A unique vampire novel full of eroticism and feminist rage ... This gripping tale is full of queer representation and lush, lyrical passages, all while exploring death with an air of nihilism.
The book is excellent in its thesis (fiery gothic melodrama) and antithesis (icy modern ennui) but suffers a bit in the synthesis, when the two main characters meet and are immediately mutually obsessed ... Despite its slight missteps in structure, a visceral, powerful novel about the all-encompassing presence of death.
A vivid portrait of a nameless young woman forced into the world of the undead ... Mesmerizingly translated by Cleary, Yuszczuk’s prose is meticulous, vibrant, propulsive, and masterfully paced.
The novel takes its time, building gradually to the electric moment when the two women finally meet, but it struggles with pacing and tends to tell readers about its world rather than show them. What truly shines are the author’s knowledge of vampire lore and her dedication to creating a monster who could easily join the ranks of Dracula and Nosferatu.
Atmospheric but muddled and meandering ... This failure of authorial research and imagination characterizes the vampiric monologue: a string of implausible sex-and-murder tableaux heavily inflected by de Sade and Angela Carter, all poetically but superficially described and building to nothing.
