Under A Fur Coat
SHORTLISTED FOR THE PFD QUEER FICTION PRIZE 2024
I became obsessed with Seurasaari, with the curative properties I assigned to it in my desperation for an action, a ritual - something that could fix everything...
Vivienne, a photographer from Manchester, arrives at a boarding house on a tiny Finnish island hoping to rekindle her creativity and heal her broken heart. Although her fellow guests welcome her into their makeshift family, her camera still hangs at her side unused.
Vivienne quickly grows close with Ilya, the affable caretaker, and Gagarin, a rebellious mycologist. And when she discovers they're searching for a mythical bracket fungus - the Bigfoot of mushrooms - Vivienne throws herself headfirst into the cause.
The days pass in a blur of snow and birch trees and vodka. Yet the longer Vivienne spends in the forest, the more it consumes her. Haunted by lost time, inexplicable acts of violence, and rising tensions among the guests, Vivienne begins to suspect there's something darker behind Gagarin's determination. Because ambition always requires sacrifice. She's just not sure whose...
Reviews
Surreal, sharp and deeply moving, UNDER A FUR COAT is a novel of outstanding reach and polish. A distinct and dazzling new gothic.
Vatomsky takes us on a brilliantly visceral journey of what it means to rearrange your life after heartbreak slices it in two. UNDER A FUR COAT is simply mesmerising - an account of what it's like to face some of our deepest fears. I want to stay lost in the cold, dark woods with Vivienne, Gagarin and Ilya
An astute depiction of the grief after betrayal and the destructive side of obsession with dark and unsettling undercurrents giving us glimpses of the fantastic. An accomplished debut novel.
A dark pastoral, a haunting winter song, Under A Fur Coat spins a ferociously consuming tale of lost identity, chosen family, art as both ritual and survival, and learning to be ruthless - but only a little - in the pursuit of becoming whole