“The Coiled Serpent” – Camilla Grudova

"I developed a stomach ache and wind - from eating too many of the apples, I supposed - and my faeces that night reminded me of the green gelatinous substance I had seen in the drain, which filled me with the horrible thought that it had been faeces in the sink"

My thanks to @netgalley and @unnamedpress for my copy in exchange for an honest review – this will be published in the US on 8th October, and is already available in the UK.

What a fascinating and bizarre collection of short stories this was. I have some previous experience of Grudova, having read and enjoyed her previous collection “The Doll’s Alphabet”, but that still didn’t really prepare me for the experience of reading this. This is a dark collection of short stories, mostly horror and gothic, with some dystopia thrown in, often dealing with themes of body dysmorphia, misogyny and other societal problems, especially the rotting of capitalist society and abuse of the poor. We see boarding schools of boys of all ages, trapped in permanent adolescence, a woman in Margate starting her own garden of poisonous substances, and several stories involving custard for some reason.

I would call these stories “sensuous”, by which I mean that you can almost feel the more disgusting elements of this book, smell the gore and bile emitted by several of the stories. There’s a constant sense of unease here, and Grudova is a master of mixing mundane with fantastical, often tripping up the reader with a sudden turn between the two. It’s an unnerving experience, but one that fans of darker fiction will love.

This would not normally have been a book I sought out, but I have to say it was a unique reading experience. With all of the dark feminist horror coming out at the moment, this is a collection that should be added to that list. Recommended for lovers of strange, surreal, macabre fiction.

The stories in this collection vary from surrealism, hilarious satire, and pessimistic realism that there’s something to suit almost every reader of the strange. Grudova’s style is concise and compelling, she is able to convey the most horrific acts and situations of characters in a bleak and surreal way rather than straight up horror with strange imagery of places and things unknown.

I’m a lover of strange short stories when they are done well and offer a deeper commentary, which is why, based on the blurb, I picked this one up. Having previously read Camilla Grudova's work, I was excited to explore this collection—both the cover and the buzzwords in the description drew me in. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed and ended up DNF’ing it around halfway through.

The frequent references to bodily fluids felt like they were included purely for shock value and added very little to the narrative of each story. Normally, I’m not the slightest bit bothered by elements of body horror, but when it feels like there’s no purpose other than to be as gross as possible, I lose interest in reading further.

To me personally, the writing style also felt overly simplistic. At times, it seemed as though I was reading a play-by-play description of an unedited draft. While this may have been an intentional narrative choice by the author, it sadly didn’t work for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, I am calling it quits with this book about 25% of the way through.

I am typically a fan of short, weird, and gross things, but none of the stories in here so far have made me feel anything. The writing is very simplistic, and I find myself having a difficult time connecting to what is happening. It reads like "This person did this, and then this other thing happened, and then I did this." In addition, the endings to each story seemed abrupt, and I felt like the stories were never fully built out. Just a collection of half-developed concepts.

It feels like the author was more focused on being disgusting (I think every story mentions poop for no reason) for shock value, rather than creating a strong and cohesive plot. After not enjoying the first few stories, and my final thoughts with most being 'huh?' I think I need to admit that this author's style is just not for me.

I would recommend this to readers who enjoy body horror, weird speculative fiction, easy to digest writing, and short stories.

Gruesome weird body horror short stories. Honestly a really good read to get into the horror spooky feels, not for those looking for cozy. Would definitely recommend.

*The Coiled Serpent* by Camilla Grudova is a mesmerizing and unsettling novel that blends surrealism with dark, imaginative storytelling. Grudova’s vivid, haunting prose creates an atmosphere of eerie beauty, drawing readers into a world both strange and captivating. It’s a bold and unforgettable exploration of the uncanny.

A collection of short stories with body horror leanings. The stories were almost too short. I enjoyed the settings and the writing style. Talented author but not for me.

I would like to NetGalley and Unnamed Press for the ARC.

This book is a great read if you're looking to enjoy a quick story in the moment. I read a story at a time when I only had a short reading session and didn't want to get into and out of a novel, and they were great little creepy tidbits for just such occasions.

This is a collection of visceral, half formed fever dreams, vignettes in the lives of strange persons, and snippets of grotesque moments.

Some of the earlier stories meander a bit, seemingly without direction, but the later tales have a more clear purpose.

There is no bodily excretion or human act taboo enough to escape these pages, so if you're seeking the twisted and obscene, you've found the right place. I even read parts aloud to my partner just to share in the strangeness.

