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A Modern Growth
In 2043, Pamela just wants to stop feeling like shit.
Enter U++ , a new black-market gene therapy, that fills her with promises of a genetically enhanced 'best self.' The horrifying discovery? Pam's biology has very different ideas about what constitutes self improvement...
As the grotesque transformation accelerates, her desperate husband Mark sees opportunity: why not document his wife's metamorphosis as an unscripted show? With their finances crashing, a new baby to support, and the future-Texas heat literally killing people, exploiting Pam's condition (through the art of reality TV) might be their only path to survival.
A savage satire of late-stage capitalism, reality television, and our obsession with self-improvement, "A Modern Growth" when everything is content, what's left of being human?
This surreal tale of transmutation branches into territory both tender and terrifying, and will resonate with readers of Jeff VanderMeer and Ottessa Moshfegh while carving its own unique path through the landscape of contemporary horror.
Enter U++ , a new black-market gene therapy, that fills her with promises of a genetically enhanced 'best self.' The horrifying discovery? Pam's biology has very different ideas about what constitutes self improvement...
As the grotesque transformation accelerates, her desperate husband Mark sees opportunity: why not document his wife's metamorphosis as an unscripted show? With their finances crashing, a new baby to support, and the future-Texas heat literally killing people, exploiting Pam's condition (through the art of reality TV) might be their only path to survival.
A savage satire of late-stage capitalism, reality television, and our obsession with self-improvement, "A Modern Growth" when everything is content, what's left of being human?
This surreal tale of transmutation branches into territory both tender and terrifying, and will resonate with readers of Jeff VanderMeer and Ottessa Moshfegh while carving its own unique path through the landscape of contemporary horror.
280 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 5, 2025
8 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 19, 2025
“The revolution will not be televised…it will actually be presented through a short form content subscription streaming service…”
This book provided a window into a not-so-far future in which climate change, unregulated capitalism, and modern media have their way with society. It was thought provoking! It was just realistic enough to induce fear about the near future and fantastical enough to protect my sanity…for now.
This book provided a window into a not-so-far future in which climate change, unregulated capitalism, and modern media have their way with society. It was thought provoking! It was just realistic enough to induce fear about the near future and fantastical enough to protect my sanity…for now.
August 12, 2025
Interesting book. An original story, that sometimes was really bizarre. Characters are totally messed up people, yet their thinking touches existential issues common among all of us. All together, this created a weird book that I couldn't out down until the last page.
July 17, 2025
Not your average unraveling
I didn’t expect this book to sit with me the way it has. It’s one of those reads that doesn’t try to impress you with prose or plot. Instead, it just tells the truth in a really strange, compelling way — and that truth feels uncomfortable and familiar at the same time.
Pam is the kind of character that feels more like someone you’ve known than someone you’re reading about. She’s unraveling in slow motion — dealing with motherhood, depression, a future that feels just slightly more dystopian than now — and she’s not interested in pretending things are okay. That honesty makes her feel real. And the absurdity that slips in along the way somehow makes the whole thing even sharper.
It’s not a “feel-good” read. It’s not polished. It’s not tidy. But it’s original. And it respects your intelligence. That’s rare.
If you’re into stories that take risks and characters who don't perform likability, give this one a shot. It might not be what you expect — but it’s probably what you need.
I didn’t expect this book to sit with me the way it has. It’s one of those reads that doesn’t try to impress you with prose or plot. Instead, it just tells the truth in a really strange, compelling way — and that truth feels uncomfortable and familiar at the same time.
Pam is the kind of character that feels more like someone you’ve known than someone you’re reading about. She’s unraveling in slow motion — dealing with motherhood, depression, a future that feels just slightly more dystopian than now — and she’s not interested in pretending things are okay. That honesty makes her feel real. And the absurdity that slips in along the way somehow makes the whole thing even sharper.
