If you're a lover of weird fiction then you need to add Paradise Rot to your TBR! Translated from the Norwegian by Marjam Idriss, this book sees Jo move to a new country for university where she moves into an open-plan flat with a slightly older woman. Decay ensues.

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It's hard to put into words exactly why I enjoyed this one so much. It's gross. Some adjectives that spring to mind are leaky, slimy, sticky, putrid, decomposed, damp, acrid... That should give you enough of a picture! And yet Hval's writing had me under a weird, foul-smelling spell of sorts. It's only a short novel anyway, but I read it in about an hour and a half, I was so lost in Jo's world, halfway between dream and reality.

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Hval evokes all the senses so strongly, but especially smell and hearing. It's obvious that her background is in music as she is clearly fascinated by sound. Can sounds make a person feel claustrophobic? Is there a word for that? Because that's how I felt reading this book, all the tiny sounds shared by Jo and Carral in their brewery-turned-flat become amplified, overwhelming the senses.

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I definitely wouldn't recommend this to everyone, but I think you'll know if it sounds like something up your alley. With themes of sexual awakening and queer desire, this is a dark little book with a lot to offer! It's one of those books where I think you'd pick up something new each time you read it. Thank you @lunchpoems for sending me this and for introducing me to the term 'eco-gothic'