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The Mud Ballad
NEVER BE ALONE AGAIN
In a dying railroad town, a conjoined twin wallows in purgatory for the murder of his brother. A disgraced surgeon goes to desperate ends to reconnect with his lost love. When redemption comes with a dash of black magic, the two enter a world of talking corpses, flesh-eating hogs, rude mimes, and ritualistic violence.
In a dying railroad town, a conjoined twin wallows in purgatory for the murder of his brother. A disgraced surgeon goes to desperate ends to reconnect with his lost love. When redemption comes with a dash of black magic, the two enter a world of talking corpses, flesh-eating hogs, rude mimes, and ritualistic violence.
142 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2020
5 people are currently reading
536 people want to read
About the author
Jo Quenell
10 books53 followersJo Quenell is a transgender lady who lives in Washington State and writes. Her short fiction has been featured in various zines and anthologies, including Bleak Friday, LAZERMALL, Beautiful/Grotesque, and Teenage Grave. She is the author of THE MUD BALLAD, released by Weirdpunk Books in May 2020. She teaches middle school, which is far more frightening than any work of fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
June 7, 2020
I was lucky enough to get to read this before it was released for blurbing purposes. But it's out now, so I wanted to log it on Goodreads. Here's what I said, in case you were interested:
"Jo Quenell's debut novella explores both regret and connection in the weirdest and wildest ways possible. Good times!"
Yeah, I like to keep my blurbs short and sweet.
What I want to say in addition to that is this: I feel Jo Quenell is doing some really interesting things. And not just with The Mud Ballad, but with the shorter fictions of theirs I've read as well. I love fresh voices who know how to take the aesthetics I already love and deliver them back to me in new and unexpected ways. And that's what this writer does. So remember their name because hopefully we'll all be hearing it a lot more in the future, ya dig?
"Jo Quenell's debut novella explores both regret and connection in the weirdest and wildest ways possible. Good times!"
Yeah, I like to keep my blurbs short and sweet.
What I want to say in addition to that is this: I feel Jo Quenell is doing some really interesting things. And not just with The Mud Ballad, but with the shorter fictions of theirs I've read as well. I love fresh voices who know how to take the aesthetics I already love and deliver them back to me in new and unexpected ways. And that's what this writer does. So remember their name because hopefully we'll all be hearing it a lot more in the future, ya dig?
February 14, 2021
Daniel and Jonathan Crabb are conjoined twins who are part of a travelling circus. The story opens with Jonathan killing Daniel so he will be able to live a life by himself and no longer have to share his body and his thoughts with someone else. But he soon regrets his actions and spends his time drowning his sorrows over the loss of his brother.
Dawes is a doctor who works with the circus people and let's just say he has undertaken some questionable medical procedures in his time.
Some time later Jonathan and Dawes cross paths again and Jonathan enlists Dawes to help him get his brother back...
This was a wonderful and unique treat to read. I loved the ideas, the writing, the characters. There is a very strong feel and tone within this book. The setting of this small town where it's always raining and muddy is palpable. Full of strange characters, pig-fighting, gruesomeness, dark humour, love and loss...so many great elements here that worked perfectly together. I'm so glad I picked this one up and I highly recommend you do the same. Quenell is a seriously talented storyteller and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Dawes is a doctor who works with the circus people and let's just say he has undertaken some questionable medical procedures in his time.
Some time later Jonathan and Dawes cross paths again and Jonathan enlists Dawes to help him get his brother back...
This was a wonderful and unique treat to read. I loved the ideas, the writing, the characters. There is a very strong feel and tone within this book. The setting of this small town where it's always raining and muddy is palpable. Full of strange characters, pig-fighting, gruesomeness, dark humour, love and loss...so many great elements here that worked perfectly together. I'm so glad I picked this one up and I highly recommend you do the same. Quenell is a seriously talented storyteller and I look forward to reading more of her work.
May 12, 2020
This one is a gristly read but I’m here for that. Side show freaks, a disgusting railroad town drenched in muck and dead end people, black magic, conjoined twins, and very descriptive violence. The story’s larger message is one of toxic obsession, grief, and regret. It’s told from a third person omniscient POV which allows us to dive deep into a collection of near-do-well characters. By the end of it I felt muddy, wet, and covered in grime. Quenell does wonders with painting a word picture and still leaving parts to the reader’s imagination. Not for the faint of heart or stomach, but also not brutal for the sake of brutality. I finished the whole thing in one sitting because it’s compelling and vile.
March 31, 2021
A simply fantastic blend of gothic horror with twisted, absurdist humor.
July 1, 2020
Jo sent this to me to beta-read. I liked it so much that I published it.
It's so good and dark and funny and blood-soaked.
It's so good and dark and funny and blood-soaked.
February 25, 2021
Were you one of those kids who wanted to run off and join the Circus? Did you have a talent you thought you could make money from? Traveling city to city, town to town. Only staying about a week. Being center of attention while people watched you and your talents. Do you think those people would think you actually had a talent? Or do you think they probably thought you were some freak? The Bearded Lady. A 2 headed man. The world’s tallest man, or shortest man. Mimes. Acrobats. Lion Tamers.
I’ve only been to the Circus a couple of times in my life. I don’t envy the performers. Sure, they have a “talent,” but no stability.
Jo Quenell brings us the Mud Ballad. A story set in a Mud Pit, called Spudsville. Let’s call it “Spudsville USA.” It rains nonstop. Mud everywhere. There is nothing redeemable about this town. The only excitement is when the traveling Circus rolls in.
