Slug and Other Stories

by Megan Milks

A woman metamorphoses into a giant slug; another quite literally eats her heart out; a wasp falls in love with an orchid; and hair starts sprouting from the walls. These stories slip and slide between genres--from video games to fan fiction, avant-garde theater to choose-your-own-adventure--as characters cycle through giddying changes in gender, physiology, species, and identity. Collapsing boundaries between bodies and forms, these fictions interrogate the visceral, gross, and absurd.

"This book is fucking weird," wrote Brit Mandelo in 2015. It's only gotten weirder since. Slug and Other Stories is a revised and expanded edition of a contemporary cult classic. Finally back in print, this collection is a testament to the messy anti-logic of queer feelings by a revelatory new voice.

Genres: Short Stories, Queer, Fiction, LGBT, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction

250 pages, Paperback

First published November 9, 2021

Reviews

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The weirdest fucking book I've ever read: incredibly inventive, strangely sexy, and very queer. In the opening story a woman has sex with and then turns into a giant slug. Very representative of the whole collection. A fun reread!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out now! Thank you, Feminist Press!

This is a revised and updated edition of my first book Kill Marguerite, with many older stories revised, and some of them cut to make way for six new stories. Available for preorder here: https://www.feministpress.org/books-n...

Many thanks to the following writers who offered these generous endorsements!

“Megan Milks is the most interesting prose writer working today. There! I said it. Milks smashes fiction and glues the shards back together. Milks destroys boredom! Milks stans fanfic, retells the New Narrative, lights a million candles at the altar of queer and trans experimental literature, sends love letters to Kathy Acker and Samuel R. Delany and Ovid, hate-reads Sweet Valley High in the sexiest and most disturbing ways. You will never look at Tegan and Sara—or slugs, or tomatoes—in the same way again. Be careful: this collection is a virus that will permanently change the way you read. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” —Andrea Lawlor, author of Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl

“Video game logic, middle school best friend clubs, choose your own adventure: Megan Milks both critiques and indulges in pop culture forms, often by way of viscid zoological/extraterrestrial avatars, and does so while saying profound things about trans bodies, intimacy, and vulnerability. How did they do all this? They are so cool, and I definitely want to be their friend.” —Jeanne Thornton, author of Summer Fun

"Few writers are able to surprise and thrill me like Megan Milks does. Slug and Other Stories moves from fantasy to embodiment, inventing an eroticism that explodes binaries in ways that are both destabilizing and a real turn-on." —Dodie Bellamy, author of When the Sick Rule the World

[Sage Agee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m in love with Megan Milks and their Fiona Apple brain

[Ariadne Blayde · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like these stories but the content was so extreme/triggering that I couldn't get through most of them. Bestiality, incest, shit fetish... seriously, lots of sex scenes involving shit... I am a sex-positive person but this stuff seemed to be on the page just for shock value. I enjoyed the stories that weren't explicitly and aggressively sexual in nature, like "Kill Marguerite" and the one about the wasp-orchid couple and their struggles with monogamy. LOL. I'm sure the graphic stuff has its deeper meaning or whatever but I just found it extremely off-putting. I was very relieved to be done with this book.

[Jonah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why would I ever read a cishet author again when I could read things like this? feeling so seen

[Kate Grimm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I brought this book to a bar and made everyone read “Slug.” I have gone down in history as the terrible bar fly who made everyone read a story about slug sex. I am at peace.

[Christiane Erwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lately, I've been into the absurdist, and I've been seeking out LGBTQ+ authors and subject matter (in general tired of reading things from the cis male perspective). Slug scratched all my itches so deeply I bled -- but in a good way. These stories are wacko. They push every boundary you can think of, and then poke around and eventually jump straight down your throat. I'm certain that's intentional. If you're grossed out, disgusted, or horrified, this is an excellent opportunity to ask yourself, "Why?" What cultural norms are you espousing? Have you questioned them? Asked yourself whether they're legitimate? Are you concern trolling the author or the characters? What made you think that way? Every story is a thought exercise and allows readers to define or redefine their attitudes. I can't recommend it enough. (Plus the sheer amount of unbridled creativity is inspiring! Every author could be so unhinged.)

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this collection of short stories down, completely entranced by Milks' creativity and these weird and wild stories. This book is super queer and trans and full of outlandish sex and warped pop culture references and it was sometimes strange and always remarkable.

