This was a fab wee collection of some of the weirdest, grossest and creepiest short stories I’ve ever read. Really want to read her other works now.

Unfortunately, I was unable to download this book before it was archived and so am leaving this as a review/explanation as I didn't know what else to do after finding a few books I had managed to miss in a section of my account entitled Not Active: Archived, Not Downloaded; so I thought it best to clear it up. I have already bought a copy and will leave a review on places like Amazon, Goodreads, Waterstones, etc, once I've completed it and formed my thoughts on it. Apologies for any inconvenience and thank you for the opportunity.

The Coiled Serpent is a chilling collection of short stories, vile and grotesque in all the best ways, a real treat of a book for fans of Mariana Enriquez and Cursed Bunny. These stories are bizarre, nightmarish and sometimes truly sickening. I did find one or two a little filler-feeling, but the majority are truly high quality writing and gorgeously executed stories. I would definitely recommend this to lovers of weird, horror fiction and it ranks highly alongside other short story compilations that I have read recently.

A fun collection of grisly and surprisingly custard-heavy stories. I like Grudova's writing and this was mostly an enjoyable read, but I just found some of the stories a bit slight and didn't get too much from them. I realise too that it's an odd criticism to complain that short stories were too short, and so there's probably a very real element of "it's not you, it's me" here - I think more keen short story lovers will find a lot more to enjoy here.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-ARC

Having read Grudova’s previous work, I knew going into this that it would be a gnarly, gross book and I’m glad to discover I was correct. Incredibly readable whilst also being grim enough to take a few breaks here and there, I loved these short stories - Ivor being my favourite, being ominously creepy yet also quite innocent at the same time. I’ve read both Children of Paradise & The Doll’s Alphabet and although I think her novel to be my favourite by her, this is an excellent book.

A collection of strange, disgusting little stories.

Like other reviews, I wish there had been fewer stories but that some be fleshed out further. For the most part, the longer stories were the strongest for me. Grudova’s comment on capitalism, misogyny, greed and modern Britain were astute and elevated the collection.

I think fans of horror and gothic literature will find lots to like here - rich in themes. I think sometimes the references went over my head as it isn’t really my genre, but I could see there are depths to this collection to accessible to me that will be a delight to other readers.

It was the first I’ve read Grudova and I am intrigued.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

