Near Flesh: Stories

by Katherine Dunn

A previously unpublished collection of stories about motherhood, violence, and desire, from the cult icon Katherine Dunn, the author of Geek Love.

A woman invests in a series of sex robots to get her off and comes to terms with the limitations—and real threat—of automated companionship. A knowing young student pursues an affair with an older man, the poet in residence at the university where she studies writing, and weighs the benefits and costs of their arrangement. A mother moves to a farm with her family and must come to terms with the violence simmering beneath her skin.

Near Flesh is the first and only collection of short fiction by Katherine Dunn, the author of the bestselling novel Geek Love. These nineteen stories are, like Dunn’s entire body of work, attuned to the spit and grit of tough living. They pulse with yearning for a more prosperous life, for sexual satisfaction, to escape abusive husbands and the disappointments of convention. A better life, for these mostly female protagonists, seems always just out of reach. In Near Flesh, Dunn explores the struggle of women to live on their own terms, and the desire to relish—rather than squash—what distinguishes a person.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Audiobook, Short Story Collection

272 pages, Hardcover

Published October 7, 2025

About the author

Katherine Dunn was a novelist and boxing journalist who lived and worked in Oregon. She is the author of the three novels: Attic; Truck; and Geek Love. This, her most well-known work, was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Bram Stoker Prize for horror fiction. She also authored the essay collection One Ring Circus. She died in 2016.

Reviews

[Rhys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A posthumous collection of Dunn's work that is best suited for fans. I can definitely see her skill as a writer and storyteller, but many of the stories just didn't cohere for me. I also can't help but feel put-off by what seems to be Dunn's (negative) fixation with fat people.

[victoria marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

listened as an audiobook first & really into this writing! definitely have to get the print edition someday soon.

[Ashleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took a class in college for my Comparative Literature minor — all about the uncanny: doppelgängers, liminal spaces, the like. You name it we consumed translated movies and texts about it.

Book so perfectly encapsulate that feeling— every day scenarios twisted (in my opinion) for the sneaky inklings that remain inside your head. Except they are laid out on paper, and artfully so.

I am amazed by Catherine Dunn‘s work with this absolute work of art. It’s hard to avoid stalking them while, and I had to force myself to digest as I went.

I’m not done with the book yet; I suspect it is one of those I will return to again and again. Whenever I’m ready for a new tale. Regardless, I already know how I’ll feel at the end. This is one of those collections for which you can tell after the first few pages.

Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC.

[Neven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really solid mix of stories with varied ideas and a strong, confident voice. A few of these broke my heart and left me gasping.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I <3 short stories. I genuinely enjoyed this collection and loved the writing style. This was my first Katherine Dunn read, so I will definitely be checking out geek love. I also enjoyed how every story is very different and takes you to a completely different place. Though some stories stuck out far more than others to me, I still very much enjoyed reading this! Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the earc.

[Bill Philibin · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.0 Stars)

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories, it reminded me a lot of Donald Barthelme. If you are familiar with Geek Love (and liked it), you should enjoy this book. There is a mix of more realistic stories and some that are closer tot he realm of the fantastic. It was a really good mix. And the audiobook narrator was spot on!

[LX · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to the publishers for providing me with an ARC!

3.5 stars! Rounded up!

This is a weird collection and I love weird collections. Some were great and some were okay which is what makes a collection so amazing since there's a little bit of everything thrown in.

My favourite of the lot had to be the title story Near Flesh. I found this just right up my alley and could have read a longer version of it to be honest.

The collection holds all sorts of themes such as death, hope, desire, emotional/mental health, love and loss etc.

[Sagar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some strong stories in here

[Alan]

Rec. by: Previous work; a NYT book review ("Winners and Losers," 10/26/2025)

[Anthony Friscia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently I read a review of Katherine Dunn's work as "beautifully disturbing" or something like that, and that's about right. This is a collection of short stories found and published posthumously. Each is a self-contained, crystalline, little vignette. The way she describes and builds pictures of her characters is so efficient. Her characters tend toward the unattractive, sad sack, mostly female, which I find interesting because she herself seemed to be none of these things from the bit I can gather from pics and interviews. Who is she basing them on? Each of the stories did not leave you wanting for more, but in the best way possible. You got a perfect encapsulation of a character in each, and from that. you can guess where things go, or not, and that's also fine. This might be a good place to start reading her work, and if you can handle it, you can move on to her masterpiece "Geek Love". I hope they find more of these stories, because I'm sad to be done.

