Review: Paradise Rot: A Novel, by Jenny Hval, 2018

Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Paradise Rot: A Novel, by Jenny Hval, 2018

Right off the bat, if bodily fluids, particularly urine, gross you out, this book isn't for you. The author is clearly obsessed with urine and intricately details activities involved in the act of pissing.

The story is a sexual self-discovery of a young Norwegian college girl, Jo, who is studying biology abroad in Britain. There she meets a girl, Carral, slightly older than her, who she becomes obsessed with. She shares an apartment in a converted brewery with Carral and starts a peculiar three-way affair with a studly male neighbor named Pym.

The writing is surreal and exquisitely detailed with the grotesque banalities of human existence: mold, decay, and urine. The prose evokes striking images, from rotting slimy apples to a man exposing himself on a train. 

I rate this book 4.75 out of 5 stars.

#MagicalRealism #LGBTliterature #LGBT

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Review: Yellow Jessamine, by Caitlin Starling, 2020

Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Yellow Jessamine, by Caitlin Starling, 2020

Yellow Jessamine is a fantasy horror novella with sapphic undertones that started strong. The atmospheric details, creepy vibes, and strong plot teased for a fantastic ending but ended up venturing into the "left field."

I enjoyed this intense novella-- filled with fierce lesbians, poisonous herbal gardens, and a mysterious creepy sickness; it's a have-to-read book.

I rate this novella 4.25 out of 5 stars.

"Evelyn Perdanu is a shipping magnate, the only living survivor of her family. She walks the city veiled and hidden away from the eyes of those around her. Her country is slowly dying, rotting away like food left out to spoil. Arriving from her last voyage, she discovers that a plague has visited her city, which is traced back to her crew. They act erratically and slip into catatonia. She begins to investigate the plague as much for the city's sake and those in it as for her own company and family name. What she finds is complicated and horrific." -- from the book jacket

#YellowJessamine #CaitlinStarling #LGBTQ

 

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