Crocosmia

by Miranda Mellis

A revelatory novel (or parable) of art, adventure, and radical politics, set in a world on the precipice.

A philosophical fable, Crocosmia centers on Maya as she recollects the “great turning”—a moment of radical social and ecological change effected in part by the art of her mother, Jane. As Maya recalls her upbringing—from a commune run by anarchist nuns to a time of rural isolation before her mother’s disappearance—Mellis’s prose gorgeously conjures a life defined by revolutionary thought and action and the interplay and tension between family life and political commitment. At once a fantasy, a handbook to political thought, and a work of eco-fiction, this lush novel meditates on how, in a world on the precipice, dreams of communal care can bloom.

Genres: Fiction, Literature

176 pages, Paperback

Published August 5, 2025

Reviews

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crocosmia is a bright, hardy flower that appears in damaged landscapes. This story—centered on a fantasy of killing all the patriarchal “heads of state” at once and then patiently describing how a post-capitalist society might repair and reorganize itself—hits a philosophical, fable-like register. Mellis’s prose is lush and often incantatory, blending political theory with speculative worldbuilding and associative “architectures,” so that reading it feels both elliptical and conceptually dense. In that sense the characters are almost deliberately forgettable; they function less as psychologically rounded individuals than as emblems, voices, and positions within the larger visionary argument about abolitionist politics, ecological remediation, and the liberation of consciousness. Does it work for me? Not really. But I admire it anyway.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF - I really wanted to like this book, but found it painfully pretentious and couldn't get through it.

[Philip Bowers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretentious word salad.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Self-indulgent word salad

[zainab · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this book is the type that has so much it can’t be appreciated on the first read; I certainly did not. I knew it was because of certain concepts I didn’t understand, and this book appears light but really requires in depth analysis. Maybe on a reread I may score it higher.

[Jacob Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

“They built a deck around a cedar hundreds of years old with a swerving trunk, a “leave” tree spared from logging because of its inconvenient sway, unconducive to milling, too wildly grained, giving a lesson in how to escape the predations of industry.”

[Melanie Domenech Rodríguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a great book club book. It was not an easy read but there is lots of great fodder for discussion.

Crocosmia provides a vision for a radical future where humanity is able to survive the ravages of late-stage capitalism. Whether you consider the new order utopian or dystopian will be up to you. And although the social order has shifted and people are more connected than ever, Maya (we?) cannot escape the ultimate existential loneliness. Maya (we?) is trapped within herself limited by her perceptions and understandings; limited by her narrative.

[Mason Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Genuinely what is this book even trying to say. It goes from “private property doesn’t exist” to “beheading world leaders for the revolution” to “video games are bad” within five pages of each other

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is idea rich and character/plot poor — but that’s the point. If you allow the premise to work (that this is a work of fiction meant to convey a set of political/philosophical points, rather than a work of fiction meant to explore characters and their relationships, etc.) then you allow the book to work. If you think that you want the mother/daughter relationship to be more emotionally resonant, then you’re not taking the work as it is clearly meant to be read and you’ll be disappointed. The emotional weight of Maya and Jane’s relationship is itself one more point the author is making.

I liked this book in particular because I am just sick of dystopian fiction which envision the world either in or post-Armageddon or in a dire situation that needs saving. Instead it envisions that we move away from our non-fiction dystopian reality and what politics may look like in such a world. What kind of politics and political action do we need to create the world of our shared aspirations?

Interesting, well-sourced (the bibliography at the end offers great further reading) and idea-heavy, the author offers us a world to envision.

[Caleb Michael Sarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miranda Mellis is clearly interested in politics, and language, and the politics of language. There's a clear thesis here that all of our beliefs (social and spiritual) stem from an evolution of semantics, which is interesting, certainly.

The framing of the story, in which seven heads of state are simultaneously beheaded and giant flowers grow in their place, is fantastic. Amazing stuff.

It falls a little short for me because the emotional heft wasn't quite there. In all its ideas and concerns for humanity, I didn't engage emotionally as I like to do with a text.

[Rose]

Put me down with those who wanted to love this book, but just couldn't do it. Word salad is maybe a little harsh, but each paragraph is a chaotic tumble of loosely connected words. There is also a disconcerting combination of naive earnestness and a callous, burn-it-all down mentality I'm used to finding in very young online groups where "guillotine the billionaires" is a serious, primary policy proposal. I am afraid I will not be continuing with this one.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I obtained an ARC of Crocosmia from the independent bookstore where I work.

[amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hopeful story about a more cooperative, more ecological approach to human society that emerges after the "Great Turning." Told mainly through exposition and summary, so very slow moving.

[Audrey Bauman · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Perhaps impossible problems required imaginary means.”

[Elliot Wells · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s a dictionary

[Ruben L · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Trippy, magical, philosophical, sometimes hard to understand and u just have to vibe with it

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crocosmia's trance was so mesmerizing, once I fell into it I often forgot I was reading. It felt more like a song. And I think that's special because while this book is political and critical of a capitalistic hellscape, it's actually really hopeful and utopian and fitting within these dreamy lyrics. If you choose this book my suggestion is you allow it to take you for a ride rather than forcing it to be whatever you think a book is. I hope you're pleasantly surprised.