Monstrum

What does it mean to be different in a world that values perfection, at any cost?

Lottie's writing is a superb flight of the imagination — A.S. Byatt, author of Possession

Haunting, luridly beautiful, and at times shockingly, deliciously gruesome — Jenn Ashworth, author of Ghosted

A 'Best Book for May 2024' according to Cosmopolitan

From Lottie Mills, the winner of the BBC Young Writers' Award in 2020, comes this beautifully crafted collection of stories.

A father and daughter build a life for themselves on an isolated beach. But the outside world is pressing in. It's only a matter of time before their secret refuge is discovered.

A young disabled woman opts to receive a perfect, pain-free body. Soon, however, she finds herself haunted by the one she cast off.

A travelling circus master discovers the ideal addition to his cabinet of curiosities: 'damaged', 'grotesque', gifted. He plans to make her the star of his show; she plans to take her revenge.

Monstrum captures the experience of characters excluded by a society that cannot accept their difference. Eerie, fantastical and hugely ambitious, this collection announces the arrival of an outstanding new literary voice.

Lottie's stories reminded me of what matters — Claire Oshetsky

Magical and haunting — Jan Carson