Book description
In the vein of The Pisces and The Vegetarian, Chlorine is a debut novel that blurs the line between a literary coming-of-age narrative and a dark unsettling horror tale, told from an adult perspective on the trials and tribulations of growing up in a society that puts pressure on young…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Chlorine as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I found myself surprisingly captivated by this present-day body horror mermaid transformation tale focused on a high school swim team.
This novel follows a gradual decline from an everyday reality towards an increasingly unhinged climax, and I appreciated how slowly this sneaks up on you. Even though the book makes no secret of where it’s ultimately going, I was still pleasantly surprised about how we got there and the weirdness of the ending.
The sapphic relationship between the protagonist and her best friend is a key throughline, with an interesting dichotomy between the best friend’s long-term adoration and the protagonist’s…
From Ephiny's list on speculative books with sapphic main characters.
In this slow-burn literary horror, Ren Yu is an obsessive swimmer on her high school team. But beyond these human concerns, she is convinced that she is actually a mermaid. Her determination to assume her true form comes with no reservations, and she will achieve her transformation by any means necessary.
This book is strange. It’s both lyrical in some places and purposefully dry in others. It is an examination of an obsessive descent into madness, working to draw the reader into the protagonist’s unsettling perspective.
I found myself falling into Ren Yu’s world and swimming in her insanity, which…
From Iphigenia's list on reading like Wednesday Addams and indulging your dark side.
If you love Chlorine...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
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