This collection of eight stories centers on the violent intersection of physical anatomy and emotional desperation. Eric LaRocca portrays characters who exchange bodily autonomy for fleeting connections or psychological dominance. In the title story, a couple engages in a ritual of escalating self-mutilation to sustain their domestic life. Other narratives depict an elderly man fixated on a strange growth, a grieving woman communicating through digital horror, and individuals navigating toxic romances where pain acts as the primary currency. The prose focuses on fluids, open wounds, and the visceral logistics of cruelty.
Readers who gravitate toward transgressive fiction and body horror choose this collection for its unflinching gaze at human degradation. It appeals to those interested in how extreme physical suffering can mirror internal grief or obsession. The audience walks away with a grim understanding of how easily the boundaries of the self dissolve under pressure. These stories provide a detailed inventory of the ways people use their own skin and blood to manipulate, mourn, or survive in a world stripped of comfort.
- Published
- 2021
- Language
- EN