Within this Circus we find our main characters, the Crabb brothers. These are not your ordinary brothers. They are conjoined twins. They share feelings and they share thoughts. Daniel knows what Jonathan is thinking. Jonathan wants a “normal” life. But what is normal? Daniel talks Jonathan into doing what needs done in order to have that “normal” life. The deed is done.
But this deed doesn’t bring the happiness Jonathan expected, and he must live with regret, and turmoil.
Another storyline involves the Circus doctor, Dawes, who regrets not going after the woman of his dreams before it’s too late. Somehow, several years after this Circus leaves Spudsville, Jonathan and Dawes are reunited in this dead-end town. In Spudsville.
Add in yet another layer to the book that involves this sort of underground, yet right out in the open Pig vs Kid fight club. This is something in the book that blew my mind. The writer just presents this as non-cholent. Sort of “Oh hey, by the way, this is going on.”
This book is a true representation of the grotesque things that can get under your skin. People are guilty of their actions. People take actions without thinking things through all the way. People must live with the outcome of their actions. This is what we see from both Jonathan and Dawes. These things eat at them and weigh heavily on their minds. So much regret. Makes them a little crazy. Think Edger Allen Poe and the Tell-Tale Heart almost.
The whole idea behind this story is fascinating. It’s a very unique storyline. The character building in this short book is wonderful, it’s top notch. And the story overall has this smooth flow to it that only assists the narrative, making the reader really get wrapped up in what is happening.
You really feel the setting too. Thick globs of mud, the kind that gets caked on your shoes, that makes every step you take heavier and heavier almost to the point that you are stepping out of your shoes.
The smell of the pigs is just coming right off the pages for your nostrils to take it.
Jo Quenell did an extraordinary job mixing many elements together. You have the “off the wall” characters, you have totally gruesome and deplorable actions, you have a mixture of black magic, you have love and loss. And you have a lot of dark humor. Did I mention the humor?
Wow. I found myself grinning a lot while reading this with quite a few of audible laughs just at the extreme and odd situations. Mainly when the mimes move into the story. A lot of one liners about mimes were hilarious in that creepy dark sense of humor we all have.
Overall, the storytelling of Jo Quenell is breathtaking. It’s rare to find a gem like this where everything fits where it needs to and everything comes together with the proper outcomes, and a fulfilling ending. Lessons learned after reading this one. Be careful of your motives for your actions, and be careful what you wish for, you just might get it, with a little spin added to it.
I’ve only been to the Circus a couple of times in my life. I don’t envy the performers. Sure, they have a “talent,” but no stability.
Jo Quenell brings us the Mud Ballad. A story set in a Mud Pit, called Spudsville. Let’s call it “Spudsville USA.” It rains nonstop. Mud everywhere. There is nothing redeemable about this town. The only excitement is when the traveling Circus rolls in.
Within this Circus we find our main characters, the Crabb brothers. These are not your ordinary brothers. They are conjoined twins. They share feelings and they share thoughts. Daniel knows what Jonathan is thinking. Jonathan wants a “normal” life. But what is normal? Daniel talks Jonathan into doing what needs done in order to have that “normal” life. The deed is done.
But this deed doesn’t bring the happiness Jonathan expected, and he must live with regret, and turmoil.
Another storyline involves the Circus doctor, Dawes, who regrets not going after the woman of his dreams before it’s too late. Somehow, several years after this Circus leaves Spudsville, Jonathan and Dawes are reunited in this dead-end town. In Spudsville.
Add in yet another layer to the book that involves this sort of underground, yet right out in the open Pig vs Kid fight club. This is something in the book that blew my mind. The writer just presents this as non-cholent. Sort of “Oh hey, by the way, this is going on.”
This book is a true representation of the grotesque things that can get under your skin. People are guilty of their actions. People take actions without thinking things through all the way. People must live with the outcome of their actions. This is what we see from both Jonathan and Dawes. These things eat at them and weigh heavily on their minds. So much regret. Makes them a little crazy. Think Edger Allen Poe and the Tell-Tale Heart almost.
The whole idea behind this story is fascinating. It’s a very unique storyline. The character building in this short book is wonderful, it’s top notch. And the story overall has this smooth flow to it that only assists the narrative, making the reader really get wrapped up in what is happening.
You really feel the setting too. Thick globs of mud, the kind that gets caked on your shoes, that makes every step you take heavier and heavier almost to the point that you are stepping out of your shoes.
The smell of the pigs is just coming right off the pages for your nostrils to take it.
Jo Quenell did an extraordinary job mixing many elements together. You have the “off the wall” characters, you have totally gruesome and deplorable actions, you have a mixture of black magic, you have love and loss. And you have a lot of dark humor. Did I mention the humor?
Wow. I found myself grinning a lot while reading this with quite a few of audible laughs just at the extreme and odd situations. Mainly when the mimes move into the story. A lot of one liners about mimes were hilarious in that creepy dark sense of humor we all have.
Overall, the storytelling of Jo Quenell is breathtaking. It’s rare to find a gem like this where everything fits where it needs to and everything comes together with the proper outcomes, and a fulfilling ending. Lessons learned after reading this one. Be careful of your motives for your actions, and be careful what you wish for, you just might get it, with a little spin added to it.
December 3, 2021
If the pages were scratch-n-sniff your nostrils would fill with the stench of rot, filth, and shit. And I live for it.