The Coiled Serpent by Camilla Grudova
Publication date: 2 November 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
~~~~~
A little girl throws up Gloria-Jean's teeth after an explosion at the custard factory. 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.
~~~~~
Book 100! 😊 And seeing as I'm in my short story collection era (Sandra's version) this was a very fitting 100th read of the year.
But oh boy, it was weird, and it was gross.
I will give the same warning here as I did for Grudova's Children of Paradise (which was longlisted for this year's Women's Prize) - if you are at all squeamish about bodily fluids, excretions and suspicious substances, stay away from this book!
There were some very salient points made about poverty, classism, the oppression of the working class but I kinda lost sight of them and got distracted by trying to keep a tally of whether fecal matter made an appearance in every story in this book (the answer, Dear Reader, is *almost* every story...)
And yet, I was fascinated! I read this book in pretty much one sitting; I could not put it down. It is macabre, grotesque, gross and WEIRD! But the weirdness and the writing really did it for me. This book will not be for everybody but I will brace myself (and my stomach 🤢) and I will definitely read more from this author.
My favourite stories were The Green Hat, where revenge is a dish best served cold and Hoo Hoo, a weird, and quite sad, dystopian little tale.
~~~~~

I love weird fiction; I love body horror; I love short stories. On paper, Camila Grudova’s new collection of short stories should be right up my alley. They feature a lot of strange characters, a lot of horrible situations, and a lot of custard – again, weird! But for whatever reason, I couldn’t connect to this short collection at all. It felt weird for weird’s sake in many places, rather than making a larger point – maybe I don’t understand surrealism and that’s on me, but I often found myself wondering “what is the point of this?” at the end of individual stories.

The stories are surrealist in their outlook for sure; there are repeated motifs that are strange but compelling – eggs, custard, horse glue. Some of the stories are just a few pages; they feel like fragments, almost unfinished. There are a few flashes of brilliance in the collection; I loved the first few especially The Custard Factory and The Green Hat, two stories which felt pro-worker and anti-capitalism in an explicit way – something I’ve come to associate with Grudova after her novella, Children of Paradise. I enjoyed those as I found meaning in them, as well as feeing entertained and grossed out.

Many of the stories in the collection ticked all the boxes, some of the stories tip along nicely, and all are interesting, but overall the collection left me frustrated. Too many stories felt slightly half-baked, finishing seemingly out of nowhere; others felt pointless, like the author had an idea or an image and struggled to create something larger from it.

Overall, I think the collection felt rushed and would have been stronger with less stories, but more fleshed-out ones. I’ll still read Grudova’s work – apparently her debut short story collection is far better than this one – but unfortunately this collection was a disappointment for me.

Fantastic to be back in Camilla's mind after favourite Children of Paradise Women's Prize Longlisted book.

Absolutely brilliant, intensely cumpulsive, gothic, macabre set of short stories.

Recommend if you like to dip into a book, to take you away into another world. Each of the stories quickly pull you into other's dystopic lives.

Would read anything Camilla Grudova writes.

Thanks to #AtlanticBooks & #Netgalley for allowing me to review pre publication date shared on social media, Amazon, Waterstones, Goodreads & Storygraph.

Each narrative stands alone, connected solely by a few repeating elements, such as custard, boarding school, eggs, the color green, and Rupert Bear, which play a significant part in some and are referenced in passing in others. Much of Grudova's literature, like the finest horror, is an arching commentary on current society, examining issues like as sexism and the misery of the working poor.

Each tale in the book contrasts the completely commonplace with the fantastical, which is utilized to great effect in Ivor, which takes the clichés of a classic school story and plays with them with humorous and horrific effects. Many are disturbing yet presented in a light, comical manner; others contain all the visceral gore, body horror, and offhand violence of a splatter film. The former was far more fun in my opinion, albeit this is just subjective. Grudova's writing was crisp, humorous, and sarcastic!

Grudova’s short stories are only occasionally set in our world, and lean more heavily on vibes than solid plot, meaning that they make very little sense at times but I did enjoy the dark grossness of a lot of them even if I didn’t love them.

Fresh off her women's prize longlisted book, Children of Paradise, Camilla Grudova comes back with a collection of short stories centred around bodies and bodily functions. Grudova explores the chaos of the world through the way bodies work, don't work, and what bodies leave behind. I found this collection of stories challenging because I'm not a fan of body horror, so some of the stories were a bit rough for me, but Grudova's talent as a writer got me through those moments. She has a fantastic eye for a sharp bit of dialogue and amusing moment within the shock of all the gross and shocking details It's an emotionally demanding, but ultimately rewarding book.

Unfortunately this will have to be another DNF (at 60%) because this stories are not bringing me any joy, any enjoyment at all!

Magical realism, horror, macabre and grotesque, all things(themes) I enjoy reading, yet none, and I truly mean none, of the stories I've read from The Coiled Serpent touched me in any way! I found that the form and the shock factor took precedence over plot and/or emotionally reaching the reader. A shame...

Truly grotesque and genuinely wonderful. Grudova is one of the most promising authors out there at the moment and I adore that I can never tell what she's going to do next.

I wanted to like this book a lot since I enjoy reading modern horror, but it falls in the body horror category a bit too much for me.

Fans of the bizarre mixed with dystopian gothic horror will love these.. They are well written and do pack a punch.. Ultimately not entirely my thing although I'm glad I have read the book. Morbidly fascinating in both a good and bad way but the bad is quite good

Overall 3.5/5 stars

This collection of short stories delves into the macabre, the startling and the strange; conjuring up visceral imagery and strikingly lasting emotional responses to the absurd and odd scenes that lay ahead.

From cursed hotels, to gardens of poisons, to a custard factory after an explosion, Grudova takes us on a journey to the uncanny valley where things are uncomfortably similar to modern day Britain but something is always just not quite right. Underneath the disturbing visuals and gothic storytelling is a scathing and incisive exploration into contemporary life, the anxieties and fears of the modern person and the terrifying oppression that power can deliver from above.

Every story has its own uniqueness, some with narrative structure, some feeling more like a string of thoughts or a moment in time - but all of them have that odd charm that makes this book to undeniably intriguing. It spans genres from fantasy, to gore, to social realism but they’re all tied together with that mesmerising voice.

I haven’t had the pleasure … or the discomfort of reading this author before, but I will definitely be doing so in the future.

3.25 stars

Hello yes, I just have one question - what the actual fuck?

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC in exchange for me being thoroughly and utterly grossed out! I haven’t read Grudova’s first collection OR Children of Paradise, but I’m not sure that I would have been anymore prepared for The Coiled Serpent if I had. Every possible taboo you could think of is covered in these stories, every bodily fluid, every fucked up thing a person could do to another person, it’s all here. Grudova is clearly all about pushing boundaries, but I did often find myself asking what the point in some of the stories was. I’m quite a literal person, and so I’m always trying to figure out if there is a ~message~ or if these stories were just grotesque for the sake of it, to let the author’s creative juices flow. And lots of juices are indeed flowing, let me tell you 😩
.
The stories do differ, but they all play on similar themes - creepy houses, oppressed & used women, food scarcity, revenge and unrequited sexual obsession. I wouldn’t consider myself a squeamish reader but my honestly this collection had me feeling physically nauseous more than once. My favourite stories were the less in-your-face shock value ones. The Green Room, for instance, where a woman whose daughter was killed due to a chemist’s negligence plays a long game of revenge. Or The Poison Garden, where a custodian of a Tudor house cultivates a garden full of poisonous plants which a young man thieves to nefarious and sinister ends.
.
Towards the end of the collection, the stories start getting more extreme, think cannibalism, self-combusting bodies, and I started to feel a bit drained from the constant gore. I prefer my dark stories to be a little subtler, I think!
.
Overall I’d say a mixed bag, but Grudova’s creativity and sense of atmosphere has got me curious about picking up her earlier works sooner rather than later!

Camilla Grudova's The Coiled Serpent is a collection of enchantingly bizarre short stories that encompass horror, dystopia and gothic fiction.

Each story stands alone, linked to the others only by a handful of recurring motifs - such as custard, boarding school, eggs, the colour green and Rupert Bear - which have a central role in some stories and are mentioned in passing in others. Like all the best horror, much of Grudova's writing is an arched commentary on contemporary society, exploring themes such as misogyny and the plight of the working poor.

Each story in the collection juxtaposes the utterly mundane and the fantastical, used to marvellous effect in Ivor, which takes the tropes of a vintage school story and plays with them with hilarious, horrifying results. Many are unsettling but are described with a light, whimsical touch; others have all the visceral gore, body horror and offhand violence of a splatter picture. I found the former much more enjoyable, though admittedly that is very much a personal preference.

I found Grudova's writing to be sharp, witty and irreverent, and I will certainly be seeking out her previous work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

Surreal and unsettling body horror extravaganza. This was a delight! It belongs on autumnal horror reading lists. I definitely liked some stories more than others ("The Poison Garden"? Haven't gotten over it yet) but I really feel like it has something for most people - just maybe not for anyone who's very squeamish or easily disturbed.