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Under a Fur Coat
I became obsessed with Seurasaari, with the curative properties I assigned to it in my desperation for an action, a ritual - something that could fix everything...
Vivienne, a photographer from Manchester, arrives at a boarding house on a tiny Finnish island hoping to rekindle her creativity and heal her broken heart. Instead, she misses her wife. Her camera hangs at her side unused. And her fellow guests keep inviting her into the forest.
Vivienne quickly grows close with Ilya, the affable caretaker, and Gagarin, a rebellious mycologist. And when Gagarin confesses she's searching for a mythical bracket fungus - the Bigfoot of mushrooms - Vivienne throws herself headfirst into the cause.
The days pass in a blur of snow and birch trees and vodka. Yet the longer Vivienne spends in the forest, the more it consumes her. Haunted by lost time, inexplicable acts of violence, and rising tensions among the guests, Vivienne begins to suspect there's something darker behind Gagarin's determination. Because ambition always requires sacrifice. She's just not sure whose...
SHORTLISTED FOR THE PFD QUEER FICTION PRIZE 2024
Vivienne, a photographer from Manchester, arrives at a boarding house on a tiny Finnish island hoping to rekindle her creativity and heal her broken heart. Instead, she misses her wife. Her camera hangs at her side unused. And her fellow guests keep inviting her into the forest.
Vivienne quickly grows close with Ilya, the affable caretaker, and Gagarin, a rebellious mycologist. And when Gagarin confesses she's searching for a mythical bracket fungus - the Bigfoot of mushrooms - Vivienne throws herself headfirst into the cause.
The days pass in a blur of snow and birch trees and vodka. Yet the longer Vivienne spends in the forest, the more it consumes her. Haunted by lost time, inexplicable acts of violence, and rising tensions among the guests, Vivienne begins to suspect there's something darker behind Gagarin's determination. Because ambition always requires sacrifice. She's just not sure whose...
SHORTLISTED FOR THE PFD QUEER FICTION PRIZE 2024
Audible Audio
First published September 24, 2026
About the author
Sonya Vatomsky
10 books90 followersSonya Vatomsky (they/them) is the author of the novel Under a Fur Coat and the poetry collection Salt Is For Curing. Their fiction has appeared in Brave New Weird: The Best New Weird Horror while their nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Smithsonian Magazine. In 2024, they were shortlisted for the PFD Queer Fiction Prize.
Sonya was born in the Soviet Union and raised in the United States, where they studied Linguistics and Finnish at the University of Washington. They live in Manchester, England.
Author photo by Seanen Middleton.
Sonya was born in the Soviet Union and raised in the United States, where they studied Linguistics and Finnish at the University of Washington. They live in Manchester, England.
Author photo by Seanen Middleton.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The first time I read Under A Fur Coat was in an evening, feverish; sweating it out as in a sauna, blocking out the outside world. I cried too! Luckily no blood was involved.
The second time, I decided to actually try and write a review about why I love this book that would make sense.
Vivienne is a professional photographer from Manchester who can't take photos any more. She's a wife who's not sure she can rely on her wife any more. So she goes to stay at a boarding house on Seurasaari, an island connected to Helsinki which is both a symbol of her mother's life before being Her Mother and a sort of more-chill-Theme-Park recreation of Iron Age Finland. This is a great book for anyone who's ever decided that the way to fix their life or themself is to do something objectively a bit insane.
The people she meets there are all fascinating in their own way. Caretaker Ilya is my favourite (he's the one that made me cry). Bo is charmingly out of her depth. Gagarin is a bit of a genius, a bit of a cipher, a bit of a trickster (she's also hilarious). It's probably not too much of a spoiler to say that Vivienne gets caught up in a hunt for a possibly mythical mushroom with Gagarin and Ilya.
This is the kind of novel where you can tell every word has been considered. The language is precise and the metaphors are vivid, both are evocative without being overwrought. Any linguistics nerd can tell it's well-researched.
It captures a specific type of loneliness so vividly. Vivienne has an inability to communicate, face, or even internally describe her emotions, while having such acuity when observing those of others or her environment generally. A muted grief runs through it like a slow black slug.
But it's also very fun! It's delightfully sardonic, and enjoyably unhinged.
Thank you for the ARC but can't wait to have the physical book in my hands.
The second time, I decided to actually try and write a review about why I love this book that would make sense.