This book starts with the weird right away and it never let's up. We're stuck in a bizarro town with townspeople who'd rather die than leave and often option for the former. A circus comes to town and while they're there one half of a conjoined twin decides he no longer wants to be attached to his brother's bullshit. From there we have a gruesome but also absurdly humorous situation which is equal parts disgusting and impossibly entrancing. Their judicial system has dizzying logic. Anyway we are moored in this town and the most insane shit passes for normal here.
If you didn't already know, I love this publisher and this book is truly the epitome of why. It's wild and weird, packed with shit you can't find in most places. This one is bleak af and with sprinkles of dark humor. The kind that kicks you while you're down. That's my shit.
This book starts with the weird right away and it never let's up. We're stuck in a bizarro town with townspeople who'd rather die than leave and often option for the former. A circus comes to town and while they're there one half of a conjoined twin decides he no longer wants to be attached to his brother's bullshit. From there we have a gruesome but also absurdly humorous situation which is equal parts disgusting and impossibly entrancing. Their judicial system has dizzying logic. Anyway we are moored in this town and the most insane shit passes for normal here.
If you didn't already know, I love this publisher and this book is truly the epitome of why. It's wild and weird, packed with shit you can't find in most places. This one is bleak af and with sprinkles of dark humor. The kind that kicks you while you're down. That's my shit.
January 31, 2022
Reading this was a wild ride that I very much enjoyed. The Mud Ballad is a short and compelling read, and the story is dark but somehow funny at times too. I read the entire thing easily in one sitting. In my opinion, the mud-filled town added a lot to the of atmosphere of the book and made the characters' troubles seem even more hopeless. Overall this is a twisted, sharp, creative, odd, and unique story, and I am so glad I decided to give it a read. Totally recommend picking this up, especially if you like stories that feature characters that belong to a freak show or circus.
March 15, 2023
Greasy, grimy, and muddy: that's the world that Jo Quenell builds in The Mud Ballad. The characters follow suit, and they're just some of the best, most monstrously human weirdos I've read about in some time. I had so much fun reading this tale of circus freaks with bad intentions, or perhaps the best of intentions subverted by the worst tendencies of selfishness. A wonderfully fun, propulsive read with just enough black humor to offset the horror and filth at the core of this story.
November 2, 2024
let’s go‼️ I’m sick of her ass‼️
February 1, 2024
What in the spudsvillian did I just read
November 30, 2020
You ever read something that just makes you feel filthy? As though you need a shower and it’ll take steel wool to scrub away the dirt that squirmed its way into your skin?
‘The Mud Ballad’ by Jo Quenell did such a thing to me.
This is the second of three books that Sam at Weirdpunk Books sent for me to check out and the third book overall of their press that I’ve read (the other being the stunning upcoming release from Joanna Koch ‘Wingspan of Severed Hands) and I’m blown away. Stunned, truly with how amazing these releases are. I’m also stunned, and saddened to be honest, that I haven’t seen more people raving about ‘The Mud Ballad’ and the previous release I read ‘Seventeen Names for Skin.’
Considering this is Quenell’s debut release, this novella has the makings of an author I’ll be sure to follow.
**Now, I do want to add a quick caveat – I couldn’t find any social media links for Quenell, but judging from the author bio, I’ll use they/them pronouns. If this is incorrect, I’d greatly appreciate somebody reaching out and I can make the appropriate edits!**
What I liked: In a prologue fit for the darkest of black days, we open in a small town. The travelling circus has arrived and the conjoined twins are one of the many ‘freaks’ to be featured in the sideshow. But for one of the twins, it’s become too much and they take it into their own hands to kill their brother and slice him from their head.
From there, Quenell rolls out a narrative that is filled with rain, mud and a comedy of errors. We pick up some years later. Jonathan, our living twin, was exiled from the circus and remained in the town where they killed their brother. Dawes, the circus doctor has returned, looking for his former love after the circus itself has been retired.
Not content to turn this into a tale of a former freak and a disgraced physician trying to find a place in the world, Quenell deftly adds in a found grimoire and Jonathan’s hairbrained scheme to resurrect his twin and have Dawes surgically reunite them.
Throughout this story, Quenell delivers time and time again, some of the dirtiest and filthiest descriptions I’ve ever read. It always rains in this town. Animal fights and drinking are the local pastimes. Dawes and Jonathan both have jobs working two of the lowest positions in one of the lowest places on the planet. But, Quenell manages to do something really interesting here. They make you want to see these two succeed. Jonathan misses hearing that other voice in his head. Dawes just wants to help his buddy and see the boy smile again. It is an odd pairing but a pairing that works.
A lot of this story even gave me shades of some of the 80’s slapstick comedies. National Lampoon’s and John Candy stuff where a shovel is conveniently placed for a person to step on and get hit with it. Only, within this story, that isn’t a shovel. No, it’s a knife or a train.
Quenell has truly crafted a gem from start to finish here. A phenomenal piece of writing that had me riveted from page one.
What I didn’t like: The grimoire aspect was absolutely necessary for the plot and the ending reflected that. Saying that, I almost found some of the paranormal stuff that arrives later on a bit odd, considering the scope of the story before it. It does work, but it may be jarring for some readers.
As well, I typically can’t stand any sort of comedy in my horror/dark fiction reads, but wow did Quenell use it well when needed and for the majority of it, the ‘comedy’ was truly dark in nature.
