Scene : A pleasant summer day in the English Peak District. A guy is walking through the breathtaking Derbyshire countryside. The pathway takes him through a field. In the field, a herd of cows.

First cow : I don’t believe it - it’s him, Gloria – it’s him!

Second cow (Gloria) : Oh Roxanne, now what?

Roxanne: I’m telling you – look, it’s that God-damned Matthew Stokoe!

Gloria : Oh, come on now, you’re obsessed. How would you know? There’s no pictures of Matthew Stokoe anywhere – remember we were goo More...

Prior to this little adventure, I’d never read a book that made me feel sick. When I first started this one, after just a few pages, I was telling my wife how it seemed to be all shock. The words were gross, as were the situations, but it was missing something. I can read gross words without being grossed out, you know?

But then yesterday, I was reading a little bit in the precious few moments before I had to get ready for work and it started. There was a scene in which the protagonist uses a rat More...

I’ll be totally honest with you. I might have given this book higher than three stars if not for the fear of what doing so might make people think of me.

First, the good news. The story that Stokoe lays out in Cows is a road map of the development of a hypothetical sociopath murderer. The twisted tale follows the protagonist (if you can really call him that) from his abusive mother, through a metamorphosis of sorts (brought on by more abuse), and beyond. Stokoe’s writing is very good in that it w More...

Matthew Stokoe, Cows (Creation Books, 1997)

I'm not normally one to preface a review, or even mention in a review, when a book is not appropriate for certain audiences. (I hope to have duped a few of the weak-stomached into reading, say, Peter Sotos or Pan Pantziarka, because they deserve being read). But I'm going to start this one by saying, quite bluntly, Cows is not for everyone. In fact, Cows may not be for anyone. It is scatological, offensive, disgusting, filled to the brim with sex, viole More...

I've read some weird shit in my time and enjoyed grotesque and absurd subjects. But all of what came before Cows was literally nothing in comparison to this.

I'm someone who enjoys a good allegory, or in this novel's case, psychotic hallucination that comments on life as it stands.

Cows really does capture a lot of the baser fears and feelings of a young man in contemporary society. Except it takes them and convolutes and distorts them so far that it becomes Cows.

The themes are conveyed clearly More...

Read THIS ONLY IF YOU ARE NOT EASILY OFFENDED.

If you can get past all this and not vomit, read Cows.

The mucus wasn't dripping anymore. It had been two hours since he had been held down and forced to eat the snot and slime that oozed from Gilbertron's nose. The thought made his stomach mustles contract in a violent heave. There was nothing left in it, as he had alread voided their contents all over himself. His hands and feet were bound together behind him and he lay face down in a puddle of mucu More...

It's difficult to write a review of any book and do it justice, make it appealing to others. Having literally just finished the book, I feel best equipped to give a straight-forward gut reaction with little editing or over-thinking. In homage to the novel's bullet-train pace, I feel this is the only way to tackle an honest review of Matthew Stokoe's debut novel, Cows.

Cows is exceptional from beginning to end. I came into the book via recommendation from other authors I admire (Blake Butler, Denn More...

what can i say but...WOW! holy shit this is an incredibly book! i picked it up and read it in one sitting. i've never read anything so violent, disturbing, fucked up, and funny. i warn you now' this book is not for the faint of heart and neither is this review.

Possible spoilers ahead:

cows is the story of a 25 year old man who gets a job in a slaughter house. that's just the surface, and just about the only thing they could put on the back of the book. if your are disturbed by brilliantly writte More...

Book Title: "Cows"
Author: Matthew Stokoe
Published By: Akashic Books
Age Recommended: 18 +
Reviewed By: Kitty Bullard
Raven Rating: 5

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Review: Have you ever wondered, even for the smallest moment, how it is that a serial killer is driven to become what he is? If you have even the smallest desire to see inside the mind of the deranged then you will definitely want to pick up this book. “Cows” takes us on a one of a kind journey into the life and mind of one of the most pitifully, psychotic, soci More...

Vile. That one word best sums up Cows by Matthew Stokoe. Never have a read a book so descriptivly disgusting. Never have I seen a collection or words that could so repulsively describe taboo topics with an air of smartness about it. A very very unique reading experience not for the feint of heart.