[Amy Biggart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh boy do I have thoughts after reading this

[Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was disgusting and i loved it, ottessa moshfegh retire now!!

[George Landau-Pincus · Rating 2 out of 5]

“I lean over, grabbing my protruding bowel tube, and raise it to blow on the nipple. This means sex. I need my father to be my lover. My father is my lover.” If you’re into such grotesque and visceral descriptions of sex, you’ll probably love this book, but it was absolutely not for me. Milks has a decidedly niche audience with this, and I’m somewhat confused as to why someone working at the bookstore recommended it to me. Is the book blatantly queer? Yes. Am I visibly queer? Also yes. But is there something about me that screams “I want to spend $20 on a book that contains My Little Pony erotica”? I sure hope not! The parts of this that weren’t erotica based around body horror or animals felt like they were written in the language of Twitter users who think that using words they learned in therapy makes them better than everyone else.
Megan Milks, if you somehow see this, I’m sorry, and I’m sure you’re a wonderful person, and I’m sure there are lots and lots of people who really want to read something like this, but I am not one of them.

[tillie lefforge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like this book was made for me but thats just because this book was made for weirdo queer people who are interested in thinking about the grotesque! This is the first time I’ve read a book in (around) one day in a long time, and I have Never felt compelled to do that with any other story collection. Just awesome stories and I really appreciated Milks’ self-awareness of the authoring process coming through (subtle when it should be, obvious when it should be). I’ll be reading more Megan Milks 100%

[Kasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was horny, wet, disgusting, violent, slimey, abject, sweet, complicated, queer, sci-fi, magical, and horror-filled. It’s a collection of short stories by the same author and they all feel very different, in a good way. It does touch on some heavy things: CW body dysmorphia, sexual violence, spit, queer-phobia, body-horror

[no · Rating 5 out of 5]

delicious. disgusting. perfect.

[Ann (Inky Labyrinth) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very weird and very queer.

[theperksofbeingmarissa ;) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quite possibly the worst fucking book I read in my life. Most of these stories are appalling and disgusting, and they typically fall flat. And if im understanding correctly - that My Little Pony like story was just too much. Also, I'm not into incest or bestiality content. I am UTTERLY disgusted. I wasted my fucking time.

[Zanny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciated how weird and visceral these stories were. It's always interesting to identify common threads in an author's work - in these stories, Milks explores identity and love and "twin"ness a lot, transformation and being trans, and the intersection between sex and repulsion.

Absolute favorite was Germ Camp, I loved it and wished it had been longer. It best illustrates the aforementioned sex/repulsion concept. It has this confinement, both physically and sexually, this simultaneous fear and desire for sex, flirting with the precipice of perversion but unable to cross that boundary. I also feel like Milks really effectively portrayed the love and tension between the siblings, as well as the narrator's difficulty in fully grasping their brother's perspective as a disabled person. I know the last story is meant to be a companion piece to Slug but it actually feels more in line with Germ Camp, in the "perverse" desire for something you know may genuinely kill you.

Other ones I found really thought-provoking were Strands, My Father and I Were Bent Groundward, and the titular Slug. I liked the formatting of Kill Margeurite and TWINS, both having kind of this nostalgic video game/Choose-Your-Own-Adventure inspiration, though thematically they were a bit underwhelming.

Trauma-Rama felt in the same vein as Kill Margeurite and TWINS, evoking that kitschy preteen girl nostalgia with underlying seriousness beneath, but I liked it much better than the other two and found it much more impactful and interesting. That one and Germ Camp were, to me, the strongest pieces in the collection.

Some of them just didn't land for me, though, and felt kind of pretentious. And too aware of how "shocking" they were. Wild Animals and Swamp Cycle felt that way to me. I felt like Wild Animals in particular more or less had the same kind of meaning that Slug did but illustrated it less effectively. Others I didn't outright dislike but I felt kind of indifferent to, Like Tomato Heart.

Overall a worthwhile read with some great pieces, though not all of them landed for me.