Vivienne is a professional photographer from Manchester who can't take photos any more. She's a wife who's not sure she can rely on her wife any more. So she goes to stay at a boarding house on Seurasaari, an island connected to Helsinki which is both a symbol of her mother's life before being Her Mother and a sort of more-chill-Theme-Park recreation of Iron Age Finland. This is a great book for anyone who's ever decided that the way to fix their life or themself is to do something objectively a bit insane.
The people she meets there are all fascinating in their own way. Caretaker Ilya is my favourite (he's the one that made me cry). Bo is charmingly out of her depth. Gagarin is a bit of a genius, a bit of a cipher, a bit of a trickster (she's also hilarious). It's probably not too much of a spoiler to say that Vivienne gets caught up in a hunt for a possibly mythical mushroom with Gagarin and Ilya.
This is the kind of novel where you can tell every word has been considered. The language is precise and the metaphors are vivid, both are evocative without being overwrought. Any linguistics nerd can tell it's well-researched.
It captures a specific type of loneliness so vividly. Vivienne has an inability to communicate, face, or even internally describe her emotions, while having such acuity when observing those of others or her environment generally. A muted grief runs through it like a slow black slug.
But it's also very fun! It's delightfully sardonic, and enjoyably unhinged.
Thank you for the ARC but can't wait to have the physical book in my hands.
September 28, 2026
On a snow-covered Finnish island, five strangers gather like spores in the dark. Vivienne arrives hollow, the word behind her name scattered to the frozen winds; no longer wife, no longer artist, no longer sure of anything but the ache in her chest. What begins as refuge becomes transformation. In forests where dead things refuse to stay buried, where ancient buildings house modern grief, where the remedies are ruinous and the cure may kill you, Vivienne must choose: what is she willing to destroy to save herself? Under a Fur Coat is a dark pastoral about the rituals we create to survive our worst moments, the chosen families that hold us through our most monstrous transformations, and the terrible, beautiful price of becoming whole again. It asks: when someone you love becomes unrecognizable—even to themselves—how long do you hold on? And what do you become in the holding? A story of mushrooms and marriages, folklore and photography, bears and bridges, of all the ways we die and are reborn in a single winter.
October 8, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book.
Easily one of the best books I’ve read in the past year. Sonya Vatomsky has struck gold with this deliciously strange, hauntingly sinister fever dream of a novel. I devoured it in two days and could have kept following the lives of these characters well after the story ended.
This is a book far better felt than described. If you’re a fan of atmospheric and claustrophobic settings, you can’t hope for better than an old Finnish boarding house deep in the woods. Under this isolated roof, a strange cast of people settle into an increasingly intimate and uneasy existence. Days blur together as allegiances shift and the line between reality and folklore starts to blur.
Under A Fur Coat thrives in its small cast of compelling characters and relationships, a tight and compelling story, authenticity in its queer representation, surreal storytelling, and dark gothic undertones. But perhaps one of the biggest draws is the prose is so smartly and beautifully crafted; it’s deliberate and trusting of its reader. Vatomsky has such a keen eye for the strange little details that make us all human and their writing unfolds with such confidence across the page.
There is a dark and sinister undercurrent that will draw you into this novel sooner than you expect. Surrender to it and you’ll find yourself swept beneath the surface until the last page.
Easily one of the best books I’ve read in the past year. Sonya Vatomsky has struck gold with this deliciously strange, hauntingly sinister fever dream of a novel. I devoured it in two days and could have kept following the lives of these characters well after the story ended.
This is a book far better felt than described. If you’re a fan of atmospheric and claustrophobic settings, you can’t hope for better than an old Finnish boarding house deep in the woods. Under this isolated roof, a strange cast of people settle into an increasingly intimate and uneasy existence. Days blur together as allegiances shift and the line between reality and folklore starts to blur.
Under A Fur Coat thrives in its small cast of compelling characters and relationships, a tight and compelling story, authenticity in its queer representation, surreal storytelling, and dark gothic undertones. But perhaps one of the biggest draws is the prose is so smartly and beautifully crafted; it’s deliberate and trusting of its reader. Vatomsky has such a keen eye for the strange little details that make us all human and their writing unfolds with such confidence across the page.
There is a dark and sinister undercurrent that will draw you into this novel sooner than you expect. Surrender to it and you’ll find yourself swept beneath the surface until the last page.
