Salt Slow
Books | Fiction / Short Stories (single author)
4
(61)
Julia Armfield
In her brilliantly inventive and haunting debut collection of stories, Julia Armfield explores the body, mapping the skin and bones of her characters through their experiences of isolation, obsession, love and revenge.'Wickedly clever prose and a sense of humour that seems to loom up like a character in itself' – M John Harrison, GuardianTeenagers develop ungodly appetites, a city becomes insomniac overnight, and bodies are diligently picked apart to make up better ones. The mundane worlds of schools and sleepy sea-side towns are invaded and transformed, creating a landscape which is constantly shifting to hold on to its inhabitants.Blurring the mythic and the gothic with the everyday, Salt Slow considers characters in motion – turning away, turning back or simply turning into something new entirely.Winner of The White Review Short Story Prize, Armfield is a writer of sharp, lyrical prose and tilting dark humour.'Salt Slow is exemplary. A distinct new gothic, melancholy, powerful and poised.' – China Miéville, author of The City & The City'The stories in this collection look at women’s bodies and their experiences in society with an eerie, otherworldly lense . . . For fans of Carmen Maria Machado, Sophie Mackintosh and Megan Hunter' –Elle
AD
Buy now:
More Details:
Author
Julia Armfield
Pages
160
Publisher
Pan Macmillan
Published Date
2019-05-30
ISBN
1529012589 9781529012583
Community ReviewsSee all
"Everything in these stories is so thick and visceral you can practically chew on it as you read. Great collection of short stories!"
C
CaitVD
"Average Rating Per Story: 4.0 Stars (9 Stories)
Favorite story: Formally Feral. This was a stand-out one for me; it was of good length and hella disturbing. Par for the course when it comes to this collection. I loved our MC, who is not popular or pleasant. Another par for the course. Aspects of this story have stuck with me since I've read it. The wolf idea freaks me out, an animal slowly becoming a possessive, weird sister. I don't know how, but it was painted somewhat realistically, making it frightening. Don't keep wild animals as pets, y'all. It's just not a good idea.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
My least favorite story: Smack. this one didn't hit me in any way. It's about a woman getting over her divorce. She's never taken care of herself before. So she's living in filth and holed up in her ex's beach house. I didn't connect with her at any point. I don't know what the story was trying to prove. It was gross and feminist, but she felt more pathetic to me than anything. The ending felt cliche as well. 2/5 stars
Overall Impressions: Armfield reminds me of the two Eric LaRocca books I've read. She almost solely writes disturbing characters and prose. I don't think I could come up with gross details like hers even if I wanted to. The significant difference is Armfield writes tremendous feministic stories. Every story in this collection has a female MC, and every single one isn't your cookie-cutter stereotypical girl. I found beauty in this and liked that this collection had a voice. Some stories were better than others, which is what will happen when you read a collection. But I liked the book overall.
"Stop your women's ears with wax" was a close second in my favorites, although I won't leave a full review. I found the cultish feministic story about the power of music and mob mentality to ring with me. It was a hard decision between that and "Formally Feral" as my favorite. "Salt Slow" was also very good, although I felt it hard to connect with the main character"
Cole Johnson
"I listened to the audiobook while driving the Oregon coastline (immediately after finishing Our Wives Under the Sea). Each story is in some way about female transformation. Many are melancholy, all are interesting and beautifully written. "
Inana Berry