Psychros by Charlene Elsby

Synopsis:

A woman’s lover commits suicide. Why does everyone expect her to grieve? What if he wasn’t one of the good ones? Was his suicide another cruelty? Her grief and rage are expressed through increasingly violent sexual encounters with strangers, acquaintances, and past lovers. How many deaths does he deserve?

And why did he love death more than her?

Edition:

Paperback ARC provided by the publisher

Trigger Warnings:

My Thoughts:

Did you know I like Charlene Elsby’s books a whole hell of a lot? If not, you can check out my reviews of her other work here.

Psychros is no exception to the rule. I’d say behind Hexis, this is my next favorite. I just love stories about women post-dissolution of shitty relationships, I guess. I have found that Elsby has an undeniable talent for complex narratives. She also seems to have an equal knack for very dark humor and women who are so damned tired of the realities of the world they live in that it has driven them into actual murderous rages.

I feel that so hard that I wonder if maybe I should be concerned.

Psychros is heavy on disturbing sexual encounters – but don’t worry, the sex part is always consensual. And there’s at least one part that had me absolutely snort-laughing. So, disturbing, occasionally funny as hell, and super dark. Basically, this book has all the things I’ve come to expect and enjoy from Charlene Elsby.

“Fuck him.
Fuck him and his fears.
How to handle this, though.
Set him on fire.
No.
Gaslight him.”

The protagonist’s overt and incredible hostility is what really makes this book a work of magic. Survivor’s guilt? Perhaps, but I somehow doubt it. I think it is more that she is unsure how to deal with her lack of desire to mourn her now dead, formerly completely shitty lover. So, instead of going into mourning, she just decides to go hard. She’s a big ball of rage and frustration, and she takes that rage and frustration out in increasingly bizarre and dangerous encounters with men – some she knows, some she doesn’t. But she does still have some sort of functional moral compass, it seems. Things don’t go completely ass-over-tea kettle in all of her rendezvous.

I love the way-over-my-head philosophical nature of Elsby’s writing. It makes me feel like I can re-read the same story multiple times and keep coming away with new understanding of the narrative and motivations. It sort of makes for a bloody, angry, acerbic science project – and I just can’t get enough of it.

Rating:

Give me more, please!

Psychros
By Charlene Elsby
Clash Books
ISBN: 9781955904117
Published: October 12, 2021
Paperback, E-book
140 Pages