September 30, 2026
I am conflicted by this book, don’t get me wrong it’s well written has a beautifully descriptive atmosphere and it’s a bit bizarre throughout.
However I would definitely say go into this with an open mind but honestly even though I was given an opportunity to read this via NetGalley and the publisher I am being generous with my rating.
I’m not sure what or where the plot ran off too and generally I felt confused throughout and not being harsh but this felt like hard work to read, bonus points for being quite short as I could read it quicker. Unfortunately this was not for me and I guess from reading the other reviews I must have missed everything they raved about.
However I would definitely say go into this with an open mind but honestly even though I was given an opportunity to read this via NetGalley and the publisher I am being generous with my rating.
I’m not sure what or where the plot ran off too and generally I felt confused throughout and not being harsh but this felt like hard work to read, bonus points for being quite short as I could read it quicker. Unfortunately this was not for me and I guess from reading the other reviews I must have missed everything they raved about.
October 29, 2026
I'm not super into the 'messy people drink too much and be depressed' subgenre but there was enough folklore and queer tension in this to carry me through. I do think the magic should have been left ambiguous though.
November 1, 2026
beautiful, haunting, comforting and disconcerting at the same time. in fact, i would say this is a book that truly excells at disturbing the comfortable and comforting the disturbed. highly recommended to readers of carmen maria machado, shirley jackson and rachel yoder.
May 10, 2026
2.5 stars,, I’m not saying I need to be spoon fed the plot but it could’ve been a little clearer
November 9, 2026
A trippy, vodka-soaked Gothic dream
—
Vatomsky delivers a frosty, hallucinogenic fever dream of grief and all-consuming obsession. Set against the stark, snow-drenched landscape of a Finnish island, the story follows Vivienne, a photographer from Manchester who retreats to a boarding house with a broken heart. Rather than finding quiet healing, Vivienne is swallowed up by the slow, static rhythm of the place, spending her days drinking liquorice vodka and sliding deeper into the orbit of an eccentric group of fellow guests. At the centre of her distraction is Gagarin, a rebellious mycologist obsessed with tracking down a mythical, elusive bracket fungus, a quest that pulls Vivienne headfirst into the damp, shadowy woods.
Vatomsky crafts a trippy, vodka-soaked nightmare laced with creeping isolation and a growing sense of dread. As Vivienne grows closer to Ilya, the affable caretaker, the line between scientific pursuit and dark folklore begins to blur beautifully. Unlike other recent entries in the genre where the story takes forever to get going, or where characters wake up every morning simply surprised by how bleak their surroundings are, this narrative avoids feeling disjointed or flaccid. The atmospheric payoff doesn't arrive as a light-touch afterthought in the final scenes; instead, the slow-burn tension works in the novel's favour, keeping the reader fully engaged with the boarding house's misfit cast and their strange, escalating behaviours.
Written with sharp prose and a distinctly gothic pulse, this twisty tale is a visceral exploration of how we try to reconstruct our lives after heartbreak. The supernatural elements and the mysteries of the island are handled with a confident, atmospheric hand, making the character motivations feel entirely earned even as the plot slides into surreal territory. It wraps the reader in a cold, hypnotic embrace that lingers like a chill under the skin long after the final page. While it stops just short of being an absolute masterpiece, it is a highly accomplished, darkly dazzling debut with a filmic sensibility.
—
Vatomsky delivers a frosty, hallucinogenic fever dream of grief and all-consuming obsession. Set against the stark, snow-drenched landscape of a Finnish island, the story follows Vivienne, a photographer from Manchester who retreats to a boarding house with a broken heart. Rather than finding quiet healing, Vivienne is swallowed up by the slow, static rhythm of the place, spending her days drinking liquorice vodka and sliding deeper into the orbit of an eccentric group of fellow guests. At the centre of her distraction is Gagarin, a rebellious mycologist obsessed with tracking down a mythical, elusive bracket fungus, a quest that pulls Vivienne headfirst into the damp, shadowy woods.
Vatomsky crafts a trippy, vodka-soaked nightmare laced with creeping isolation and a growing sense of dread. As Vivienne grows closer to Ilya, the affable caretaker, the line between scientific pursuit and dark folklore begins to blur beautifully. Unlike other recent entries in the genre where the story takes forever to get going, or where characters wake up every morning simply surprised by how bleak their surroundings are, this narrative avoids feeling disjointed or flaccid. The atmospheric payoff doesn't arrive as a light-touch afterthought in the final scenes; instead, the slow-burn tension works in the novel's favour, keeping the reader fully engaged with the boarding house's misfit cast and their strange, escalating behaviours.
Written with sharp prose and a distinctly gothic pulse, this twisty tale is a visceral exploration of how we try to reconstruct our lives after heartbreak. The supernatural elements and the mysteries of the island are handled with a confident, atmospheric hand, making the character motivations feel entirely earned even as the plot slides into surreal territory. It wraps the reader in a cold, hypnotic embrace that lingers like a chill under the skin long after the final page. While it stops just short of being an absolute masterpiece, it is a highly accomplished, darkly dazzling debut with a filmic sensibility.
October 29, 2026
Under a Fur Coat is one of those books that feels like a fever dream you aren't completely sure you want to wake up from.
I loved how strange and atmospheric this was. The Finnish island setting, the snow, the forest, the boarding house, and the constant feeling that something was just slightly off all worked together so well. There’s this isolation hanging over everything, and as Vivienne becomes more wrapped up in the people around her and the search for this mysterious mushroom, that feeling only gets stronger.
What really worked for me was how Vatomsky blends heartbreak, obsession, grief, folklore, and horror without making any of them feel separate. The story gets increasingly weird and unsettling, and I honestly never knew exactly where it was going. There were moments where I felt completely lost right along with Vivienne, but in a way that fit the story.
And the mushrooms. Seriously. This book takes a very strange trip into obsession, and I was absolutely along for it.
I also appreciated the queer characters and relationships being part of the story without their queerness being treated as the problem. There’s so much messy humanity here—loneliness, betrayal, longing, connection, and the desperate need to find your way back to yourself after everything falls apart.
This won't be for every horror reader, especially if you need a straightforward plot or constant scares, but if you like atmospheric, surreal, weird gothic horror that slowly gets under your skin, this is worth picking up.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
I loved how strange and atmospheric this was. The Finnish island setting, the snow, the forest, the boarding house, and the constant feeling that something was just slightly off all worked together so well. There’s this isolation hanging over everything, and as Vivienne becomes more wrapped up in the people around her and the search for this mysterious mushroom, that feeling only gets stronger.
What really worked for me was how Vatomsky blends heartbreak, obsession, grief, folklore, and horror without making any of them feel separate. The story gets increasingly weird and unsettling, and I honestly never knew exactly where it was going. There were moments where I felt completely lost right along with Vivienne, but in a way that fit the story.
And the mushrooms. Seriously. This book takes a very strange trip into obsession, and I was absolutely along for it.
I also appreciated the queer characters and relationships being part of the story without their queerness being treated as the problem. There’s so much messy humanity here—loneliness, betrayal, longing, connection, and the desperate need to find your way back to yourself after everything falls apart.
This won't be for every horror reader, especially if you need a straightforward plot or constant scares, but if you like atmospheric, surreal, weird gothic horror that slowly gets under your skin, this is worth picking up.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This book wastes no time getting you into the headspace of the main character, Vivienne. The prose is sharp and effective in pulling you into her life from the opening sentence, and doesn’t let go until the very end.
The cast of characters are varied and recognisable. They are each given plenty of time on the page to introduce themselves and grow alongside Vivienne, as their own reasons for being on the island come forth and intertwine with each other’s. Sonya excelled at creating such a well-rounded group of individuals that each has as many good qualities as they do bad.
It’s a refreshingly taut novel. It has pace where it needs to, but leaves plenty of time to ruminate on the emotions. And rest assured, this book puts its emotions first. Vivienne’s experiences are played out with unabashed honesty. We witness her ups and downs, often with sympathy, but not always.
I personally appreciated the sections that delve into the technicalities of photography, especially when they are peppered with Vivienne’s own viewpoint, and also when the novel includes numerous deconstructions of several languages. This, in particular, was an insightful look at other cultures that you rarely get, and that could only come from a polyglot.
While this book is primarily an art novel, it keeps one foot planted firmly in the gothic, with its rural setting, untameable wilderness, and frequent acts of unexplained violence.
Sonya does not ask ‘who are we?’ so much as they ask ‘who are we without the things that define us?’
The cast of characters are varied and recognisable. They are each given plenty of time on the page to introduce themselves and grow alongside Vivienne, as their own reasons for being on the island come forth and intertwine with each other’s. Sonya excelled at creating such a well-rounded group of individuals that each has as many good qualities as they do bad.
It’s a refreshingly taut novel. It has pace where it needs to, but leaves plenty of time to ruminate on the emotions. And rest assured, this book puts its emotions first. Vivienne’s experiences are played out with unabashed honesty. We witness her ups and downs, often with sympathy, but not always.
I personally appreciated the sections that delve into the technicalities of photography, especially when they are peppered with Vivienne’s own viewpoint, and also when the novel includes numerous deconstructions of several languages. This, in particular, was an insightful look at other cultures that you rarely get, and that could only come from a polyglot.
While this book is primarily an art novel, it keeps one foot planted firmly in the gothic, with its rural setting, untameable wilderness, and frequent acts of unexplained violence.
Sonya does not ask ‘who are we?’ so much as they ask ‘who are we without the things that define us?’
October 1, 2026
What a deliciously harrowing tale. Vivienne is a photographer — or rather, she was until her entire life suddenly unraveled. What happens when you lose all sense of yourself along with your place in the world?
For Viv it means leaving her home in bustling industrial Manchester and travelling to the bosky isolation of Finland's Seurasaari island. There she takes a room in a small boarding house inhabited by a handful of other differently lost souls, including its caretaker, a kindly, anachronistic phantom of a man.
Immersing herself in this unfamiliar wintry wilderness, far away from the shambles of her life, Viv is determined to reconnect with her art, no matter how long it takes. Yet the camera hangs at her side unused. Caught in the irresistible orbit of a questing mycologist, the days passing in an increasingly exhausting blur of snow and trees, lost time, inexplicable acts of violence, mysterious blood stains on her clothing, rising tensions in the boarding house, Vivienne is losing more and more of herself as science and folklore, reality and fantasy, all become inexorably blurred.
Sometimes finding yourself means getting even more lost first. Sometimes you just get lost.
I can think of no better place to lose yourself than inside Sonya Vatomsky's achingly vivid, intoxicating prose. This is one of those magical books where, after I turned the last page, I knew I would forever wonder what Vivienne, Ilya, and Gagarin are each doing now...
P.S. - I love one of those characters so much that I later named a kitten after them.
For Viv it means leaving her home in bustling industrial Manchester and travelling to the bosky isolation of Finland's Seurasaari island. There she takes a room in a small boarding house inhabited by a handful of other differently lost souls, including its caretaker, a kindly, anachronistic phantom of a man.
Immersing herself in this unfamiliar wintry wilderness, far away from the shambles of her life, Viv is determined to reconnect with her art, no matter how long it takes. Yet the camera hangs at her side unused. Caught in the irresistible orbit of a questing mycologist, the days passing in an increasingly exhausting blur of snow and trees, lost time, inexplicable acts of violence, mysterious blood stains on her clothing, rising tensions in the boarding house, Vivienne is losing more and more of herself as science and folklore, reality and fantasy, all become inexorably blurred.
Sometimes finding yourself means getting even more lost first. Sometimes you just get lost.
I can think of no better place to lose yourself than inside Sonya Vatomsky's achingly vivid, intoxicating prose. This is one of those magical books where, after I turned the last page, I knew I would forever wonder what Vivienne, Ilya, and Gagarin are each doing now...
P.S. - I love one of those characters so much that I later named a kitten after them.
October 12, 2026
This was such a wild, weird, beautiful book. I saw it compared to Endling and Our Wives Under the Sea, and I agree that it's very much in that vein. I connected more with this one than Our Wives, perhaps because I came in with almost no expectations. Vatomsky's prose is wonderful and engaging—I can see their poetry background, but it's not over the top. Plenty of clever metaphors, but not overwrought. There are so many little turns of phrase that I enjoyed, so many quirks that endeared me to the characters. Vivienne's journey, coming to terms with who she is and what she wants, and how all of the relationships shift and grow and fade over the course of the book, was oddly compelling even though I don't usually get sucked in by that kind of thing. I think that had to do with how the story was woven through with folklore and mushroom hunts and a weird mystery that's never completely solved (how litfic lol).
I do feel like the last half spun a little out of control for me, starting to feel like it was meandering without an obvious goal. I wanted a little more digging into the mystery, though I suppose it's supposed to be somewhat vague, more metaphorical than something to confront. Also the back half had less Ilya in it, and I think I loved him most. Still, I enjoyed this and wolfed it down.
Thank you to House of Anansi Press for providing an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I do feel like the last half spun a little out of control for me, starting to feel like it was meandering without an obvious goal. I wanted a little more digging into the mystery, though I suppose it's supposed to be somewhat vague, more metaphorical than something to confront. Also the back half had less Ilya in it, and I think I loved him most. Still, I enjoyed this and wolfed it down.
Thank you to House of Anansi Press for providing an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Vivienne is a photographer, or at least that's how she used to identify. She's taking a break, staying at a boarding house on a Finnish island whilst she tried to recapture her creative inspiration.
The other guests become a found family - a house-full of strangers each with their own reasons for being there. Most notably Gagarin, an eccentric Russian woman on the search for a mythical mushroom. Magnetised, soon Vivienne is out there in the woods, searching with her.
Vatomsky perfectly captures that transitory period one finds themselves in as they try to make sense of their lives, when it feels like everything has quietly gone to shit without you realising. The visceral heartbreak, the slow process of repairing yourself. There's a dreamlike quality to their writing matched by the strange goings on in the forest. It reminded me a bit of Children in Paradise by Camilla Grudova, although the setting is completely different it's got that vibe of everyone being a bit dishevelled and unmoored together.
I'll read anything with some mushrooms in it but I especially I loved reading this. I was so invested in Vivienne's safety and sanity as UAFC reaches its fevered climax, tense and discombobulating and well-worth the journey it took to get there.
Also: Ilya ❤️
The other guests become a found family - a house-full of strangers each with their own reasons for being there. Most notably Gagarin, an eccentric Russian woman on the search for a mythical mushroom. Magnetised, soon Vivienne is out there in the woods, searching with her.
Vatomsky perfectly captures that transitory period one finds themselves in as they try to make sense of their lives, when it feels like everything has quietly gone to shit without you realising. The visceral heartbreak, the slow process of repairing yourself. There's a dreamlike quality to their writing matched by the strange goings on in the forest. It reminded me a bit of Children in Paradise by Camilla Grudova, although the setting is completely different it's got that vibe of everyone being a bit dishevelled and unmoored together.
I'll read anything with some mushrooms in it but I especially I loved reading this. I was so invested in Vivienne's safety and sanity as UAFC reaches its fevered climax, tense and discombobulating and well-worth the journey it took to get there.
Also: Ilya ❤️
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Sonya Vatomsky's "Under a Fur Coat" reads like a Vigdis Hjorth novel at times, with the cold setting and the unique characters. The frozen beauty and icy unease are the undercurrent of every page. Vivienne's lost nature was at once relatable and understandable, as was her desire to find some reason to press forward when she found disappointment at every turn. The rest of the people in the boarding house were unique and interesting to follow, the North American Chef, the well dressed musician, the caring caretaker, and the quirky mushroom hunter. Everything happens slowly, but it seems to happen before you even know it - much like if you found yourself snowed in with a strange group of foreigners sharing a space they don't know or understand - time filled with days that look the same and too much alcohol. I really enjoyed the quietness of this novel, because when it became something else, I was equally ready and ill prepared for it.
Thank you to Sonya Vatomsky, Netgalley, and House of Anansi Press, Inc for a chance to read an eGalley before publication.
Thank you to Sonya Vatomsky, Netgalley, and House of Anansi Press, Inc for a chance to read an eGalley before publication.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Review of an Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
Overall I really enjoyed this. It follows Vivienne as she spends a winter in remote Finland, trying to rediscover her creative flair and recover from heartbreak and betrayal. The writing is descriptive but dreamlike, and has the effect of taking you along on the characters 'trips'.
Every character is well written and each one adds something to the story and has an individual impact on Viviennes journey.
The story delves into magic realism, but in such a natural way its believable and the twist at the end seems like a natural conclusion to Viviennes story.
It does get trippy at times, but there are a lot of mushrooms so it does suit the story, and I didn't feel like it was so abstract that it lost me.
Ultimately a good book, with solid representation that isn't the source of the conflict which is always refreshing to read.
Overall I really enjoyed this. It follows Vivienne as she spends a winter in remote Finland, trying to rediscover her creative flair and recover from heartbreak and betrayal. The writing is descriptive but dreamlike, and has the effect of taking you along on the characters 'trips'.
Every character is well written and each one adds something to the story and has an individual impact on Viviennes journey.
The story delves into magic realism, but in such a natural way its believable and the twist at the end seems like a natural conclusion to Viviennes story.
It does get trippy at times, but there are a lot of mushrooms so it does suit the story, and I didn't feel like it was so abstract that it lost me.
Ultimately a good book, with solid representation that isn't the source of the conflict which is always refreshing to read.
August 27, 2026
Loveeeeeed this. Very atmospheric and moody, with perfect descriptions of Finland and its rugged nature. All of the characters were complex and interesting, my favourite being Ilya. The writing felt like a dream at times, where I was left confused, but never frustrated or disappointed, almost lightheaded. This was a real showcase of talent and how to perfectly blend an unreliable narrator with unsettling elements.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #UnderAFurCoat #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #UnderAFurCoat #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5
There’s some brilliant writing in this, metaphors that just made me go ‘yes that’s it - that’s exactly how I feel’ and it’s lovely to feel seen by an author.
I liked the plot and the characters and overall think it’s a strong and unique book. One small gripe is it winds me up when books have all the action happen in the last 20 pages, I would have liked more doubt and more shifty Gagarin behaviour earlier on. But otherwise trippy weird mushroom book? Yes big tick!
There’s some brilliant writing in this, metaphors that just made me go ‘yes that’s it - that’s exactly how I feel’ and it’s lovely to feel seen by an author.
I liked the plot and the characters and overall think it’s a strong and unique book. One small gripe is it winds me up when books have all the action happen in the last 20 pages, I would have liked more doubt and more shifty Gagarin behaviour earlier on. But otherwise trippy weird mushroom book? Yes big tick!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Strange but diverting read of a woman trying to reconnect with her art at an 'artist residency ' outside Helsinki. She shares the residency with a disgraced mycologist searching for a mushroom that may or may not exist, a Russian man waiting to hear if Finland will recognize his gender, a German music producer and an American who is still figuring things out.
I had mixed feelings about the fantastic elements- I prefer mine with plausible deniability.
I had mixed feelings about the fantastic elements- I prefer mine with plausible deniability.
September 29, 2026
So bizarre but brilliant
October 2, 2026
This book felt like a fever dream, in a good way. Beautiful,surreal and weird.
Read
October 8, 2026book formulated specifically for me to circulate around my siblings due to our collective points of reference (lotr, growing up near rochdale, mushroom horror & soviet cosmonaut yuri gagarin).
October 23, 2026
Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy of Under a Fur Coat via NetGalley!
Okay. Wow. I'm almost lost for words, honestly. This book was a complete fever dream, filled with sauna steam, questionable mushrooms, and far too many drunk decisions. I loved all of the characters in this book so much. They each had their own depth and questionable behavior. Bo and Mandi shacking up in one corner of the house while Ilya and Gagarin were out in the woods for the 40th time, and Vivienne getting up to God knows what with both parties.
I had no idea where this book was going at any point while reading it, and the ending was absolute insanity. I'm still reeling over the scene with the bear. Wow.
4/5, would absolutely reread.
Okay. Wow. I'm almost lost for words, honestly. This book was a complete fever dream, filled with sauna steam, questionable mushrooms, and far too many drunk decisions. I loved all of the characters in this book so much. They each had their own depth and questionable behavior. Bo and Mandi shacking up in one corner of the house while Ilya and Gagarin were out in the woods for the 40th time, and Vivienne getting up to God knows what with both parties.
I had no idea where this book was going at any point while reading it, and the ending was absolute insanity. I'm still reeling over the scene with the bear. Wow.
4/5, would absolutely reread.
October 28, 2026
A well crafted story weaving folklore into a very modern setting. Deep exploration of loss and mourning. A very satisfying ending as well.
October 4, 2026
I listened to this on audiobook, if my dog wasn’t so lazy I could have finished it in one walk.
I was captivated by the descriptions of the setting, so beautiful to listen to.
The characters were interesting, at times I felt this was set in a different timeline and not modern day.
I really enjoyed the different themes and would recommend adding this to your TBR
I was captivated by the descriptions of the setting, so beautiful to listen to.
The characters were interesting, at times I felt this was set in a different timeline and not modern day.
I really enjoyed the different themes and would recommend adding this to your TBR
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