salt slow

By: Julia Armfield

Narrated by: Kristin Atherton

"Artistic and perceptive, Armfield’s debut explores the ebbs and flows of human connection in lives touched by the bizarre." - Kirkus

From White Review Short Story Prize winner Julia Armfield, a brilliant, provocative debut story collection for fans of Carmen Maria Machado and Kelly Link.

In her electrifying debut, Julia Armfield explores women’s experiences in contemporary society, mapped through their bodies. As urban dwellers’ sleeps become disassociated from them, like Peter Pan’s shadow, a city turns insomniac. A teenager entering puberty finds her body transforming in ways very different than her classmates’. As a popular band gathers momentum, the fangirls following their tour turn into something monstrous. After their parents remarry, two step-sisters, one a girl and one a wolf, develop a dangerously close bond. And in an apocalyptic landscape, a pregnant woman begins to realize that the creature in her belly is not what she expected.

Blending elements of horror, science fiction, mythology, and feminism, salt slow is an utterly original collection of short stories that are sure to dazzle and shock, heralding the arrival of a daring new voice.

Praise for salt slow:

“Visceral, fierce, and beautifully unsettling, Armfield’s writing has an astonishing power. This collection haunted me with its brilliance.” — Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory

“Armfield is an enormous, gut-wrenching talent.” — Daisy Johnson, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Everything Under

©2019 Julia Armfield (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Surreal, muscular stories…Fusing genres with supernatural grace, Armfield takes the discourse about inhabiting a female body to spooky, surprising places.” —Esquire (“Most Anticipated Books of Fall”)

“Immediately calls to mind the slippery short stories of Carmen Maria Machado and Angela Carter in its gothic treatment of common girlish concerns, from puberty—a girl’s skin literally molts right before she’s kissed—to boyfriends who turn to stone. It’s the kind of quiet, meticulously crafted collection that’s a sign of even greater writing to come.” —BuzzFeed (“Most Anticipated Books of Fall”)

“Unsettling, uncanny, and utterly delightful… Armfield occasionally deploys startling, stunning turns of phrase…Razor-sharp, stylish, and imaginative, Armfield’s collection is a dazzling introduction to a talented writer.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Lovely and haunting

It has been awhile since I listened to this collection of stories, but some of them—the title story in particular—haunts me. These are modern Lovecraftian gems and Julia Armfield joins the very small list of modern writers whose work I will will always buy!

Haunting

Every line of this book is quotable. Julia Armfield is insanely talented at describing human emotions and experiences. The narrator is also so good at bringing this book to life.

spooky and fantastic

this book is a serious of short stories that are incredibly unsettling and interesting. they suck you in and have twists in the end that leave you unsettled in the best way.

Odd & Incredibly Moving

This was my second Julia Armfield book after reading Our Wives Under the Sea last year. I will never get enough of her writing, she truly builds worlds. Fantastic narration as well.

X-Files meets feminism

if the X-Files were a feminist show it might look like this collection. it's a fascinating, sometimes creepy and almost Ramsey Campbellesque excursion. the stories each have what might be called a feminist bent (I'm a guy so I'm reluctant to presume). In an interesting way some of the stories kind of "fail" the Bechdel test, since most of them focus on the role of men and women's lives; but they undermine it and turn it on its head by presenting things through the feminist lens. at least that's my take. None of it is as heady as that sounds. They are just really good stories. there was only one in the entire collection that I thought was just okay, and that's a pretty darn good track record. I look forward to more from this wonderful writer!