The Coiled Serpent

An arresting, discomforting collection from 'one of Britain's best young short story writers' (Daily Telegraph) that revels in the rotten and festers in the imagination.

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LONGLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2024
GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

A little girl throws up Gloria-Jean's teeth after an explosion at the custard factory; Pax, Alexander, and Angelo are hypnotically enthralled by a book that promises them enlightenment if they keep their semen inside their bodies; Victoria is sent to a cursed hotel for ailing girls when her period mysteriously stops. 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.

In Grudova's unforgettably surreal style, these stories expose the absurdities behind contemporary ideas of
work, Britishness and art-making, to conjure a singular, startling strangeness that proves the deft skill of a writer
at the top of her game.