Why you should buy this: Weirdpunk Books, over the course of only three books, has cemented itself as a MUST read press. I have one more book to check out, but from what I’ve read, I have no concerns I won’t enjoy it.
Quenell wrote a stunning debut novella, one that quickly and effortlessly has made them an author for me to watch. This book should be on so many ‘Best Of’ lists for 2020 (as well as Seventeen Names for Skin) so if you haven’t read it, there’s still time. The writing is crisp, bleak and filled with decay and Quenell never once let’s in a single slice of sunshine.
Fantastic stuff. Absolutely fantastic.
‘The Mud Ballad’ by Jo Quenell did such a thing to me.
This is the second of three books that Sam at Weirdpunk Books sent for me to check out and the third book overall of their press that I’ve read (the other being the stunning upcoming release from Joanna Koch ‘Wingspan of Severed Hands) and I’m blown away. Stunned, truly with how amazing these releases are. I’m also stunned, and saddened to be honest, that I haven’t seen more people raving about ‘The Mud Ballad’ and the previous release I read ‘Seventeen Names for Skin.’
Considering this is Quenell’s debut release, this novella has the makings of an author I’ll be sure to follow.
**Now, I do want to add a quick caveat – I couldn’t find any social media links for Quenell, but judging from the author bio, I’ll use they/them pronouns. If this is incorrect, I’d greatly appreciate somebody reaching out and I can make the appropriate edits!**
What I liked: In a prologue fit for the darkest of black days, we open in a small town. The travelling circus has arrived and the conjoined twins are one of the many ‘freaks’ to be featured in the sideshow. But for one of the twins, it’s become too much and they take it into their own hands to kill their brother and slice him from their head.
From there, Quenell rolls out a narrative that is filled with rain, mud and a comedy of errors. We pick up some years later. Jonathan, our living twin, was exiled from the circus and remained in the town where they killed their brother. Dawes, the circus doctor has returned, looking for his former love after the circus itself has been retired.
Not content to turn this into a tale of a former freak and a disgraced physician trying to find a place in the world, Quenell deftly adds in a found grimoire and Jonathan’s hairbrained scheme to resurrect his twin and have Dawes surgically reunite them.
Throughout this story, Quenell delivers time and time again, some of the dirtiest and filthiest descriptions I’ve ever read. It always rains in this town. Animal fights and drinking are the local pastimes. Dawes and Jonathan both have jobs working two of the lowest positions in one of the lowest places on the planet. But, Quenell manages to do something really interesting here. They make you want to see these two succeed. Jonathan misses hearing that other voice in his head. Dawes just wants to help his buddy and see the boy smile again. It is an odd pairing but a pairing that works.
A lot of this story even gave me shades of some of the 80’s slapstick comedies. National Lampoon’s and John Candy stuff where a shovel is conveniently placed for a person to step on and get hit with it. Only, within this story, that isn’t a shovel. No, it’s a knife or a train.
Quenell has truly crafted a gem from start to finish here. A phenomenal piece of writing that had me riveted from page one.
What I didn’t like: The grimoire aspect was absolutely necessary for the plot and the ending reflected that. Saying that, I almost found some of the paranormal stuff that arrives later on a bit odd, considering the scope of the story before it. It does work, but it may be jarring for some readers.
As well, I typically can’t stand any sort of comedy in my horror/dark fiction reads, but wow did Quenell use it well when needed and for the majority of it, the ‘comedy’ was truly dark in nature.
Why you should buy this: Weirdpunk Books, over the course of only three books, has cemented itself as a MUST read press. I have one more book to check out, but from what I’ve read, I have no concerns I won’t enjoy it.
Quenell wrote a stunning debut novella, one that quickly and effortlessly has made them an author for me to watch. This book should be on so many ‘Best Of’ lists for 2020 (as well as Seventeen Names for Skin) so if you haven’t read it, there’s still time. The writing is crisp, bleak and filled with decay and Quenell never once let’s in a single slice of sunshine.
Fantastic stuff. Absolutely fantastic.
May 10, 2020
I’m not one to write reviews or talk about books (frankly, I’m horrible at it) but I will rave about this one. It spoke to me and has everything I want in a book. Brendan Vidito says it’s a “southern gothic folk tale steeped in black humour and the occult.” Stunning and beautifully-written. I am looking for all things Jo Quenell from now on.
August 25, 2020
I am shocked that Mud Ballad by Jo Quenell has not taken off like wildfire. Sometimes you read a book that will always be underappreciated regardless of how much praise and readership that it gets, and Mud Ballad will be this book for a long period of time. The novella is not very long, but you are taken on a journey by Jo Quenell while they write one of the most brutal, bloody, muddy, horrible books about horrible people. The novella takes place in Spudville, a town that has seen better days with citizens who have never seen any of them. A sideshow comes through and while in the town, Daniel Crabb decides to kill his conjoined twin, Jonathan, to gain his own freedom. This causes him to get banished from the sideshow and Spudville is where he stays, wallowing in grief and torment.
There is so much in this book, so much story and plot that it has something for everyone. Whether you are looking for a story of loss, a story of redemption, a story about sideshow people, a story about the devil, a story about fighting pigs, a story about fighting kids, a story about suicidal thoughts, a story about alcoholism, a story about love, a story about violence or a story about brotherhood, this has it all (plus a few more themes that I am purposefully omitting because every reader needs some surprises.) This novella has so much packed into 130 pages that it is overwhelming to even try to discuss. It reminds me of the movies of Larry Cohen where there is so much plot and subplot and sub-subplot that the readers feel like they have been on a journey by the time they get to the end. This is not to say that this plotting subtracts from the character development. We get a good feeling about the sorrow that Daniel Crabb and Dawes, the sideshow doctor that separated the twins after one of them were dead, expresses really makes them compelling. There is not a single sentence of this book that is wasted. Quenell really expresses their talent in writing this novella, and I will be following their work. All I can say right now is that everyone needs to read this one.
