Name: Peach
ISBN: 9781408886519

EMMA. GLASS

An astonishing debut by a visionary new voice; 'A strange and original work of art' - George Saunders, winner of the 2017 Man Booker Prize 'Ferocious, startling, all-consuming' Daisy Johnson, author of Fen 'Poetic' Independent 'The language is scintillating, the emotional heft remarkable' Observer 'Daring' Sunday Times Peach is a teenage girl like any other. She has college, and her friends, and her parents and the new baby, and her gorgeous boyfriend Green. She has her friend Sandy, and Sid the cat, and homework to do. But something has happened - something unspeakable - and her world has become unfamiliar, fractured into strange textures and patterns. Reeling through her refracted universe, Peach knows that the people she loves are in danger, real danger. If she is not to be swallowed whole, Peach must summon all her courage and dig deep into something nameless and strange that lies within her.

Peach

Emma Glass

Introducing a dazzling new literary voice--a wholly original novel as groundbreaking as the works of Eimear McBride and Max Porter. Something has happened to Peach. Staggering around the town streets in the aftermath of an assault, Peach feels a trickle of blood down her legs, a lingering smell of her anonymous attacker on her skin. It hurts to walk, but she manages to make her way to her home, where she stumbles into another oddly nightmarish reality: Her parents can't seem to comprehend that anything has happened to their daughter. The next morning, Peach tries to return to the routines of her ordinary life, going to classes, spending time with her boyfriend, Green, trying to find comfort in the thought of her upcoming departure for college. And yet, as Peach struggles through the next few days, she is stalked by the memories of her unacknowledged trauma. Sleeping is hard when she is haunted by the glimpses of that stranger's gaping mouth. Working is hard when her assailant's rancid smell still fills her nostrils. Eating is impossible when her stomach is swollen tight as a drum. Though she tries to close her eyes to what has happened, Peach at last begins to understand the drastic, gruesome action she must take. In this astonishing debut, Emma Glass articulates the unspeakable with breathtaking verve. Intensely physical, with rhythmic, visceral prose, Peach marks the arrival of a visionary new voice.

azliana aziz

grotesque imagery. and some interesting allegory with how the characters were named and characterized.

Charlotte Dann

I feel distressingly ambivalent about this. Some aspects are one star, others are five. An enigma.

'An immensely talented young writer ... Her fearlessness renews one's faith in the power of literature' George Saunders, author of Lincoln in he Bardo, winner of the 2017 Man Booker PrizeSomething has happened to Peach. It hurts to walk but she staggers home to parents that don't seem to notice. They can't keep their hands off each other and, besides, they have a new infant, sweet and wobbly as a jelly baby. Peach must patch herself up alone so she can go to college and see her boyfriend, Green. But sleeping is hard when she is haunted by the gaping memory of a mouth, and working is hard when burning sausage fat fills her nostrils, and eating is impossible when her stomach is swollen tight as a drum. In this dazzling debut, Emma Glass articulates the unspeakable with breath-taking clarity and verve. Intensely physical, with rhythmic, visceral prose, Peach marks the arrival of a visionary new voice.

nora <3

definitely read trigger warnings before reading this, it was graphic and sometimes very disturbing. but i liked the book

Becca W

A cross between a slam poem and a short novel. Hard to tell what was really happening plot-wise and what was symbolism and imaginations stemming from Peach’s trauma. The use of alliteration, punchy repetitive words and gruesome details makes this short read extremely interesting and unlike anything I’ve read before.

Ruth Parker 

I wanted to like this so badly. I loved the description on the back cover. I felt like it would be moving, innovative, exciting.

Instead I found myself feeling physically sick throughout. The imagery used - while interesting and memorable - turned my stomach so badly, it’s been almost a month since I read it and I still can’t look at sausages. 

The writing was good. Lyrical. Interesting.

But it’s not for the faint hearted. It really is sickening.

Erin.

Peach is a difficult book to read, stomach churning and heart rending as it is, and I think it benefits from being read in one sitting, if possible. Over the course of the read, Glass incites in us, the reader, a sense of confused panic. The text is a stream of emotional consciousness that doesn't always make perfect sense, but which serves to give the narrative a feeling of being raw and unrefined. I was sickened and saddened, infuriated and awed by this book. I was deeply moved by it, and I won't soon forget it. 

Peach

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