feel in some cases only added to the shock value and nothing more.

In saying that, there were a couple of standouts which I felt were complete and impactful stories such as ‘Ivor’, ‘The Green Hat’ and ‘The Coiled Serpent’. I also think this collection is still worth picking up if you’re in the mood for something strange and horrifying during spooky season!

Thank you Unnamed Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I feel like maybe this is protest fiction, but I don't get what exactly the author is against. Regardless of setting, each of the stories in this collection goes beyond extreme horror to I don't know what level to call it, ultimate horror? I looked it up, and the subgenre of extreme horror "is characterized by the depiction of extreme acts"; the stories in The Coiled Serpent, each uniquely evidences combinations of gratuitous violence, gore, and taboo subjects.

In the first story Ivor for example, an idolized boy at boarding school is forever youthful while the other students age to decrepitude, but the horror lies equally in the appalling neglect they all suffer, as well as the unnatural degree that their fawning over Ivor reaches. That seems to be the formula here, that a setting is established as horrifyingly filthy or squalid, populated by characters described as singularly revolting and who do things that are nauseating; but then there is a plot twist and something else completely ends up being the most horrifying thing in the story. It never gets boring, that is for certain.

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 💕

🐍🐍🐍 The Coiled Serpent by Camilla Grudova
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The Coiled Serpent is a collection of 16 short stories packed with bizarre, quirky, and gross oddities. It reminded me a bit of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket with a dash of The Mighty Boosh. Some stories had me laughing, scratching my head, and often saying ‘eww.’ Expect plenty of bodily fluids and oddball scenarios. It’s definitely a gross-out read, but the story that stood out most for me was ‘The Custard Factory.’ It’s definitely a cheese-dream of a book!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

It was not my cup of tea, unfortunately. Quite gruesome stories. If you like short horror stories you may give it a try.

A good book to sit with and enjoy some quality times. Readers go for it. The coiled serpent will keep you coiled too.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

If I had to describe this book in a few words, they would be: moist, crusty, disturbing, and repulsive. This book is disgusting and uncomfortable, but in a good way if you're looking for something to gross you out.

Some of the stories are forgettable, but others are standouts that make this book worth it. My favorites are:

The Custard Factory (A mother's sticky revenge for the abuse of her daughter), Madam Flora's (A specialized school for girls missing their periods), The Coiled Serpent (Three grimy tech bros try semen retention - This one included a poem in binary at the end, which I took the time to convert to English), and The Meat Eater (A woman's extreme and deadly obsession with a man)

To say this book is weird is an understatement. It gives you perspectives that no one needs from some really sick or abused characters. If you're a fan of unsettling horror and don't mind graphic content, this collection might be for you.

Unfortunately for me after reading the first 4 stories in this book I just cannot find the willpower to continue and so have to mark this as a DNF.
I love the grotesque and morbid angle of the stories and this is what drew me to this book from blurb. However, there just isn't enough substance for me and I've found the stories to be disjointed and just generally difficult to follow.
There's no real sense of feeling for any of the characters, but this could just be my preference for full novels over short stories.

If you enjoy short stories with a macabre nature then I think you'd really enjoy this book!

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this book via Netgalley

The Coiled Serpent is weird and grotesque and yet, I couldn’t stop reading.

Not going to lie I did really struggle with a pretty much every one of the stories, but that uncomfortable aspect is part of its appeal. I don’t know how best to explain this beyond that, but what an addictive collection of short stories.

this is a DNF for me.

I had high hopes for this book but after reading the first 3 stories I was left thinking what was the point of each one? It just seems a lot of what is in the stories is added for shock value and being gross which I don't mind and actually enjoy if done well but that isn't the case here. There is no substance under any of it. Everything seemed too random, There was no connection within each story, this made them feel unfinished and I just couldn't force myself to sit through the remaining stories.

thank you to netgalley and Unnamed Press | The Unnamed Press for sharing a digital copy. as always, opinions are my own.