Paradise Rot A Novel

Disclaimer: this is not a review.

The Return to the Body. It didn't feel like a novel, it felt like an odd pop song. And I mean it as a compliment. It also highlights my favourite thing about words. The book itself had such an intense book smell which made so much sense.

Yeah, that could roughly summarise the UK uni experience, I guess.

"Paradise Rot" has a very interesting way of describing sexuality through viscerality; it is a particular mindset you have to be. It is a semi-dream (nightmare) sequence which Hval executes with ease. It is also a sensory experience of a novella - smells, texture, colour. Perhaps that is why we also have all the mentions of piss - it is such a distinct liquid with which everyone is familiar (one could argue, while blood imagery may feel more impactful, how often do we - and excuse the weirdness of this - know or see the blood of others, in a way as intimate as the moments of peeing in this novel?) (I cannot believe I had that thought nor that I wrote this review).

i feel like i can smell this book

A decent and quick read. I enjoyed how increasingly dreamy and disturbing it got. However, I was under the impression it would a queer horror, and I'd say it barely leans into either of those which is a little disappointing.

wow it’s so great and disgusting

not enough piss, maybe that’s why it was so dry

If rotting in bed was taken literally.

Weird, gross, damp, moldy and deeply atmospheric.

So. Much. Piss.

Came for the vibes, stayed for the piss (which I could’ve handled more of btw!)

Based on my love of gay & weird books, I thought this would be a home run. But, the lack of plot and personality from any character made this nearly insufferable.

moist needs to be one of the book description words

that.. was... a vibe..., a rotting one. i commend Hval's atmosphere game. it's a whirlpool to another dimension full of rotting moldy stinky sticky (n mb kinky) things, kinda psychedelic, with real fungi mushrooming here and there. but well, there's a charm in bizarre disturbing things and this was quite a meta sensory experience.

piss kink.

The writing was equal parts beautiful and bizarre. My rating would probably be higher if not for the heavy-emphasis on urine and that one scene

Un libro que puedes oler. Una historia animal, feral y extraña que te permite identificar todo eso dentro de ti.

gross! enjoyed it

Too weird

✦ strangely in love with this book ✦ 1-sitting read ✦ a 𝙢𝙤𝙞𝙨𝙩, modern version of eden ✦ milton found weeping, turning in his grave ✦ alexa, play in a week by hozier

sticky icky ooey gooey yucky and yummy but a lil too much piss-y

A lyrical fever dream! Blurred lines, deep yearning, subtle horror, explicit surrealism, and sensual descriptions. I felt the humidity, moss, skin, and, yes...if you've read any other reviews...multiple liquids.

As a Norwegian musician turned writer, this novel reads appropriately like poetry, like chronological puzzle pieces of a songwriter’s drafted verses, with the threading through-line of character. It is more lyric and consciousness than story, which some of my favorite books tend to be. The ominous haunting of rotting, both physical and emotional, is a particularly poetic inclusion—I am a fan of the way it is both metaphoric and real, both inferred and explicit. I found myself wanting more, so much more, particularly between Jo and Carral, somtimes to the point where the narrative became frustrating, but it is clear from the beginning that more could never be, something would always be rotten there, and Jo enjoyed the ride, which is all a reader can ask for, I suppose. Jo as a narrator (& Jenny Hval as writer, Marjam Idriss as translator) proves to be a unique voice I wouldn’t necessarily be immediately drawn to, had this book not been on a reading list I found, but I am glad to have read it. While it’s not a book I see myself picking up again, it is an excellent point of reference for the way a motif can build and build and build until the motif itself is more important than anything else. The novel is less story and narrative and more viscera, grotesque; a surrealist painting of a rotten paradise.

Deeply unsettling, but i did enjoy it

Strange as promised, pacing was a bit off. I also feel as though with the story i was given, it could have been consolidated into a short story.

Lots of buildup to the surrealism and subtle horror towards the end, wish those elements had been integrated throughout the narrative. Beautiful and intriguing writing throughout. Maybe it just needs a second pass. But love the themes of unhinged queer desire, distorting realities, and dreamlike qualities of your early 20s life.

To much piss

Fermented, vivid, and layered. About the nature of desire, boundaries and the expressive materiality of things — that which Jenny Hval masterfully helps to see anew. Reminds me of my favourite Hval's songs: That Battle Is Over, Take Care of Yourself, High Alice. Loved the ending!