This Immaculate Body

Absurd, shocking, and deeply unsettling. After this darkly funny read, you may never feel so comfortable letting a stranger into your home again – Oyinkan Braithwaite, author of MY SISTER THE SERIAL KILLER * iNews *
Stirring to its very core, This Immaculate Body enthrals beyond measure. It bleeds, burns and beguiles, and asks you, dear reader, to give in to obsession. Truly, a religious experience – Lucy Rose
A momentous, kaleidoscopic portrait of a woman on the edge. A wild ride from start to finish – Hanako Footman, author of MONGREL
The relentlessness of Alice’s slipping grip on reality hooks you … if this doesn’t make you cancel your cleaner, nothing will * The Times *
Written in an electric stream of consciousness, van Straaten’s debut - which won the inaugural Women’s Prize Discoveries ward - is as terrifying as it is heartbreaking, revealing how loneliness and damaging adolescent experiences can shape a person. A chilling book by an exciting new voice * Vogue *
A compelling debut … original, darkly funny and addictive this has twists that will leave you reeling * Glamour *
A thriller with a difference … A fascinating portrait of love, obsession and desire * Cosmopolitan *
A thriller as much as it is an exploration of how we present ourselves and perceive our material culture, this is an evocative story that deserves immediate cult status * Dazed *
Absolutely addictive. From the very first page, Emma Van Straaten had me by the Hail Marys. Obsessive, delusional, disastrous - but so intricately woven with heart, warmth and empathy. I’m as devoted to This Immaculate Body as Alice is to her delusions. An impeccable debut from a rising talent – Alice Slater
Brilliantly tense (and at points very tender) descent into madness. I wanted to shout at Alice and I also wanted to hold her tight. Van Straaten’s prose is unique - long sentences and paragraphs which fold the reader into Alice’s close, procedural obsession. In lots of ways, it’s a dark read, but Alice’s hurt and hope is luminous. She’s a deeply flawed girlie with a big beating heart – Catherine Airey
Safe to say this is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. It was addictive, unsettling, and propulsive, I was hooked after the first page. I will be recommending to everybody when it’s out in February! – Chloe Michelle Howarth
Truly fascinating and compulsive - transgressive with an ending that gave me whiplash. Emma’s writing is gorgeous - rich and delicious and evocative even when uncomfortable. I found myself drawn to and repelled by Alice in equal measure, I couldn’t tear my eyes away … an accomplished and visceral debut. I’m slightly concerned about how decisively Alice crawled into my head and has stayed there since I finished reading – Kirsty Capes
An addictive deep-dive into the dark, throbbing heart of obsessive desire. Baby Reindeer meets Convenience Store Woman – Kirsty Logan
Deeply unsettling, horribly insightful, oddly hilarious and alarmingly tender. This Immaculate Body is a deliciously addictive portrayal of blood-thumping, heart-bursting obsession that lures you in and makes you culpable – Hazel Barkworth
When it comes to love, we’ve all got the odd horror story. But Alice loves harder than most. She’s dangerous, vulnerable, devious, hilarious, and she pushes our sympathy to breaking point. I loved every minute of her unsettling company – Kate van der Borgh
I couldn’t turn away from This Immaculate Body - Emma van Straaten paints a frank and utterly compelling portrait of obsession, with a protagonist that got completely under my skin. A deliciously unsettling novel – Hannah Beer
An intense, richly textured book that I read with one eye covered - eager to see what Alice would do next, yet afraid for (and of) her. Every sentence crackles with suspense and sensory detail – Nikkitha Bakshani
This is a novel best read in an intoxicating, headlong rush * London Standard *
This fine author is one to watch … A tale of obsession - and of how women see the world, and how it views them - it is a compulsive listen, and is garnering cult status * Sunday Post *
[A] compelling and unsettling story of obsession * Daily Mirror *
You might be thinking that you have already read your fair share of women unravelling, but you have never read it like this. This book is like an adult version of teenage tumblr infatuations, but on steroids. While the ‘unhinged woman’ trop can be difficult to execute convincingly, Van Straaten does it right … An absolutely amazing debut, This Immaculate Body has been living in my mind, crystal clear, since I first read it last year – Zeynep Kazmaz * nb. *
Van Straaten’s writing is so sharp that it becomes impossible at times not to root for our problematic protagonist. It’s a ride you don’t want to end * Cosmopolitan *

Emma van Straaten is a writer of British-Mauritian heritage living in London with her husband and two daughters. Born in Lewisham, she grew up on the Sussex coast, headed north to Durham to study English Literature, and is now happily surrounded by books working at The London Library. In 2021, days after her first daughter was born, she won the inaugural Women’s Prize Discoveries Award with an early partial draft of This Immaculate Body and has been writing whenever she can, ever since.

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