It will indeed take a strong constitution to get through this book. It is imperative that you are not sensative about off color and taboo topics. If you can get past this you will unvail a brilliant sto More...

Let's just be clear right off: the low rating isn't because I find it disturbing.

I don't find it disturbing. I find it tiresome. To me, 'gross' is a juvenile word, and it's the best word that describes this book for me.

The story follows a 25-year-old man, Steven, who has been abused by his mother for as long as he has lived. The book stalks him through his job in the local meat plant, where he meets Cripps, the foreman of the slaughterhouse who indicts him to much gruesome things.

Along the way, More...

I find it completely shocking that so many people have given this book 4 and 5 star ratings...certainly the most "disturbing" aspect. I've never read something so ridiculous, so poorly written, so completely embarassing in terms of "extreme literature". If sophomoric, gross-out fairy tales are your thing, then go for it. Honestly, it could have been written by a group of 13-year-old boys with a wardrobe full of black trench coats, indulging in a creative-writing circle jerk. The gore/horror/perv More...

For fiction to work, story must be paramount – and Stokoe weaved one hell of a tale (loaded with interestingly vibrant characters). But this is not your run-of-the-mill "finding one's self" kind of story. In fact, the quest for protagonist Steven may just be a quest for us all. For ultimately, where do we belong? And how will we be when we get there? "Cows" goes beyond something so overly worn, however, and delivers modern day western society’s notions of "success" and "family" in a TV dinner re More...

I have finally found it. The. Single. Most. Disturbing. Book. Of. All. Time. Number 1 !!
OMG. OMFG !

I have finally found the most disturbing book I have ever read. A completely surreal roller coaster ride through misery, deprivation and sexual deviation. And it was fantastic.

Although the story ended so much sooner than expected (there is two novels in one kindle file), I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It provoked so many reactions and feelings as I read it and was completely impossib More...

As insightful as it is disturbing.
The narrative is masterfully wrought as we find the narrator, 25 year old Steven, enduring a hell at the hands of his Mother, the Hagbeast, who verbally abuses him in sexualized vehemence. He has endured the hell of the Hagbeast since birth; his only solace is "dog", whose back legs are paralyzed when at some point in the past the Hagbeast had taken a brick to him for "no reason at all." After being introduced to the hell of his home, we find Steven starting his More...

На всю голову ебнутое, но очень задорное и смешное сплатстик-порно про 25-летнего кретина по имени Стивен, который прожил всю жизнь под пятой безумной и уродливой мамаши, а потом устроился на мясокомбинат, чтобы добиться независимости и создать настоящую киношную семью. Вместо этого парень окончательно сьехал с резьбы, научился убивать, после чего погряз в собственной трэшовой деменции.

На протяжении 200 страниц герои жрут говно, ебут говно, ебут коров, ебут друг друга. Опять же – убивают коров, More...

"If a cow ever got the chance he'd eat you and everyone you care about!"



I thought at this stage I'd become immune to most things. I thought nothing could really disturb me any more. I mean I got through all of Jack Ketchum's novels and he's fairly up there on the Disturbing scale.

I was wrong. This book is a whole new level of fucked up. I won't repeat it here because its not really suitable for...anyone! This was the only book that actually made me feel physically ill.

Its fairly well written a More...

Vacas es uno de esos libros que debes leer joven. Muy joven. Al menos esa es la sensación que me transmite. Ese deseo forzado de epatar que despide todo el libro de Stokoe funciona bien cuando, como lector, eres cómplice de lo que narra el autor.

Creo que soy demasiado viejo para este libro, y es una lástima, porque tiene sus virtudes. Un punto de giro fascinante que te obliga a seguir página tras página, una exaltación de la violencia y la aberración que te insensibiliza a la mitad de libro y un More...

This book has a stern warning on its back cover: WARNING. As a vegan, I think the message Stokoe is conveying here is an important one, though extremely dramatized and fantastical. The protagonist of the novel lives with his obese, incestuous mother and, in trying to break away from her, goes to work in a slaughterhouse. At the slaughterhouse, he sees all forms of torture and cruelty - men raping cows, cruel and sadistic methods of slaughtering. The tone of the novel is extremely dark, very grap More...