Camilla Grudova's The Coiled Serpent is an anthology that plunges the reader into a world of eerie and imaginative short stories, each blending elements of horror, dystopia, and gothic fiction. Grudova masterfully crafts tales that are both strange and captivating, with a surreal quality that keeps you on edge.

The collection is tied together not by a continuous narrative but by recurring motifs like boarding schools, custard, and the color green, which weave through the stories like threads in a complex tapestry. These subtle connections add a layer of intrigue, making the reader keenly aware of the underlying themes Grudova explores, such as societal inequalities and the pervasive nature of misogyny.

What stands out in this collection is the way Grudova juxtaposes the ordinary with the grotesque. Some stories lean into the whimsical and surreal, while others dive into visceral horror, offering a variety of tones that cater to different tastes.

Overall, The Coiled Serpent is a fascinating and thought-provoking read that showcases Grudova's talent for blending the fantastical with the deeply unsettling. It’s a collection that lingers in the mind long after the final page.

Synopsis: A collection of weird, gross, bizarre short stories of absurd characters in dystopian Britain.

What I liked: Original writing! I would be interested in reading more from Camilla Grudova. Many of the stories left me feeling confused or questioning the point. Once I read more reviews about the influences, themes and background information, I appreciated this book a lot more. I might re-read.

What I disliked: Warning: Very gross, heavy on body fluids. Some parts felt gross for gross sake and not pertinent to the story at times. I had to take a break after the first story.

This book is for you if… are looking for a gross, weird book for fall that is not cozy-cute for PSL season. For readers of Lapvona and A Certain Hunger.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Unnamed Press for the advanced reader copy of #TheCoiledSerpent.

I really enjoyed most of this short story collection. I enjoyed how the language have a highly visual quality, which makes the impact of the stories hit a lot harder. This was absolutely disgusting, disturbing and almost angry in a brilliant way. I loved how the stories seemed almost like Victorian children’s stories, but at the same time dealt with class- and gender differences in contemporary Britain. Some of the stories I felt were lacking, but there’s definitely stories in this collection that I will take with me forever. Some of my favourites were The Meat Eater, Description and History of a British Swimming Pool / Banya Banya!, and Ivor. I’m looking forward to read more from Grudova in the future.

3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher Unnamed Press for the advanced reader copy.

A gross, grotesque, and often grisly collection of short stories.

Grudova’s collection of short stories are vividly described, without becoming stomach churning. Walking the edge of grotesque and uncomfortable. The writing is simple and direct, which can add the to discomfort as you read.

I won’t recap all the stories as there are over a dozen, but some of the highlights for me were:

The Green Hat: a woman works for a chemist (in)famous for making a green poison, which has inevitably been used as a dye in furniture and fashion.
Madame Flora’s: it’s a woman and an eponymous tonic used to restore periods in young women. And several young women go to her hotel for treatment and recuperation. The women go on to try and restore, or remove, their periods through their own means.
The Poison Garden: a woman is hired by a museum and grows a poison garden. She becomes overly invested in a young couple staying nearby, and tries to figure out who’s stealing from her garden.

For anyone who’s read “Life Ceremony” by Sayaka Murata, this book is comparable and I’d recommend it.

Thanks to Carmella Grudova, Unnamed Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The mundane becomes grotesque and surreal.

This collection of short stories takes what is seemingly uninteresting but veers widely off course. The monotonous routines of everyday life, or the oppressive social constructs, play out in unsettling ways. The most stark examples of this are told in the stories of The Green Hat-a company create a deadly green dye that is quietly allowed to disappear, A Novel (Or Poem) About Fan, Aged 11 Years Or The Zoo- a woman becomes a painter’s muse, as does one of her daughter’s, The Surrogate- a woman agrees to be a surrogate for a couple but becomes unsatisfied with her pay, and Madame Flora’s- girls who no longer have periods are sent to a special school and must stay until they are normal again.

Every story in this collection is thought-provoking and leaves you wrestling with what has just unfolded, and its implications. Grudova’s prose is stark, sharp, and witty-juxtaposing the real with distortion in uncomfortable ways. This collection isn’t easily forgotten.

The Coiled Serpent
Publication Date: October 8, 2024

Thanks to Netgalley, Unnamed Press and Carmella Grudova for this ARC eBook in exchange for my honest review.

Ok, so ...

... not so sure I understood a handful of these ... but I enjoyed the ride, as a whole, nonetheless.