[Gabe Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful prose breathes intrigue into the minutiae of life. Dunn captures the sneaky glances, thoughts, and feelings we have but don’t always articulate, creating captivating stories out of everyday scenes. However, the mundanity of the stories was also my biggest gripe - many of the stories were either too short to feel meaningful or too boring to hook me. Will have to check out her novels one day.

[CB_Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first time reading Katherine Dunn even though I've had Geek Love on my shelf for years.

The first thing I admire about this book is its inclusion of truly short fiction: stories that are only a few pages long but present a clear vision or scene, conveyed through crisp imagery and description, and that leave you with a distinct impression before moving on and changing gears. "Fanno Creek" and "The Flautist" were like this, and I really enjoyed them both. There are several longer stories, too, that are urgent and compelling from the get-go; my favorites are "In Transit," "Rhonda Discovers Art," and the title story "Near Flesh."

These five stories are the biggest takeaways from the collection for me. The stories gain traction and momentum as readers progress through them; they really start to take off toward the middle, and I appreciate this thoughtful attention to curating the reading experience.

Dunn navigates many different styles and subjects through these stories and I appreciate the range of ideas exhibited here. Not every story worked for me and that's OK because the ones that did will stick with me. I think this collection stands as a great introduction to Katherine Dunn, and it's inspired me to finally read Geek Love.

[Rebecca Pierzchala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geek Love is hands down one of my favorite books ever, and few authors have the same raw odd sincerity that Dunn did; there’s something so stunningly simple and honest about her prose.

This collection of previously unreleased shorts ranges from an epic folklore retelling to an atmospheric and extremely short horror story, and the pendulum of narration swings between first and third person. The stories occasionally spiral into each other neatly, sometimes nearly, and often branch out gently from a theme or concept carried over from another story. They’re all haunting and individual; ripe, delectable morsels of loss, responsibility, anxiety.

I savored each page, and would have gladly kept reading if only we’d been graced with more. These are stories that will sit with me for quite some time.

Immense gratitude to NetGalley & Macmillan for the e-galley of this, it was an absolute honor.

[Lolly K Dandeneau · Rating 5 out of 5]

via my blog:https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝙊𝙪𝙩𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙩, 𝙞𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙣𝙤 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨.

I am so happy this was published; I was underlining passages like crazy and chomping at the bit to post my review but the month slipped through my fingers. Geek Love was my introduction to Katherine Dunn years and years ago and I loved its darkness. Where Geek Love grabbed me by the throat, this collection is closer to my heart. The writing is beautiful, the people who populate it are a mirror to reality. This is a small taste, “His quiet childhood had accustomed him to small excitements, and perhaps he was physically inclined to interior intensity with little outward display.” The writer understood people and their emotional undercurrents. These short stories were written throughout her career, now published posthumously. It’s incredibly hard for me to put into words the feeling the tales invoke within me, it is the way the characters think and interact. It makes me think of growing up in the 80’s, not because of any event, but more in the way we lived, moved through each day. Fanno Creek I was humored by the “phase” our narrator has in regard to Henry David Thoreau. The antics down by the creek, sacrificing herself to the elements, as close to nature as she can find within proximity to her own house. Behold, the agonies of youth! Playing at both gloom and wittiness, do the young act this dramatic these days?

In The Allies, Edie waits for greatness, despite the ugly things she thinks of herself, because her mother sees something more in her. Something maybe even UFOS are looking for. The Well was one of my favorites, a woman named Gilly is fighting her own cowardice, “She had married Devin in an energetic month of unfamiliar bravado and crouched shivering in his shadow ever since.” Living in a “silent, solitary place miles from another neighbor,” she cares for her little girl Cory (age four) while her husband is at work, and one day there is an emergency. They have only each other at this moment, it seems bleak, and I had a lump in my throat, over such a short story. It’s funny the things that move us most. It is a victory, in a sense.

