Julia Armfield

In her brilliantly inventive and haunting debut collection of stories, Julia Armfield explores the body, mapping the skin and bones of her characters through their experiences of isolation, obsession, love and revenge.

Teenagers develop ungodly appetites, a city becomes insomniac overnight, and bodies are diligently picked apart to make up better ones. The mundane worlds of schools and sleepy sea-side towns are invaded and transformed, creating a landscape which is constantly shifting to hold on to its inhabitants. Blurring the mythic and the gothic with the everyday, "salt slow" considers characters in motion – turning away, turning back or simply turning into something new entirely.

Winner of The White Review Short Story Prize 2018, Armfield is a writer of sharp, lyrical prose and tilting dark humour – "salt slow" marks the arrival of an ambitious and singular new voice.

salt slow

This collection of short stories is about women and their experiences in society, about bodies and the bodily, mapping the skin and bones of its characters through their experiences of isolation, obsession and love. Throughout the collection, women become insects, men turn to stone, a city becomes insomniac and bodies are picked apart to make up better ones. The mundane worlds of schools and sea side towns are invaded and transformed, creating a landscape which is constantly shifting to hold on to the bodies of its inhabitants. Blending the mythic and the gothic, the collection considers characters in motion - turning away, turning back or simply turning into something new.

From Julia Armfield, the winner of The White Review Short Story Prize 2018, salt slow is an extraordinary collection of short stories that are sure to dazzle and shock.

Abigail Mills

We should get moving, he says, and she knows he is growing increasingly anxious of the scale of things, above and below. Sometimes they see lights below the water, the bioluminescence of anglerfish and vampire and ctl tent with one squid grown too large and too close to the surface. beside her an It occurs to her that all of them, birds and fish and sailors, have been out on the water too long. Her feet are growing webbed, although they don't talk about that. Sometimes at night he takes his apple knife to the delicate membranes between her toes, but they don't talk about that either. 

 his face is swollen and his lips are splitting at the sides. They are both lunatic on salt water. 

Revna

3.75 ★ - I went into this book completely blindly. I had no idea what it was about and that it was a set of short stories. I am not sure if it was just not the right moment for me to read these but I only ended up connecting to one story. I will however give her other books a go as I enjoyed the writing. 

Luna 🌙

Had I not known this was the author's debut, I would never have believed it. Her writing is just spectacular, and her out of the box way of descriptive writing captures the images perfectly, and genuinely pushes the boundaries of what being an author is.

Each of the stories were gripping in some way, which was a pleasant surprise as someone who does not read a lot of short story collections. Each one brought something new to explore, and they were all very well crafted. The way Julia Armfield intertwines realistic writing with body horror is utterly seamless, and I am honestly upset these aren't full length novels because I would have happily read 200 more pages of them all. It is a beautiful homage to the art of writing.

My favourite stories in the collection would have to be 'The Great Awake', 'Granite' and 'Cassandra After'. I thought they were fantastic explorations of wanting, desire and aloneness. I think, even now, 'The Great Awake' is the standout in this collection for me. I found it surprisingly relatable in an almost comforting way, but also in a way that made me painfully aware of the fact I could resonate with it. 

It is overall just a fantastic collection of short stories, and Armfield has given such a delicate and unique exploration of generally taboo topics. It is also, I have come to discover, the first time I have completely agreed with everything the reviews on the cover have told me, which is a very satisfying feeling. 

iris may

Had I not known this was the author's debut, I would never have believed it. Her writing is just spectacular, and her out of the box way of descriptive writing captures the images perfectly, and genuinely pushes the boundaries of what being an author is.

My Father's house was a strange place once partially deserted; yawn of space, hand held insufficiently over the mouth.

- Formerly Feral, page 60

Each of the stories were gripping in some way, which was a pleasant surprise as someone who does not read a lot of short story collections. Each one brought something new to explore, and they were all very well crafted. The way Julia Armfield intertwines realistic writing with body horror is utterly seamless, and I am honestly upset these aren't full length novels because I would have happily read 200 more pages of them all. It is a beautiful homage to the art of writing.

My favourite stories in the collection would have to be 'The Great Awake', 'Granite' and 'Cassandra After'. I thought they were fantastic explorations of wanting, desire and aloneness. I think, even now, 'The Great Awake' is the standout in this collection for me. I found it surprisingly relatable in an almost comforting way, but also in a way that made me painfully aware of the fact I could resonate with it. 

In the midst of all these haunted people, she sat alone, without a ghost yet longing for one, her writing like a clasp of fingers around empty air.