There is so much in this book, so much story and plot that it has something for everyone. Whether you are looking for a story of loss, a story of redemption, a story about sideshow people, a story about the devil, a story about fighting pigs, a story about fighting kids, a story about suicidal thoughts, a story about alcoholism, a story about love, a story about violence or a story about brotherhood, this has it all (plus a few more themes that I am purposefully omitting because every reader needs some surprises.) This novella has so much packed into 130 pages that it is overwhelming to even try to discuss. It reminds me of the movies of Larry Cohen where there is so much plot and subplot and sub-subplot that the readers feel like they have been on a journey by the time they get to the end. This is not to say that this plotting subtracts from the character development. We get a good feeling about the sorrow that Daniel Crabb and Dawes, the sideshow doctor that separated the twins after one of them were dead, expresses really makes them compelling. There is not a single sentence of this book that is wasted. Quenell really expresses their talent in writing this novella, and I will be following their work. All I can say right now is that everyone needs to read this one.
August 3, 2021
Again I am super new to the horror genre so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. "Side show freaks, a disgusting railroad town drenched in muck and dead end people, black magic, conjoined twins, and very descriptive violence." (Kayla Greene, reviewer) Kayla summed it up better than I ever could.
There were definitely parts that had me intrigued and wanting more, but the ending felt a bit weird and disjointed from the rest of the story. That part about Dawes having to bite through the cautery & pus to get to his blood turned my stomach in the best way though!
There were definitely parts that had me intrigued and wanting more, but the ending felt a bit weird and disjointed from the rest of the story. That part about Dawes having to bite through the cautery & pus to get to his blood turned my stomach in the best way though!
May 24, 2023
The blurb made this sound more intriguing than it ended up being. It is packs the following vibes:
Horror
AHS: Freak Show
Frankenstein
Unethical / crazed doctor
Small town
Supernatural
It’s okay. Not nearly as interesting as it comes off, very slow-paced and at times, implausible. But I’ve read/heard worse.
2 stars.
Based on this read, would I read more from this author? Probably not.
Audio:
Not good.
Narrator does use a couple of different voices/accents at times, but his primary state sounds like AI. Very robotic. The other voice he swaps in sounds like Disney’s Goofy, which makes it tough to take seriously. 1-star performance.
Horror
AHS: Freak Show
Frankenstein
Unethical / crazed doctor
Small town
Supernatural
It’s okay. Not nearly as interesting as it comes off, very slow-paced and at times, implausible. But I’ve read/heard worse.
2 stars.
Based on this read, would I read more from this author? Probably not.
Audio:
Not good.
Narrator does use a couple of different voices/accents at times, but his primary state sounds like AI. Very robotic. The other voice he swaps in sounds like Disney’s Goofy, which makes it tough to take seriously. 1-star performance.
June 4, 2022
Welcome to Spudsville
Spudsville where is never stops raining, the ground is nothing but mud, and there are more bodies in the train tracks than in the actual town.
I really enjoyed this book I'm so pleased I listened when it was recommended. It's dark and morbid and was impossible to put down.
Spudsville where is never stops raining, the ground is nothing but mud, and there are more bodies in the train tracks than in the actual town.
I really enjoyed this book I'm so pleased I listened when it was recommended. It's dark and morbid and was impossible to put down.
August 9, 2022
This book reads like Joe R. Lansdale wrote a horror novel, based on a Tom Waits song… And I loved every second of it!!!
June 10, 2020
Dark and twisted with a sense social awareness you don’t often find in horror stories. A very fun read!
December 22, 2020
The sky opened up and rained for me during two of my sessions with The Mud Ballad by Jo Quenell.
We begin in a small, rundown town called Spudsville with Jonathan and Daniel, a set of twins conjoined at the head. We meet them in their tent at the circus they travel with discussing the imminent self-separation Jonathan has planned for the two of them. He performs the deed, and Dawes, the resident circus doctor finds them bleeding out, Daniel’s throat slashed. He is able to save Jonathan and amputate his brother’s corpse from his head, leaving a protrusion like a horn.
Jonathan goes on trial with the circus for the murder of Daniel. He is found guilty and exiled from his carnival community.
The story continues years later when Dawes returns to Spudsville, surprised to see Jonathan working as a restroom attendant at a bar there. Dawes has quit the circus and travels back to Spudsville to try and settle down. Jonathan offers Dawes a place to stay, if only a moldy sofa in a tiny shed behind the bar. In exchange for his hospitality, Jonathan asks Dawes to help him dig up the bones of his twin because he didn’t have a chance to say goodbye before Daniel’s burial. After the exhumation, things get stranger and more bizarre until all hell breaks loose upon our protagonists and the denizens of Spudsville.
And hell breaking loose in Spudsville is quite the ride. We have children raised to be fierce and violent soldiers, taught to fight with bear hands and teeth, brutal, carnivorous pigs that cannot be satiated, murderous mimes, bloodthirsty demons summoned from the grave, botched slayings and surgeries, Satanic cults, and so much more.
