Grudova, Camilla – The Bell Bookshop

The coiled serpent

Emma — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

LONGLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2024GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 A little girl throws up Gloria-Jean’s teeth after an explosion at the custard factory; Pax, Alexander, and Angelo are hypnotically enthralled by a book that promises them enlightenment if they keep their semen inside their bodies; Victoria is sent to a cursed hotel for ailing girls when her period mysteriously stops. In a damp, putrid spa, the exploitative drudgery of work sparks revolt; in a Margate museum, the new Director curates a venomous garden for public consumption. In Grudova’s unforgettably surreal style, these stories expose the absurdities behind contemporary ideas ofwork, Britishness and art-making, to conjure a singular, startling strangeness that proves the deft skill of a writerat the top of her game.

The coiled serpent

Emma — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A little girl throws up Gloria-Jean’s teeth after an explosion at the custard factory; Pax, Alexander, and Angelo are hypnotically enthralled by a book that promises them enlightenment if they keep their semen inside their bodies; Victoria is sent to a cursed hotel for ailing girls when her period mysteriously stops. In a damp, putrid spa, the exploitative drudgery of work sparks revolt; in a Margate museum, the new Director curates a venomous garden for public consumption. In Grudova’s unforgettably surreal style, these stories expose the absurdities behind contemporary ideas ofwork, Britishness and art-making, to conjure a singular, startling strangeness that proves the deft skill of a writerat the top of her game.

Children of paradise

Emma — Thu, 04 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

When Holly applies for a job at the Paradise – one of the city’s oldest cinemas, squashed into the ground floor of a block of flats – she thinks it will be like any other shift work. She cleans toilets, sweeps popcorn, avoids the belligerent old owner, Iris, and is ignored by her aloof but tight-knit colleagues who seem as much a part of the building as its fraying carpets and endless dirt. Dreadful, lonely weeks pass while she longs for their approval, a silent voyeur. So when she finally gains the trust of this cryptic band of oddballs, Holly transforms from silent drudge to rebellious insider and gradually she too becomes part of the Paradise – unearthing its secrets, learning its history and haunting its corridors after hours with the other ushers. It is no surprise when violence strikes, tempers change and the group, eyes still affixed to the screen, starts to rapidly go awry…

Children of Paradise

Emma — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

‘Festers in glorious style’ Telegraph’Magnificently spiky’ Guardian’Utterly enthralling’ Times Literary Supplement When Holly applies for a job at the Paradise – one of the city’s oldest cinemas, squashed into the ground floor of a block of flats – she thinks it will be like any other shift work. She cleans toilets, sweeps popcorn, avoids the belligerent old owner, Iris, and is ignored by her aloof but tight-knit colleagues who seem as much a part of the building as its fraying carpets and endless dirt. Dreadful, lonely weeks pass while she longs for their approval, a silent voyeur. So when she finally gains the trust of this cryptic band of oddballs, Holly transforms from silent drudge to rebellious insider and gradually she too becomes part of the Paradise – unearthing its secrets, learning its history and haunting its corridors after hours with the other ushers. It is no surprise when violence strikes, tempers change and the group, eyes still affixed to the screen, starts to rapidly go awry…