An angry wife in Blowtorch has had it with her husband’s tests of faith and her children lacking because of it. She has her own plan fired up. In Transit Jim Hubert and his daughter Amanda move into a small valley farm town, everyone is intrigued but no one more than the narrator who hopes to befriend her. Despite her efforts, she knows Amanda has no use for her. Everything about the family of two is mysterious, especially their plans for the thirty-eight-foot ketch they buy. The House Call a husband gives his wife bad news and then things just get darker. Process is a strange story, this is not your ordinary passion the quiet, orphaned Joseph Jaikins lives for, but perfection on the canvas. Near Flesh Thelma Volve wonders what sane thing could love her? She keeps company with her MALE robots. Is this far-fetched these days? There are other tales too. Each story kept me entertained, as Katherine Dunn’s characters are often oddballs, the ones with the most story but without pretty packaging. Pretty packaging draws a bigger crowd, and such stories begin to feel like imitation, and I think that is why Dunn’s writing was always felt fresh, original. She wrote about strange moments and people that were just a bit out of step. Yes, a solid read.

Published October 7, 2025

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

MCD

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[Ashling Preston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this collection soooo bad. Dunn, the legend behind Geek Love, left behind this trove of short fiction, a mix of unreleased and previously unpublished stories that explore desire, violence, and survival -- mostly through the lens of women struggling to maintain control over their lives. It should have been mesmerizing. But mostly, I was frustrated.

Now maybe this is a me problem, but I spent most of this book searching for a throughline connecting these 19 stories that never quite materialized (I sincerely hope that someone smarter than me writes a review explaining what connects these stories so I can understand the error of my ways). As a whole, the collection felt scattered-- occasionally intriguing in isolation, but ultimately failing to cohere. A few pieces stood out-- "Fanno Creek" and "The Flautist" had an odd magnetism that I really can't explain-- but the rest blurred together in a way that felt more like a slog than a revelation. e stories felt a little scattered. Sometimes intriguing in isolation, but failing to cohere as a whole. I kept waiting for a moment where everything would snap into focus, where the collection as a whole would make sense, but it never did.

That said, Dunn's talent is unmistakeable. "The Resident Poet" made my skin crawl (in the best way), while "Near Flesh", the collection's namesake, is an absolute masterclass-- one of the bleakest, most devastating explorations of intimacy and the limits of automated companionship I've ever read. Dunn knows how to unsettle, how to make the grotesque meaningful, but taken as a whole, Near Flesh never came together for me as a fully realized work.

This makes me sad. I wish I felt differently. I wanted to be swept up in what I think could have been Dunn's singular, feral vision, but this collection just didn't land.

Thank you to MCD and NetGalley for the advance copy.

[Jayce Torben · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories have teeth.

Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love slammed into me in my twenties. I read Attic and Truck shortly thereafter.
Discovering Near Flesh stopped my mind for a moment.
Something I hoped for many times over the years turned out to exist: Another book by Katherine Dunn.*

Dunn took me over all over again. She's unclassifiable. Her strength, fierceness, and raw tenderness shine. Her perceptions–cutting, uncanny, and at times humorous at the edge of pain–give me the kind of kinship I longed for from childhood onward.

In Near Flesh, I find a world achingly close to the one that formed me, with its mysteries, uncertain love, violence, and inexplicable events.

It contains one of the most horrifying brief stories I’ve read. ‘Carrying My Baby on My Hip’ hit me in the chest so hard, I’ll remember it forever.

The first five stories tempted me to continue my heady dive into this rush of resonant images and heart-tugging characters non-stop.

Along with the crisp, sharp language, there's the seductive unspooling of memories and the rare communion with someone speaking things that had to stay in the shadows. Gifts of the mind as well as the wounds carried in the body.

This is a place I want to live for awhile, with all its wonders, pain, and bone-deep truths.

There are things we survive that change us. When you get pain and surviving on the page and transmute it beyond personal experience–that’s an alchemy that lasts.

This might be as close as I can get to why she matters so much.

*I haven't encountered Frog. It's the only other book published in her lifetime–aside from one on boxing.

I am deeply grateful to Macmillan| MCD for the review copy for consideration and for bringing Dunn to the attention of more readers. These opinions are solely my own.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The struggle is real for most of the characters (mostly women) in this posthumously published short story collection. And these struggles--situational, internal, external--are always showcased with Dunn's bracing, atmospheric prose. There's always something a little off in these worlds--something terrible that tickles the spine, as one character puts it here. And isn't that what we love about Dunn? Characters that creep you out, shadowy settings laid bare, characters who hate themselves almost as much as they hate the world.