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

Earlier this year, I had the chance to review the latest novel by Matthew Stokoe, a contemporary noir called Empty Mile from Akashic Books which I found okay but only so-so; but I have to say, I find myself a much bigger fan now of his more experimental 1997 Cows, being reprinted next month by the Akashic More...

Well this is probably the most disturbing book I have ever read...
The sick mum, the baby nailed to the wall and the girlfriend who insists on sticking a probe up her ass to find the 'disease'. Not to mention the cows and the sick guys who work at the slaughterhouse.

Despite all of this, I couldn't stop reading and I wanted to see if it would get any more disgusting and it did. I keep trying to get my friends to read it so they can share in my disgust but they are not up for it.

This book will stay More...

The only novel that's ever made me feel sick was actually one of Tim Powers's. But this one didn't do badly, assuming the reader likes being made sick (and not in the manner of Dorothy Parker's 'Tonstant Weader Fwowed Up' which may have to do with the unreleased 'Christopher Robin Finds a Chainsaw'.) I dont think the author is barking but his characters certainly are (or mooing, possibly). If meat is murder, is murder meat?
Or as Black Daniel sing, "I love you but don't touch me 'cos you're sick. More...

Behind the murders, coprophilia, and beastiality this is just a story of a young man who wants to be normal. Nothing is wrong with him physically, but he feels different. Something inside him is not right. He grew up watching happy families on tv. Surely, a loving family would bring him the joy and normalcy he craves.

The writing reminds me of Chuck Palahniuk without the writing cliches. Not as shocking a book as people will lead you to believe. There's a few moments here and there, but nothing More...

It's the really rare occasion where I decide to stop reading a book for reasons other than it is deadly dull or ineptly told. Cows is neither, but I had a few moments where I'd decide to stop reading it — it was too juvenile, foul, disgusting, horrifying, dumb. It was too too. I'd skimmed reviews beforehand, and I didn't believe it could really be that bad, but be warned: it is that bad and worse. Stokoe's finest trick is how many soul-crushingly awful elements he stuffs into this story and stil More...

NOT for the easily disturbed! God, I read this so long ago yet I can still remember the narrative vividly. I'm the sort that can eat dinner while watching open heart surgery (tho I'll probably be eating slowly due to fascination) and I can say that there were parts of this book that really challenged me.

Yet it's not just obscene for the sake of it. I'd 'selectively' recommend this book as I know some people that would really appreciate it. (Not one for grandma to read over a cup of tea!) More...

Amidst having a conversation with a friend about our shared affinity for shocking horror films, my friend recommended that I check out this book. He assured me that it was one of the most disgusting books he'd ever read and thus, the challenge was posed.

As others have said, this book is definitely not for everyone. Stokoe makes Chuck Palahniuk look like child's play (which, by the way, I do not find him shocking at all, so if you do, you're probably not ready for this).

You can expect to read ab More...

"Animal Farm" meets "American Psycho".

I have a strong stomach so the gruesome scenes in this novel didn't faze me, but others with more tender sensibilities would be wise to steer well clear of this over-the-top coprophilic blood-spattered gross-fest. The narrative flowed easily, so it was an "easy" read in that sense, although the meta-message of this dark parable about the worst excesses and psychoses of the human condition was perhaps too obvious and overly simplistic. Much of the time it see More...

This is a twisted combination of two of my favorite books: Animal Farm and Fight Club. I didn't "like" Cows but I can't deny that Stokoe has a way with words and those words are sure going to haunt me for a while. I honestly don't know how to rate this book. I've read some pretty sick stuff before but this was the first book to seriously gross me out to the point where I had to take a break from reading it and yet hours later I still wanted to puke. I even skipped out on eating for the rest of t More...

I'm going to surprise myself by giving Cows 3 stars because I was expecting to read it as a novelty and despise it just because of its reputation as over-the-top grossness. But I have to say that Stokoe is a good writer--when I looked beyond the upchuck-inducing passages--and I hope he has it in him to write something of more literary weight one day. (I just checked on his other two books and, nope, he hasn't done that as of yet.)

I guess this book says something about our mistreatment of animals More...