[Wilson Crook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, gory, gross, funny. Switch from my usual sci-fi but had some very fantastical elements

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Slug and Other Stories” by Megan Milks
I read the first story in this collection, the eponymous “Slug,” and thought… “What the f*** did I get into?” By the end of the collection, I got it. Megan Milks collection of short stories is revolutionary queer writing, but it is not the nice tidy inspiring queerness we see upheld in pop culture. Milks has written a messy, gross, perverse collection that when taken together reminds us that queerness is not just about breaking the gender binary. Queerness is about eschewing convention, about uprooting patterns of communication which have become normative. Milks has written stories that are not just about queerness, but they present queer identities queerly and without any hesitation. Some of these stories I do not yet understand, and some of them were honestly too graphic for my personal taste but many of them were really incredible. Standouts for me include “The Strands,” “Kill Marguerite,” “Earl and Ed,” and “Patrick Gets Inspired.” I do not recommend this collection for everyone, but for those willing to approach queer themes and representations with an open mind this will be a thought-provoking collection.

[Diamond Braxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was weeeirrerdddd. Like really weird. But also, really cool. One story was a choose your own adventure type, which I had a lot of really fun reading all of the different ways the stories could have ended.

I picked up this book because I loved the author’s novel “Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body,” which I still believed I loved more just because I had a lot in common with the MC and the magical, genre-bending elements were used perfectly.

Ultimately, if you’re up for something weird, and nothing you’ve seen before, I’d suggest reading this book. There’s lot of discussion on gender identity / bodies / relationships / queerness / being human / etc. This book is not for the faint of heart. There were a few stories that had the grossest / weirdest descriptions that might make you wanna puke but in this weird, beautiful way???

I don’t know. Take a risk, try it out. I’m glad I did ❤️

[Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

hahahahahaha ok what the fuck

(thanks to feminist press for the ARC)

showing the expansiveness of queer and trans stories in so many weird and interesting and upsetting ways. including through lots of VERY disturbing sex lol

particularly enjoyed the longer stories, and the ones that leaned into nostalgia and played w form using 90s cultural staples like BSC, Choose Your Own Adventure, and Seventeen’s Trauma-Rama column. there are also some stories in here that i uhhh truly hope to never think about again

favorites: The Strands, Kill Marguerite, Pleasantvale Twins #119: Abducted!, Germ Camp, Trauma-Rama: A Collaboration, Take Us to Your LDR, Patrick Gets Inspired

would recommend if you liked Sarahland or Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl

[Caroline Waters · Rating 2 out of 5]

vividly nasty. i’m sure there’s a point but it’s lost on me

[Sam Boman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the weirdest fucking book I’ve ever read. I've always been into the absurdist and generally seek out LGBTQ+ authors and subject matter (in general tired of reading things from the cis male perspective). Slug scratched all my itches so deeply I bled - - but in a good way. These stories are so absurd you have to just accept it and move on. They push every boundary you can think of, and then poke around and eventually jump straight down your throat. I'm certain that's intentional. If you're grossed out, disgusted, or horrified, this is an excellent opportunity to ask yourself, "Why?" What cultural norms are you espousing? I was horrified and grossed out so many times and yet …. Have you questioned why? Asked yourself whether they're legitimate? WHY DO WE BELIEVE WHAT WE BELIEVE? This author is so unhinged and creative in a way I could never be. Gross and spectacular!

[Matt Maielli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both delightful and downright disgusting, probably unlike anything else I’ve read. From short stories to flash fiction, I’m blown away by what Milks can get done in so few pages. Several of these stories serve as severely extended metaphors, but they also do it with a single short graf, like here:

“When Dionysus laughs, it’s an all-devouring laugh, as though she is swallowing you down. It’s a fearless, monstrous laugh. You must trust her to hack you back up.”

Faves: probably “Slug,” “Kill Marguerite,” and “Trauma-Rama.”

[abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.25) this short story collection tackles gender identity, fluidity, and expression through elements of absurdity. there’s also quite a few stories about toxic relationships, autonomy, and restriction. like most collections, these were a mixed bag. i loved a few; i tolerated a few; i struggled with a few. my favorites were “the strands,” “trauma-rama,” “earl and ed,” and “take us to your ldr.” i’d maybe recommend this for anyone looking for more queer stories, but beware! they get gross!

[Anna Rodimtseva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this collection of stories is going to stay with me for a long time. These stories are perfectly arousing and unsettling. I'm left with a heightened awareness of just how grotesque queer embodiment is.

[Hella Smella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deliciously creepy, smart, sexy queer sci-fi stories

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

that was... interesting

[Leah Skay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wild. Upsetting. So wet.

[loyboy · Rating 4 out of 5]

super weird and creative, some major standouts