She Made Herself a Monster - by Anna Kovatcheva (Hardcover)

About the Book

"We make monsters in order to destroy them. For thousands of years, we've named witches and burned them, suspected demons and exorcised them. When crops die and children fall ill, who better to blame than a monster? In nineteenth-century Bulgaria, Yana rides from one desolate town to the next, staging grisly displays while the villagers sleep: animal corpses in the public square, eggs filled with blood in the chicken coop. She tells the stricken villagers stories of vampires that stalk the night. Then Yana eliminates the threat, and leaves seeds of hope in her wake. The village of Koprivici, however, is plagued by exceptional illness and misfortune, its children rarely surviving infancy. There, Yana meets Anka: a headstrong orphan who the villagers blame for their curse. As Anka approaches womanhood, the village Captain is grooming her for marriage against her will. Anka is powerless against him-that is, until Yana arrives. Together, the orphan and the vampire slayer hatch a plan: to conjure a monster so vile, it might provide cover for Anka to escape. But their plan quickly takes on a horrifying life of its own... Inspired by Slavic folklore, SHE MADE HERSELF A MONSTER concocts a clever mix of witchery, ghost stories, heresy, and deception to spin a feminist fable about agency and the power of collective action. It is a haunting and astoundingly cathartic tale of two women who will stop at nothing to take control of their fate"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

" The best kind of vampire story--one in which the real evil is us."
--Peng Shepherd

"Deliciously monstrous and demanding of our attention, Anna Kovatcheva crafts a feminist vampire story like no other."
--Ms, Magazine

A heady, dark-hued Gothic gem of a debut novel: in nineteenth-century Bulgaria, a self-proclaimed vampire slayer--in truth, a traveling con artist--joins forces with a teenage girl to create a monster deadly enough to vanquish their own demons.

We make monsters in order to destroy them. For thousands of years, we've named witches and burned them, suspected demons and exorcised them. When crops die and children fall ill, who better to blame than a monster?

Yana rides from one desolate town to the next, staging grisly displays while the villagers sleep: animal corpses in the public square, eggs filled with blood in the chicken coop. She tells the stricken villagers stories of vampires that stalk the night. Then she eliminates the threat, and sows seeds of hope in her wake.

The village Koprivci is plagued by exceptional illness and misfortune, its children rarely surviving infancy. There, Yana meets Anka: a headstrong orphan who the villagers blame for their curse. As Anka approaches womanhood, the village Captain is grooming her for marriage against her will. Anka is powerless against him--that is, until Yana arrives. Together, the orphan and the vampire slayer hatch a plan: to conjure a monster so vile, it might provide cover for Anka to escape. But their plan quickly takes on a horrifying life of its own...

Inspired by Slavic folklore, She Made Herself a Monster concocts a clever mix of witchery, ghost stories, heresy, and deception to spin a feminist fable about agency and the power of collective action. It is a haunting and astoundingly cathartic tale of two women who will stop at nothing to take control of their fate.

Review Quotes

"Deliciously monstrous and demanding of our attention, Anna Kovatcheva crafts a feminist vampire story like no other. Filled with folklore, witchcraft, ruminations on agency and storytelling, this debut novel will have you questioning who the real monsters are."
--Ms. Magazine

"Kovatcheva debuts with the sharp tale of a fraudulent vampire slayer who comes to the aid of an oppressed teen girl in 19th-century Bulgaria...With colorful folklore, grisly details of Yana's alleged vampire killings, and the characters' intense desires, this clever gothic novel offers readers much to savor."
--Publishers Weekly

"As a longtime fan of Anna Kovatcheva's shorter fiction, this deliciously dark debut novel delivers the same dreamlike prose I've come to admire, but digs far deeper into labyrinths of belief, desperation, and illusions of necessity. By turns horrific, atmospheric, and tender, this is a spell book that practices the best kind of magic--revealing the monsters embedded within and around us."
--Sequoia Nagamatsu

"A poetic exploration of the power of stories. Inspired by Slavic folklore, the novel uses lyrical prose, realistically drawn characters, and multiple points of view to expose the monsters created to make sense of the shadows."
--Library Journal

"Arresting and atmospheric. . . a tale of man-made monsters, feminine rage, and collective trauma that will appeal to fans of...Ottessa Moshfegh."
--Booklist

"A tale of dark humanity that sticks like a brick in the mouth."
--Kirkus

"This exciting, gorgeous novel reminded me why I love vampire stories. Rooted in folklore and peopled with characters who are hauntingly real, She Made Herself a Monster never looks away from the consequences of burying humanity's evils too shallow and too near. I still have chills."
--Kate Heartfield, author of The Embroidered Book

"Poetic, visceral, dark, Kovatcheva captures the monstrous in both the mythical and the mundane. A terrifying read that will leave you looking over your shoulder long after you finish reading."
--Isabelle Schuler, author of Lady Macbethad

"Kovatcheva has woven a darkly mesmerizing tale of folklore, witchcraft, and monsters that will linger at the corners of your dreams long after you've finished reading. She Made Herself a Monster is the best kind of vampire story--one in which the real evil is us."
--Peng Shepherd, author of All This and More and The Cartographers

"Gorgeous and gruesome, Anna Kovatcheva's bold and atmospheric debut marks her as a star on the rise. She Made Herself a Monster pulses with folklore and reads like the best literary fiction, but at heart this is the scariest kind of fairy tale: the kind that asks you if you truly know what you should be afraid of. "
--Julia Fine, author of Maddalena and the Dark