The Mud Ballad oozes grime from its pages, never letting you get more than a few paragraphs before again making you feel ill and as oppressed as some of those living in the rain-soaked dirt fields of Spudsville felt. Jo Quenell’s first novella succeeds in creating a bizarro world rich with characters who operate based significantly on desire and regret. There’s an air of sadness and guilt that pervades The Mud Ballad from start to finish. It isn’t stifling, and there is enough comedy to provide levity, but it’s an undeniable feature of the story (I mention this less as criticism and more as an acknowledgement of well-established tone and mood).
Despite its darkness, The Mud Ballad was a quick and fun read, and I’m already looking forward to reading more stories by Quenell.
We begin in a small, rundown town called Spudsville with Jonathan and Daniel, a set of twins conjoined at the head. We meet them in their tent at the circus they travel with discussing the imminent self-separation Jonathan has planned for the two of them. He performs the deed, and Dawes, the resident circus doctor finds them bleeding out, Daniel’s throat slashed. He is able to save Jonathan and amputate his brother’s corpse from his head, leaving a protrusion like a horn.
Jonathan goes on trial with the circus for the murder of Daniel. He is found guilty and exiled from his carnival community.
The story continues years later when Dawes returns to Spudsville, surprised to see Jonathan working as a restroom attendant at a bar there. Dawes has quit the circus and travels back to Spudsville to try and settle down. Jonathan offers Dawes a place to stay, if only a moldy sofa in a tiny shed behind the bar. In exchange for his hospitality, Jonathan asks Dawes to help him dig up the bones of his twin because he didn’t have a chance to say goodbye before Daniel’s burial. After the exhumation, things get stranger and more bizarre until all hell breaks loose upon our protagonists and the denizens of Spudsville.
And hell breaking loose in Spudsville is quite the ride. We have children raised to be fierce and violent soldiers, taught to fight with bear hands and teeth, brutal, carnivorous pigs that cannot be satiated, murderous mimes, bloodthirsty demons summoned from the grave, botched slayings and surgeries, Satanic cults, and so much more.
The Mud Ballad oozes grime from its pages, never letting you get more than a few paragraphs before again making you feel ill and as oppressed as some of those living in the rain-soaked dirt fields of Spudsville felt. Jo Quenell’s first novella succeeds in creating a bizarro world rich with characters who operate based significantly on desire and regret. There’s an air of sadness and guilt that pervades The Mud Ballad from start to finish. It isn’t stifling, and there is enough comedy to provide levity, but it’s an undeniable feature of the story (I mention this less as criticism and more as an acknowledgement of well-established tone and mood).
Despite its darkness, The Mud Ballad was a quick and fun read, and I’m already looking forward to reading more stories by Quenell.
January 8, 2022
Grisly, gory, great!
January 4, 2022
***UPDATE*** I have had the immense pleasure and honor of narrating the audiobook for this incredible novella, now available on Audible!
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Mud-Ba...
God I loved this book. It's gross, hilarious, and gets more and more outrageous as it winds towards an end that's insane but also the only ending that it could have had.
Desperation, regret, second chances to fuck up again but maybe a little different this time, and misfits seeking dignity, happiness, or just a little peace. These are catnip to me, and Quenell brings it to life in a way that has me swinging through "Ewww - hahaa - but aww RIP" several times over. I would read a series in their world.
The gore is shocking but comical, in a way Sam Raimi would approve of, and my god these characters. The principal cast, I mean, I've been drinking buddies with those people at dives my whole life. And Merrick. Oh, Merrick. That is a truly incredible bombastic character that reminded me of a pugilist Ignatius P. Reilly, and I would gladly let him kick my ass.
Outstanding horror, I can't wait to read more by Jo Quenell.
EDIT: Even better a focused second read-through.
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Mud-Ba...
God I loved this book. It's gross, hilarious, and gets more and more outrageous as it winds towards an end that's insane but also the only ending that it could have had.
Desperation, regret, second chances to fuck up again but maybe a little different this time, and misfits seeking dignity, happiness, or just a little peace. These are catnip to me, and Quenell brings it to life in a way that has me swinging through "Ewww - hahaa - but aww RIP" several times over. I would read a series in their world.
The gore is shocking but comical, in a way Sam Raimi would approve of, and my god these characters. The principal cast, I mean, I've been drinking buddies with those people at dives my whole life. And Merrick. Oh, Merrick. That is a truly incredible bombastic character that reminded me of a pugilist Ignatius P. Reilly, and I would gladly let him kick my ass.
Outstanding horror, I can't wait to read more by Jo Quenell.
EDIT: Even better a focused second read-through.
June 17, 2022
Another great novella from Weirdpunk Books! This went places I didn't expect it to, having got it into my head that it would venture into Geek Love territory - there are vague similarities in the freak show setting, but Jo Quenell's book veers screaming off into the occult and genuinely deranged, irredeemable small town madness, relishing every indignity heaped upon the luckless protagonists - and God, those indignities are pretty much endless. Quenell does some very dark things with the subjects of love, loss, obsession and redemption here... Not to mention what happens when prize fighting hogs are pitted against the town's expendable if highly-trained children.
This is a wild, bloody ride (with pitch perfect cover art by Neal Auch), and I'll be really interested to read Jo's forthcoming collection of short fiction.
This is a wild, bloody ride (with pitch perfect cover art by Neal Auch), and I'll be really interested to read Jo's forthcoming collection of short fiction.