Almost all of these stories have those creepy undercurrents, generally ending with a punch in the face to the reader. From a young mother stuck in a deep well, to a wife who has to get rid of a garage full of roosters to a tough as nails middle manager who seeks solace and kink with "near flesh" robots (one called "The Brain," one simply called, pointedly, "Lips"). There's a very short one early on that alludes to an explosion and a baby shoe that will probably stay with me forever.

One thing that's hard to miss and is pretty off-putting is Dunn's distaste for fat people. So many characters are fat and she scrutinizes their "bulk" and bellies and cow faces way too much. It doesn't help that these characters are often the most pitiable or terrible or both. Like, what the hell?

There were also a couple of stories that felt out of place or (maybe) unfinished. One retelling of an Irish folktale missed me entirely. But overall it was good, if a bit uneasy, to be in Dunn's worlds again.

[Scott Benowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

K. Dunn died in 2016, "Near Flesh" is a collection of short stories which were published posthumously. "Near Flesh" is a combination of stories which had previously been published in various magazines plus several stories which had never been previously published.
A number of the stories which are included in "Near Flesh" are modern feminist fiction, the style which Katherine Dunn is famous for having been one of the pioneers of.
And while Katherine Dunn is famous for having been one of the pioneers of a specific style of modern feminist fiction, she was a very versatile writer. In "Near Flesh," we see one story which is about boxing- a topic which K. Dunn also used to write about frequently, and "Near Flesh" also includes one story which is science fiction/ future fantasy- distopia themed, and "Near Flesh" also includes one story which is a rewriting of a famous medieval Irish folk story.
if you've read any of the stories or books which K. Dunn had published during her lifetime, you'll enjoy reading "Near Flesh"- in "Near Flesh," we see K. Dunn's versatility as an author, this collection illustrates the numerous different subgenres of fiction that K. Dunn used to write.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

The late great Katherine Dunn is mostly known for her brilliant novel, Geek Love. I hadn't read any of her other writing until now.
Her short stories, as it turns out, showcase her talent amply. She needs less brushstrokes than most to create most starkly engaging imagery and portraits. With writing that's almost deceptively simplistic--but never simple!--Dunn fleshes out character by character with striking vividness.
The way she can turn a phrase is masterful.
The only drawback here (for me) is the similarity of themes and characters. It's mostly all women, usually downtrodden, lonely, and weighed down by children they can scarcely afford to raise. The men are almost uniformly terrible and/or absent. There's a lot of struggling to make ends meet, and it stands to mention how powerfully visceral Dunn writes poverty.
All in all, a very good collection from a gifted writer. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/

[Linnéa Lange · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories, centered around people who do ordinary people stuff. I guess, or in some cases maybe it veers into a sci fi-type story.

I thought the writing masterful. It’s not easy to write short, succinct stories that leave an impression, but Dunn manages to do so. What is really remarkable is her ability to make something interesting out of the mundane. The stories digs into the psyche of people — people who are mostly the way that people are. They are flawed and kind of uninteresting, but with rich internal lives, fears and coping mechanisms. These are not stories of hope, but of living.

It’s quite a unique way of writing, of looking into people’s deepest corners. I enjoyed it very much.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for letting me read this ARC.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dunn explores the desires and yearnings typically left unsaid in this collection of short stories. Some of the stories are loosely connected (a woman seen hanging laundry becomes a character in a separate story), all are unsettling. Women attached to various, undeserving men - alcoholics, cheaters, misogynists, a bad poet. There are often children involved, mostly nameless, as the women go through their tedious, mind-numbing daily routines. We know, we're in their heads. Many have a gore factor.

They were all unexpected. Dark. The humor is dry, bitter. The writing flows beautifully, and many of the short stories do what they're supposed to do - leave the reader wanting more.

My thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux | MCD for the Advance Reader Copy. (pub. date 10/7/2025)

[Frankkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Near Flesh reminded me why I like short story collections and why I should read more of them. There’s something compelling about getting a brief glimpse into a life, about an author’s ability to compress a whole world, a history, and a sense of character into just a few pages.

This collection shows Katherine Dunn’s range as a writer. I connected with some stories more than others, but every piece held my attention. Some read like simple fragments of daily routine, while others move fully into science fiction. That variety made the collection feel dynamic without losing cohesion.

I can easily imagine keeping this on my shelf and returning to it now and then, picking up a single story at a time. A solid, engaging collection that highlights just how much can be done in a short form.

I received this book as an ARC.