(It's like getting lost and having to take the "scenic route", only to discover you don't mind the detour, because of all the previously unnoticed beauty you find yourself surrounded by.)

I'll be eager to buy this collection, because there are stories within that I want to be able to more fully absorb. (Now that some of the weirdness and absurdity will be expected, I can be more properly packed for this trip.)

I can think of 5 people off the top of my head, as well as my mother's bookclub, that I'll be recommending this book to.

3.75 / 5
4 / 5

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the arc<3

Sad to report that I did not enjoy this.
The writing was very well done. There is clearly talent here in conveying deeply unsettling and dreary/ depressing settings, characters, and storylines. I enjoyed the surrealism vibes this gave off and often felt like these stories stuck with me like a bad dream. That being said, most of these stories felt kind of pointless to me. There are only a few that wrapped up in a satisfying way while the others ended abruptly with seemingly no rhyme or reason. The reliance on shock factor cheapened this collection greatly for me and just left me saying "ew" constantly, specifically with the HEAVILY repetitive mentions of "faeces" (seriously, it's mentioned in every story.) The ones I enjoyed the most were Ivor, The Green Hat, and The Poison Garden- they fell the most cohesive and meaningful while also making me deeply uncomfortable.

I can confidently say I have never read anything like The Coiled Serpent before and this collection of sixteen short stories embodies a vibes book where the vibes are both classy and gross. Camilla Grudova's writing is incredible with lush descriptions of all of the different horrors that occur in each story. Even when the stories do not necessarily go into stomach-churning territory, there's always something just a little bit wrong with everyone there.

The book starts off strong with Through Ceilings and Walls, where a woman ends up on a mysterious island trying to discover what’s going on there. She finds that all of the inhabitants worship The Crown, struggles to figure out the food situation and...somehow the plumbing is all…poop. It’s poop all the way down. Further into the book, in The Green Hat, we meet Angelica who works for a chemist responsible for making a particularly deadly, green poison and get to know the chemist and his motivations better as well. But perhaps my favorite story was Madame Flora's, both a tonic and a person, who restores menses in a world where women aren't allowed to eat meat or go to the bathroom in public.

If any of those tastes even begin to pique your interest, I would recommend the book - it made me literally feel sick to my stomach with the descriptions at times, but I couldn't help but keep going.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Unnamed Press for the advanced copy.

Bizarre, disturbing, gross - what the fuck did I just read

The Coiled Serpent is a weird collection of short stories, twisting at every turn. They sometimes left me confused as to what world and era they were set in, which made me feel incredibly uneasy (I loved it - there is a real sense of travel out of space and time). It's a 4/5 stars from me! Publishers, more of Camilla Grudova please!! Some of the stories' best parts include:

- a poem in binary, which wrapped up the whole story perfectly
- a bizarre and almost repulsive sexual theme, from descriptions of the characters' (mostly men) genitalia to the way they pleasure themselves
- a recurring cabinet of curiosities, displaying the most disgusting human beings on the planet
- the disorientation of the reader (me, lol) when confronted to unusual/insane behaviour and almost magical creatures - to quote one, a tiny man living in a cupboard, peeling oranges.

It scratched an itch in my brain I didn't know existed. More than this, what made the collection so enjoyable was the way in which the author delivers the atmosphere of the story in simple yet striking prose. Now I don't know if I was losing my mind by that point, but it felt like the stories were subtly connected, with bits I recalled from previous characters.
The only thing I think would have made the collection better is a more elevated language, especially with descriptions. Lots of 'there was', 'it was', 'they had'...etc. made the prose feel a bit heavy at points.

Read if you enjoy : American Horror Story, Tim Burton films, and Ottessa Moshfegh.

Content warning: mention of rape, sexual material, violence, miscarriage, and murder.

Thank you to The Unnamed Press for providing this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.
UK release date 8th October 2024.

Camilla Grudova has written a collection of the weirdest little stories that border on horror, gothic fiction and body horror.

While each story could be it's own book, there are consistent themes. All of which are a little weird - food like eggs and custard, school, blood, snot, and other human...secretions.

The writing is contemporary, and while kind of gross, very funny.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm sad to say this collection isn't for me. I love snakes and the cover is stunning, so I requested it hoping for some creepy horror stories, but the first story bored me to death.

There's something about this kind of writing style I can't connect with, but I know some people love the long winded and overly descriptive type of writing.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the ARC