Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Fairest Flesh” as Want to Read:
Fairest Flesh
by
In 16th century Hungary, Countess Erszébet Báthory commits acts of legendary bloodshed, but she is not working alone, and the reality is worse than anyone dare imagine. Part fairytale, part historical novel, and steeped in an atmosphere of horrific dread, Fairest Flesh is the debut novel from author K.P. Kulski. Lady Báthory by way of Brothers Grimm, a notorious monster is
...more
Paperback, 227 pages
Published
November 28th 2020
by Strangehouse Books
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Fairest Flesh,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about Fairest Flesh
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Fairest Flesh
A stunning debut! In K.P. Kulski’s Fairest Flesh, historical horror and blood-soaked fairy tales coalesce to form a world entirely its own. If you think you know the story of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, wait until you see what Kulski has in store. This book holds nothing back, and once you fall into the dark clutches of Kulski’s writing, you won’t be able to stop reading. Each dynamic character is full of sins and humanity alike; their desires will bleed into your soul, refusing to set you free
...more
“Poor Persephone, she had a season too. Hades only wanted her dewy. Everyone thinks the queen of the underworld ate the seeds. Wasn’t so. She was the food and Hades the greedy one who ate and ate before plucking another...Persephone gave Hades a stomachache and afterward—she was all needles.”
FAIREST FLESH turns this tale of Erszébet Báthory into a fairytale that would give the Grimm brothers the shivers. All the elements from the countess who needs to be the fairest, a witch who covets beauty, p ...more
FAIREST FLESH turns this tale of Erszébet Báthory into a fairytale that would give the Grimm brothers the shivers. All the elements from the countess who needs to be the fairest, a witch who covets beauty, p ...more
Review to come for Night Worms
Weaving together historical fiction and gruesome fairytale, Fairest Flesh is a deft reimagining of the Bathory story, threaded with themes of power, helplessness and rage. And blood. Lots of blood.
A tense, gripping read, the book simmers with violence throughout, punctuated by explosive moments when it tears through to the surface, much in the way of the Countess Bathory herself. Kulski’s writing is dark and lush, her characters complex and flawed in ways that emphasise their humanity as much as ...more
A tense, gripping read, the book simmers with violence throughout, punctuated by explosive moments when it tears through to the surface, much in the way of the Countess Bathory herself. Kulski’s writing is dark and lush, her characters complex and flawed in ways that emphasise their humanity as much as ...more
Through a lens of witchcraft and folklore, Fairest Flesh takes the vanity-focused mainstream narrative on Bathory and shifts it to focus on pain. Alleviating trauma, alleviating physical torment. These become desperate reasons to kill, elevated toward need, as the novel follows through Bathory's life from childhood and, maybe more importantly, the woman she meets who gives her means toward bloody ends. Quick-paced and decades-spanning, Fairest Flesh takes you on a lifelong journey, with horrors
...more
Fascinating fictionalized retelling for the Erzsébet Báthory story. Highly recommended.
Jan 09, 2021
Jessica Laguna
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
january-2021
The Fairest Flesh was part of the December Nightworms box. I would classify this as historical horror fiction (something I didn’t realize existed!) and part dark fairy tale and feminist literature. These elements create a story that is a beautifully crafted page turner.
The Fairest Flesh is based on Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who supposedly bathed in the blood of young women in an attempt to stay young and beautiful. From reading the author’s note I have learned that part of the legen ...more
The Fairest Flesh is based on Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who supposedly bathed in the blood of young women in an attempt to stay young and beautiful. From reading the author’s note I have learned that part of the legen ...more
Review to come in Rue Morgue magazine.
What an accomplishment for a first novel! The writing is exquisite — “Girls have poisoned themselves in the pursuit of beauty, drowned in the need for perfection. Just to obtain some worth, because even a little worth is everything.”
The threads and themes create an amazing tapestry of fear, suffering, and depravity all while bringing in history and folklore to create one of the best treatments of Bathory I’ve read. Very, very highly recommended.
The threads and themes create an amazing tapestry of fear, suffering, and depravity all while bringing in history and folklore to create one of the best treatments of Bathory I’ve read. Very, very highly recommended.
2.5 stars.
This book meant well.
At the very least, it certainly had a lot on its mind. An uneasy, not-at-all successful blend of historical fiction, slasher novel, and fairy tale, Fairest Flesh sort of exists as a weird inverse of Garth Risk Hallberg’s mammoth City on Fire. Where Hallberg’s book really needed to be cut in half to streamline its narrative, K.P. Kulski instead tries to cram so much into Fairest Flesh’s 200 pages that she asks the reader to take a series of unsupported leaps in logi ...more
This book meant well.
At the very least, it certainly had a lot on its mind. An uneasy, not-at-all successful blend of historical fiction, slasher novel, and fairy tale, Fairest Flesh sort of exists as a weird inverse of Garth Risk Hallberg’s mammoth City on Fire. Where Hallberg’s book really needed to be cut in half to streamline its narrative, K.P. Kulski instead tries to cram so much into Fairest Flesh’s 200 pages that she asks the reader to take a series of unsupported leaps in logi ...more
An interesting look at a real life monster, this book has many memorable moments. The gruesome parts stick with you, sure, but the characters and the path they almost all take to complete evil is almost just as bad compelling.
I’m not particularly a fan of historical fiction, so there were parts of the story that were not exactly for me, however, to the author’s credit, I was never bored or uninterested.
The final section of the book is hard to put down with more and more gore and disturbing image ...more
I’m not particularly a fan of historical fiction, so there were parts of the story that were not exactly for me, however, to the author’s credit, I was never bored or uninterested.
The final section of the book is hard to put down with more and more gore and disturbing image ...more
What beautiful, lurid darkness Kulski has spun in this book! Fairest Flesh takes on the retelling if Erszébet Bathory's famed killing spree with evocative, poetic style, framing even the goriest of moments with beauty. Weaving these together along with a healthy dollop of fairy tale creates a beautiful examination of what women are driven to do to themselves and each other in pursuit of fairest flesh.
...more
This thoroughly exceeded my expectations! 👍🏼It was a very interesting take on the story of Erzebet Bathory. I really enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down.
Jan 10, 2021
Emma Giles (byo.book)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2021-books
Dark, gory and beautifully written. The broken way the timelines and characters perspectives fit together is perfect. Truly scary.
Kulski melds 16th century Hungarian history, demented real-life characters, and a dash of fairy tale darkness into a wildly unexpected novel that is as bleak as it is horrifying.
What more do you need? This is some grim stuff.
Highly recommended.
What more do you need? This is some grim stuff.
Highly recommended.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodreads Librari...: Incorrect Author Name/Can't Claim/Duplicate | 4 | 14 | Sep 28, 2020 06:33AM |
Readers also enjoyed
Related Articles
Readers have a lot to look forward to this year! Just feast your eyes upon all of these debut books to check out and emerging authors to...
39 likes · 23 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Jan 09, 2021 08:50PM