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A trans woman discovers pornography of herself she has no memory of making, only to find herself led to an unimaginably deeper evil.
A feral shut-in discovers a disturbing internet porn video of what seems to be herself. A seance of coked-up artists summons unearthly forces in a studio apartment. The staircase of an exurban marketing company descends endlessly beneath the earth.
In Aoife Josie Clements' electric, nightmarish, intricately layered novel, the impossibility of goodness crowds in upon two young trans women barely surviving on sex work and zero-hours contracts. Below the familiar evils of capitalism and the bottomless depths of internet culture, a darker horror awaits. What curse follows these women? What are they escaping? What are they running towards?
"Harrowing and gorgeously written ... Clements's prose is fearless and sharp, diving into gut-churning corners of the human experience and balancing brutal body horror with pitch-black social commentary. The result is an impressive thrill ride." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A nightmarishly realistic and immersively terrifying journey, forcing the reader to take a long, hard look at late-stage capitalism, internet obsession, even what it means to be human. A disorienting story that will hold readers in its thrall." —Booklist
"This is the best book I've read in years. Clements walks onto the scene with the skill and confidence of an old master; Persona disgusts its reader past endurance, then breaks their heart before they realize what's happening. It brings together everything from the films of Ingmar Bergman to Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's a churning black spiral of misery, nausea, and anxiety, and woven through it all an infinitely fragile thread of human connection. Clements has written the year's great work of literary horror. This is not something to miss." —Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Manhunt and Cuckoo
"The most stomach-churning, upsetting, thoroughly cursèd queer book of the year." —Alison Rumfitt, author of Tell Me I'm Worthless and Brainwyrms
This information about Persona was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Aoife Josie Clements was born in Calgary, Alberta. She makes music under the name Ravine Angel.
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