- The Great Awake, page 41

It is overall just a fantastic collection of short stories, and Armfield has given such a delicate and unique exploration of generally taboo topics. It is also, I have come to discover, the first time I have completely agreed with everything the reviews on the cover have told me, which is a very satisfying feeling. 

who is julia armfield? for the blind, she is the vision. for the hungry, she is the chef. for the thirsty, she is the water. if julia armfield thinks, i agree. if julia armfield speaks, i'm listening. if julia armfield writes horror-lgbtq-girlhood stories, i read all of them. if julia armfield has one fan, it is me. if julia armfield has no fans, it is because i no longer exist. if the world is against julia armfield, i'm against the world.

neri

Salt Slow is dark, twisted and intricate in a way that it is not something I would pick up in a normal day. But it is one of my partner's favourite books and I had the urge to read it because it's something that she likes. And oh, it was good! Like I said it's not a type of book I personally would read on a sunday: It's dark, it's detailed, it's a sort of horror I never thought I would read (love make us do unexpected things because i truly thought I would never read anything with horror elements) but its GOOD and i loved it. 

Beautifully written, the narrative and pace is very intriguing, detailed; and sometimes even poetic (which is something that I love). The stories are intricate and unique. The horror elements are incredibly well done, and even as someone who doesn't really read anything on the genre, I loved it!! 

The Great Awake and Cassandra After were my favourites. There is something domestic in a horror way about them. I will definitely read it again in a month, like I always do with books I've loved. 

"We didn’t talk much more, though she laughed when I said something flippant about not having anything for her to sleep in. In the morning, I told the woman messaging me on the dating site that I couldn’t talk to her just yet; I was sweeping the bones of a girl I had loved off the kitchen floor." Wau!! Loved it.

// thinking about it again since im starting my 2024 archive, so changing the rating!

Creeeepy collection of short stories. Makes your skin crawl, in a good way?

Molly Bridge

azliana aziz

"their pulsing bells like so many painful hearts"

make my heart sing

paula

i loved this with all my heart, girlhood and been a woman it’s bizarre, and scary, monstrous and beautiful

Lena

What a goddamn beautiful collection of short stories.

Armfield's gut-wrenchingly gorgeous style makes it impossible to not highlight this phrase or that sentence every other page because she simply has created a thing of wonder of this entire collection, such as:

 Our mouths gummed with slabs of cupcake, we pledge ourselves to impossible diets in the pursuit of desirability. We repeat the names of boys as we invoke the saints, coiling tongues around the ones we like the best.

or

 [The jellyfish] are translucent, almost spectral, as though the sea has exorcised its ghosts. Drowned in air, they break apart and bleed their interiors.

or the odd humorous

 'Well, what toppings do you feel like?'
'The flesh of righteous men.'
'I'll get you a Meat Feast.'

and so on and on and on. The style becomes the text and the two intertwine until it is impossible to entangle them.

I most likely should have spent at least another two hours pondering over this book due to the puzzling messages behind each short story and its metaphors and symbolism and such, but I was just so caught up in the magic and beauty of the stories that I simply could not stop reading.

But what a book... A perfect read in the summer heat: short and easy and gorgeous enough to have fun with it and not lose one's head in these dog days.

my highlights were definitely mantis and salt slow

Lorelei Petcu

i honestly? don't know whether i liked this collection of stories as a body of work? the premise of each short story was interesting enough, as they were attempts at portraying images of girldhood, as well as aspects of women’s identities and experiences that often get overlooked. however, the delivery of these concepts fell a little flat for me because it tries to hold an air of mystery, but only arrives at a half-baked idea just skirting the line towards vagueness.

it is surrealist in nature, so understandably there will be things up for interpretation. but for me, it almost felt like julia armfield took a step too far back and was unable to put any meat into her stories for readers to really chew on. the stories were fine, but i suppose it’s a matter of them not having anything special to warrant an absorbing experience. while it can be argued that short stories are not meant to feel “complete”, there was still a lot of potential depth to add to the stories. a short story has its limits, but it also poses great opportunities to play with the genre and engage a narrative within that form.

that said, i adore armfield’s writing voice. the way she uses words pushes the boundaries of word form and meaning, with the intent to give new life and structure to how words are used. she uses words like “aproned” to describe how fruit is laying on someone’s lap, designates smell to feel more like a “temperature”, and loneliness like a “taste” on the skin, among other things. the writing is gorgeous, transformative, and vigorous. and i think the writing itself was the only thing that sustained me to actually finish reading, as the rhythm of the stories were also getting a bit redundant by the latter half. i don’t hate it, but i’m not a big fan either. i guess i was hoping for salt slow to be something more than it is, but i will be looking out for armfield’s future works and hope that she can handle the premise of her stories with more care.

gabi

i honestly? don't know whether i liked this collection of stories as a body of work? the premise of each short story was interesting enough, as they were attempts at portraying images of girldhood, as well as aspects of women’s identities and experiences that often get overlooked. however, the delivery of these concepts fell a little flat for me because it tries to hold an air of mystery, but only arrives at a half-baked idea just skirting the line towards vagueness.

it is surrealist in nature, so understandably there will be things up for interpretation. but for me, it almost felt like julia armfield took a step too far back and was unable to put any meat into her stories for readers to really chew on. the stories were fine, but i suppose it’s a matter of them not having anything special to warrant an absorbing experience. while it can be argued that short stories are not meant to feel “complete”, there was still a lot of potential depth to add to the stories. a short story has its limits, but it also poses great opportunities to play with the genre and engage a narrative within that form.

that said, i adore armfield’s writing voice. the way she uses words pushes the boundaries of word form and meaning, with the intent to give new life and structure to how words are used. she uses words like “aproned” to describe how fruit is laying on someone’s lap, designates smell to feel more like a “temperature”, and loneliness like a “taste” on the skin, among other things. the writing is gorgeous, transformative, and vigorous. and i think the writing itself was the only thing that sustained me to actually finish reading, as the rhythm of the stories were also getting a bit redundant by the latter half. i don’t hate it, but i’m not a big fan either. i guess i was hoping for salt slow to be something more than it is, but i will be looking out for armfield’s future works and hope that she can handle the premise of her stories with more care.

another incredible short story collection about women and how society molds these experiences into a horror. 

Clara Gauthier

charisa

ugh you know that stomach-curdling feeling when you read something repugnant but you have morbid curiosity so you can’t look away……!!

this collection is definitely up there with murata’s earthlings and ogawa’s revenge in terms of gut-lurching, uncomfortable stories. it didn’t help that i was nauseoustired while reading most of it lol. coming a little belatedly to the realization that speculative horror isn’t really my thing. 

i’m struggling to rate this because i recognize that armfield’s prose is powerfully visceral and that her creativity illuminates those unsettling, hidden cracks in the human/female psyche, but also…. i would like to keep my dinner intact thanks

(3,5/5)

this was a really good collection of short stories and I hate that I didn't love it, but most of the stories just fell so flat. the author does a fantastic job at setting the tone and transporting you straight into that disturbing atmosphere, she builds upon it so beautifully, she constructs the characters and the stories so strongly... and then, the stories end so abruptly that you can't even enjoy the rest of the excellent story/building. some of the stories definitely needed that abrupt ending ("The Mantis", "Cassandra After", "Salt Slow", "Formally Feral"), but it doesn't work for the rest of them. I was particularly disappointed with "The Collectables" and "Stop Your Women's Ears With Wax", two stories that I was sure would become my favourites of the book based off on the slow building and reveals, but then the endings were so quick and underwhelming that they ruined the entire story for me. I think part of the reason why I didn't like them is because they were merely descriptive and didn't really involve the narrator/main character like the rest of the story did.

I still mostly enjoyed all the stories as they really reminded me of the atmosphere Mariana Enríquez sets in her books, which I highly recommend for enjoyers of the genre :)

Sarahi Flores

Wow. So I wasn’t really sure what I was going to read since I barely read the synopsis of this book. To be honest I kinda went in blind and I don’t usually do that. Main reason why I so was because I saw two bookstagrammers who recommended this book and when I saw this ebook on sale I couldn’t pass up on it lol. And you know what? I’m glad I got it and I’m happy to have included into my the for this year because this book was uniquely haunting.

With such descriptive and beautiful worded words, the short stories of Armfield were very good and somewhat dark. Dark meaning that it was creepy.

The first story definitely grabbed my attention. And of course the other stories were definitely something I couldn’t stop thinking. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. If you like short stories that are creepy well this is the right one for you.

Immediately recommend to anybody. The best short story collection I've read.

Alexia Cambaling

I picked up this book because I wanted to read some horror books for October and while this is a book of short stories which could be categorized as horror, I did not find it scary. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The short stories in this book are excellent, surreal, and weird. All of them are about women and it's kind of feminist, but I wouldn't call it an explicitly feminist collection. It's about feral women. It's a great collection and I recommend it but it's also a bit hard for me to describe. I can say though that it's the first short story collection that got me so hooked, I just went through it in a few hours.

If you like stories about teenage girls turning into monsters, lovers turning to stone, dead girlfriends returning, and rock bands with feral fanbases, I highly recommend this collection.

Leah 

erika s

Margo Koss

Cassie B

Marisa clarke

blake

Un’adolescente scopre che il suo corpo non cambia come quello delle compagne di classe. In una cittadina senza nome i Sonni degli abitanti si separano da loro proprio come l’ombra di Peter Pan, e all’improvviso tutti iniziano a soffrire d’insonnia. Un’invasione di meduse diventa metafora di vita in un fiammeggiante paesaggio estivo. E poi una donna che adotta un lupo, groupie scatenate che vogliono tutto dai musicisti che adorano, e una coppia alla deriva su una barca in mezzo al mare sconfinato che affronta il disgregarsi di un legame e del mondo. Personaggi in perenne movimento e in continua trasformazione, personaggi isolati, ossessionati, innamorati, che fanno del loro corpo un vessillo. Julia Armfield mescola i generi più diversi, distopia, fantascienza, racconto gotico e miti classici, fino a comporre storie sconvolgenti che hanno la vividezza dei sogni, e degli incubi.

salt slow

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