June 20, 2020
Jo Quenell's debut is a crisply-written, literary Tale from the Crypt in which the author's absurd, dark sense of humor lives on every page. An unapologetic, enviable debut!
December 3, 2020
It’s fair to say that for many of us, 2020 has been a bit crap. It started with continual rain and floods (well, it did in my part of the world) and by the time the sun sneaked out we were thrown into lockdown. A summer of cancelled events, postponed trips and avoiding ignorant people led to a smudge of reality in early autumn, before the idiots went wild and pushed us back into another lockdown, this time accompanied by rain, dark nights and monotony.
As if all that wasn’t bad enough, we seem to have lost more of the stars of my era, people I grew up watching and listening too. I’ve also seen so many friends suffer, overwhelmed with the stress and isolation which 2020 has brought.
What we need – what I need – is something to lift the gloom, to shine brightly as 2020 staggers towards its unimpressive conclusion. And what did I get? Mud Ballad, that’s what.
Mud Ballad is bleak, miserly, woeful, shameful and brimming with drudgery. Set in the town of Spudsville, a dreary unforgiving town where the rain seldom stops pissing down on people and the streets are awash with mud, it charts the misery and deception of Jonathon and Daniel Crabb, conjoined twins who – due to the selfish decision of Jonathon – end up going it alone.
Aided by a cast of disreputable characters – a disgraced surgeon whose cow-part transplants didn’t work out as he’d planned, an uppity mime who has forgotten his clown roots, a bar-man with abject hygiene and an old couple breeding fighting hogs - the narrative sets out to prove that, sometimes, not wanting to be lonely is the worst possible position to be in.
So, you might be thinking, it seems that Mud Ballad isn’t going to be the book to inject a little joy into the smothering inanity of 2020, but here’s the rub: Mud Ballad is utterly glorious.
The misery and depravation of Spudsville, the self-pity and shame of Jonathon Crabb, the manipulative ways of both Crabb twins, the forlorn loveless mess which affects the shamed doctor, and the arrogance of the reinvented mime, Mud Ballad hooked me in and dragged me along on a strangely uplifting and joyous journey. I laughed, I groaned, I felt the tension, and I even winced at one point, which for me is something very rare.
Putting the main plot aside, there is so much about Spudsville which is wrong, but ultimately right. From the hog fights to the excessively high suicide rate, the deserted streets and closed down shops, the rundown dirty pub and the train tracks smeared with gore and carrion, Mud Ballad is a story which could only be set in the town.
Add to the heady atmosphere the surgeon’s inability to reject manipulation or to forget his unrequited love, a grimoire left in the pub by passing magicians, and a whole heap of hellish shenanigans, and Mud Ballad ultimately explodes into a carnival of chaos which cannot help but push the reader into the very heart of the madness.
Loneliness, or more precisely the desire not to be lonely ever again, is at the core of the story, and that gives it a certain humanity which is easy to understand and empathise with. This balances so well with the brutality of the locations and its inhabitants, and Quenell’s style adds an appropriate voice to the story.
I read Mud Ballad in one sitting. I did put it down at one point to go to sleep, but in less than a minute I’d picked it up again. I was hooked on Spudsville, and I dare say a fair few others will be too.
As if all that wasn’t bad enough, we seem to have lost more of the stars of my era, people I grew up watching and listening too. I’ve also seen so many friends suffer, overwhelmed with the stress and isolation which 2020 has brought.
What we need – what I need – is something to lift the gloom, to shine brightly as 2020 staggers towards its unimpressive conclusion. And what did I get? Mud Ballad, that’s what.
Mud Ballad is bleak, miserly, woeful, shameful and brimming with drudgery. Set in the town of Spudsville, a dreary unforgiving town where the rain seldom stops pissing down on people and the streets are awash with mud, it charts the misery and deception of Jonathon and Daniel Crabb, conjoined twins who – due to the selfish decision of Jonathon – end up going it alone.
Aided by a cast of disreputable characters – a disgraced surgeon whose cow-part transplants didn’t work out as he’d planned, an uppity mime who has forgotten his clown roots, a bar-man with abject hygiene and an old couple breeding fighting hogs - the narrative sets out to prove that, sometimes, not wanting to be lonely is the worst possible position to be in.
So, you might be thinking, it seems that Mud Ballad isn’t going to be the book to inject a little joy into the smothering inanity of 2020, but here’s the rub: Mud Ballad is utterly glorious.
The misery and depravation of Spudsville, the self-pity and shame of Jonathon Crabb, the manipulative ways of both Crabb twins, the forlorn loveless mess which affects the shamed doctor, and the arrogance of the reinvented mime, Mud Ballad hooked me in and dragged me along on a strangely uplifting and joyous journey. I laughed, I groaned, I felt the tension, and I even winced at one point, which for me is something very rare.
Putting the main plot aside, there is so much about Spudsville which is wrong, but ultimately right. From the hog fights to the excessively high suicide rate, the deserted streets and closed down shops, the rundown dirty pub and the train tracks smeared with gore and carrion, Mud Ballad is a story which could only be set in the town.
Add to the heady atmosphere the surgeon’s inability to reject manipulation or to forget his unrequited love, a grimoire left in the pub by passing magicians, and a whole heap of hellish shenanigans, and Mud Ballad ultimately explodes into a carnival of chaos which cannot help but push the reader into the very heart of the madness.