It’s not a “feel-good” read. It’s not polished. It’s not tidy. But it’s original. And it respects your intelligence. That’s rare.
If you’re into stories that take risks and characters who don't perform likability, give this one a shot. It might not be what you expect — but it’s probably what you need.
August 15, 2025
Weird and interesting.
Shades of The Yellow Wallpaper and ‘The Substance’ in this oddly amusing sci-fi take on enhanced genetic engineering. A mother’s postpartum depression forces her to look for a meaning to her life. On a family trip, Pamela discovers a strange world of genetically engineered life forms that gives her hope for a new beginning. When she is given a weird device, U++, and suffers a horrific car accident, things start to get really odd.
Pamela is a flawed character, as is her husband, and their fragile, argumentative relationship is believable and feisty. Although I wasn’t entirely convinced that a woman who is so depressed that she tries to bury herself in the backyard would be up for so much sex. Also, towards the end of the book, Pamela’s voice is lost as she transforms, which was a little disappointing for me, as I would have loved to delve deeper into her consciousness as it slowly evolves into another entity.
Some lovely ideas, such as Prince being transmogrified into a flock of doves in a nature park, kept me reading on to find out what other wacky things were going to happen. I was pleased that the author explained the science behind Doctor Potter’s procedure, which helped to validate the unusual concept as a reality.
Pam’s transformation into a tree is often horrifying and sad, as she struggles to ‘perform’ for the camera despite her physical and mental pain. Mark’s descent into a money-grubbing exploiter adds to Pam’s heartbreaking realisation that her husband is exploiting her for money and cares nothing for her well-being.
Overall, the writing style was okay and easy to read. The use of futuristic devices helped to place the story in the not-too-distant future and a world dominated by AI and self-driving cars. However, there were some clumsy chunks of exposition, and awkward, unnatural dialogue, that made me want to skip some pages in order to get back to the story.
Often gruesome, often funny, this is an interesting tale with a moral message about the dangers of pandering to the reality TV media. Worth a read for the sheer strangeness.
Shades of The Yellow Wallpaper and ‘The Substance’ in this oddly amusing sci-fi take on enhanced genetic engineering. A mother’s postpartum depression forces her to look for a meaning to her life. On a family trip, Pamela discovers a strange world of genetically engineered life forms that gives her hope for a new beginning. When she is given a weird device, U++, and suffers a horrific car accident, things start to get really odd.
Pamela is a flawed character, as is her husband, and their fragile, argumentative relationship is believable and feisty. Although I wasn’t entirely convinced that a woman who is so depressed that she tries to bury herself in the backyard would be up for so much sex. Also, towards the end of the book, Pamela’s voice is lost as she transforms, which was a little disappointing for me, as I would have loved to delve deeper into her consciousness as it slowly evolves into another entity.
Some lovely ideas, such as Prince being transmogrified into a flock of doves in a nature park, kept me reading on to find out what other wacky things were going to happen. I was pleased that the author explained the science behind Doctor Potter’s procedure, which helped to validate the unusual concept as a reality.
Pam’s transformation into a tree is often horrifying and sad, as she struggles to ‘perform’ for the camera despite her physical and mental pain. Mark’s descent into a money-grubbing exploiter adds to Pam’s heartbreaking realisation that her husband is exploiting her for money and cares nothing for her well-being.
Overall, the writing style was okay and easy to read. The use of futuristic devices helped to place the story in the not-too-distant future and a world dominated by AI and self-driving cars. However, there were some clumsy chunks of exposition, and awkward, unnatural dialogue, that made me want to skip some pages in order to get back to the story.
Often gruesome, often funny, this is an interesting tale with a moral message about the dangers of pandering to the reality TV media. Worth a read for the sheer strangeness.
August 23, 2025
DNF. A quarter of the way in and things are starting to happen, but I've lost interest. I don't like the main character at all, the humor doesn't work for me, and I don't have a sense of where this is going. Not for me.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews