Salt Slow by
julia Armfield is this hauntingly beautiful collection of short stories that lingers in your mind like a half-remembered dream. The book weaves together themes of transformation, body horror, and the uncanny, all wrapped in Armfield's lyrical prose. One standout story, 'Mantis,' follows a woman whose body begins to change in grotesque, insect-like ways after a breakup—it’s visceral and strangely poetic, like watching a metamorphosis you can’t look away from. Another, 'The Great Awake,' explores a world where people’s sleep becomes a physical entity that wanders off without them,
leaving them exhausted and
Haunted. The stories all have this eerie, feminist undertone, questioning what it means to inhabit a body, especially a female one, in a world that often feels hostile or
Alien.
Armfield’s writing is dense with
atmosphere; even the mundane feels charged with something sinister. In 'Smack,' a group of girls ritualistically hurt themselves to stay thin, while 'Formerly Feral' reimagines motherhood through the lens of a woman raising a child who might not be entirely human. The collection isn’t just about horror—it’s about vulnerability, longing, and the ways we’re all a little monstrous underneath. I devoured it in one sitting, but some images stuck with me for weeks. If you’re into weird, speculative fiction with emotional depth, this is a must-read.