Loneliness, or more precisely the desire not to be lonely ever again, is at the core of the story, and that gives it a certain humanity which is easy to understand and empathise with. This balances so well with the brutality of the locations and its inhabitants, and Quenell’s style adds an appropriate voice to the story.
I read Mud Ballad in one sitting. I did put it down at one point to go to sleep, but in less than a minute I’d picked it up again. I was hooked on Spudsville, and I dare say a fair few others will be too.
June 16, 2022
Okay okay--why aren't more people talking about this book?! This will probably be on my top 10 list for 2022. I know it came out a bit ago but my goodness...people need to share more about The Mud Ballad!
It starts out with twin brothers connected by the forehead and in order to get separated by the traveling circus doctor, they decided one had to kill the other--so they do it. Years afterward the living brother is struggling and would do anything to get his brother back, with the help of the circus doctor he meets again.
This was a story I wasn't expecting at all. It was so refreshing and unique, I couldn't help but to fall in love with it. It had so many creepy, weird moments of horror, body horror, supernatural elements, monsters and ridiculous gore. When I tell you I was literally cackling in the middle of Starbucks while reading about some really gross body horror, I was CACKLING. It gave me life and that's an easy way to get a full five stars from me.
The writing was really easy to read and the story was fun to follow. There are multiple perspectives but not overdone or pointless. The author really did an amazing job showing the reader how the books world is similar to ours but completely different at the same time. Quenell doesn't hit you over the head with trying to explain questionable things characters/society does in this--things are the way they are because..well that's just how they are and it worked! I didn't question it, I would just go "huh..that's wild" and just continued on. That's good storytelling in my opinion.
Overall, I obviously enjoyed this book a lot and plan on rereading it later on in the year. This just might be a new weird little comfort read for me (don't ask).
If you like the 90's films FREAKS and PEEWEE'S BIG ADVENTURE then you just might like this book. It gives off the same vibe and it's perfection.
And yes there are content warnings--if you have any, look into them.
5/5
It starts out with twin brothers connected by the forehead and in order to get separated by the traveling circus doctor, they decided one had to kill the other--so they do it. Years afterward the living brother is struggling and would do anything to get his brother back, with the help of the circus doctor he meets again.
This was a story I wasn't expecting at all. It was so refreshing and unique, I couldn't help but to fall in love with it. It had so many creepy, weird moments of horror, body horror, supernatural elements, monsters and ridiculous gore. When I tell you I was literally cackling in the middle of Starbucks while reading about some really gross body horror, I was CACKLING. It gave me life and that's an easy way to get a full five stars from me.
The writing was really easy to read and the story was fun to follow. There are multiple perspectives but not overdone or pointless. The author really did an amazing job showing the reader how the books world is similar to ours but completely different at the same time. Quenell doesn't hit you over the head with trying to explain questionable things characters/society does in this--things are the way they are because..well that's just how they are and it worked! I didn't question it, I would just go "huh..that's wild" and just continued on. That's good storytelling in my opinion.
Overall, I obviously enjoyed this book a lot and plan on rereading it later on in the year. This just might be a new weird little comfort read for me (don't ask).
If you like the 90's films FREAKS and PEEWEE'S BIG ADVENTURE then you just might like this book. It gives off the same vibe and it's perfection.
And yes there are content warnings--if you have any, look into them.
5/5
May 7, 2025
This book is grimy, brutal, gory, and sublime. I was properly discomfited throughout, and I even had to put it down a couple of times to catch my breath. I’m not sure where or when the story takes place—that bothered me for a few pages. But I soon realized it didn’t matter. The story progressed effortlessly in its own little dimension of mud, excrement, blood, and despair. As an aspiring short fiction writer I admired how damn expediently the author told this story without sacrificing character development. I’d rather give the book 3.5 stars, and not 4, only because the behavior of the townies at the end of the story seemed inconsistent with their depiction throughout. Other than that quibble I thought this book was exquisitely gruesome.
June 12, 2020
This starts with a gut punch and you never really get a chance to catch your breath. In the best way. In a relatively short book, Jo pulls the full spectrum of human emotion out of you. It’s fun. It’s scary. It’s creepy. It’s heart wrenching. It’s beautiful. We all just want to be loved and heard. But we get so caught up in the how and sometimes that leads to actions you can’t take back. Even when you really really try! I loved this book. Will definitely be worth a revisit very soon to catch the layers I missed during the first read. Excellent first novella for Jo! (Hard to believe it’s the first!)
September 26, 2020
For most people, when they want a break from a sibling, they can walk away or move away or ignore them. But for the very unfortunate few, they can get no break unless they take a knife and wish for the best. When Jonathan Crabb's experiment turns sour, he finds himself alone and forced to create a new life. With misery now super glued to his body instead, he finds bottles of regret that he gets drunk on causing memories of his former life to constantly tattoo themselves on his brain. He ends up reuniting with a circus surgeon as both fight past demons. This was a cool read and the writing was excellent as well.
January 28, 2021
I have a real soft spot for the grotesque, mainly because it's often something I've never experienced and hopefully never will, and partially because it's so incredibly difficult to pull off well. Grotesque for shock sake is tiresome and childish (The Painted Bird). Grotesque to grab attention so that a larger message can be told can be frustrating at best (Equus) and obnoxiously smug at worst (A day no Pigs Would Die). But this? This is exactly what Grotesque is all about. Telling a legit story from beginning to end that's gross because that's the situation. I loved this. More Jo Quenell, please.
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