[Bookeater504 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, was I excited to see this title on my favorite local bookstore's shelf! Geek Love is one of my top 5 favorite reads. I have been lucky enough to get my hands on other novels and collections penned by the late Ms Dunn. (Thank you, Jennie. 💜) This collection of short stories is no Geek Love and more akin to her other novels. At first, I only allowed myself to read one story from Near Flesh a day but then the holidays kept me busy and I welcomed the break from her examples of how bleak being female can be. No lover or god comes to the rescue her subjects. Their struggles are their's alone, or perhaps, wrenching renderings from the author's life experiences. I had to force myself to finish and am grateful to report her beautifully tragic prose did not drive me to utter despair. I need a fluffy read STAT!

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology of short stories made me feel a visceral discomfort with each page. The descriptions of bodies alone made me feel squeamish. The story 'Near Flesh' brought to mind another series of short stories; I Sing the Body Electric! & Other Stories is also named after the short story including a robotic companion (the robots do have very different uses).

My favorite story in this has to be "Rhonda Discovers Art". I love the way the stories read, following each character.

Overall, an interesting set of stories that kept me hooked. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an ardent fan of “Geek Love” (which I lovingly reread every year) once I saw a collection of stories from Ms. Dunn I could not have possibly handed over my money any quicker in order to obtain “Near Flesh.” And the style is all here: the odd characters who operate in a various stages of grief, the visceral language that makes you squirm and laugh at the same time, and the dark beauty of her writing.

But like all work published posthumously, these stories feel rough and unpolished. I wonder if Ms. Dunn would have published these stories in their current state had she still been here.

However, even as incomplete as they are, the sheer talent of Ms. Dunn makes these stories shimmer. If you love her writing, you will appreciate these collection.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a posthumous collection of short fiction by Katherine Dunn. Dunn’s talent for storytelling is evident in these stories. Her skills of depicting the uncanny and a kind of body horror that she is known for are on display here. I think fans of Dunn will enjoy reading more stories from her mind. That said, the curse of the short story collection continues: this is a mixed bag. There are pieces in the collection like the titular story that are a masterclass in the genre. Others felt unfinished. This is often what happens when an author leaves writing behind and it is published posthumously. I think fans of Dunn will be happy, and this book could serve as an introduction to new readers who will seek out her cult classic, Geek Love.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection doesn't feel very cohesive as it spans multiple genres - horror, science fiction, slice of life, even a fairy tale. There's also a few stories that are very similar to each other.
Judging by the stories themselves, there's definitely a few I really enjoyed - "The Allies", "Near Flesh", and "Fanno Creek". Others dragged on. I also would have liked Dunn to delve deeper into some of her protagonists' emotions - "The Education of Mrs. R." comes to mind. Sure, she was dissatisfied with her marriage, but why? Why do this horrible thing?
Fans of Ottessa Moshfegh would probably like the last story.
I also had a hard time figuring out a character's location in a specific scene sometimes.
Though I like Dunn's style for most part, there was no need for the rampant fatphobia.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars! I am a huge fan of Geek Love and was so excited to see Katherine Dunn on the list of upcoming books in NetGalley. Some of the stories dragged a bit but her writing was enthralling and I was so deeply absorbed! If you like Mariana Enriquez type stories, you enjoy a well written story and getting deeply involved, I recommend it. I loved the dark vibe some of the stories carried and in general how different it all was. Thanks to Katherine Dunn for sharing these stories. I really got lost in them!!! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and Farrah, Straus and Giroux for bringing out another book by one of my favorite cult authors!

[Ian]

An author can live on through their writing well beyond their deaths. Publishers releasing new works posthumously has become something of a sport. Joan Didion’s journal, Notes to John was recently published, and Harper Lee, who’s Go Set a Watchman only seemed like it was posthumously published, is set to have a collection of writing out later this year (though Salinger’s mythical vault remains unopened). Similarly, Katherine Dunn, who passed in 2016, is set to have a second posthumous book published, Near Flesh, a collection of stories.

Read the rest at CHIRB: https://chireviewofbooks.com/2025/10/...

[Rye Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who LOVED Geek Love, I couldn't wait to read more from this author. I loved that the book was divided into multiple short stories and each and every one of them was great and had something to offer the reader. The authors writing style is so unique and absolutely every one of these short stories will stick with you. Each story carries something different but dark and dreary and I think that is what hooked me from the beginning.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for this ARC!