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Ecstatic
Not yet published
Expected 26 Jan 27When a government curfew silences a city, one woman risks everything to make it dance again.
In a near-future London gripped by heat, unrest and state control, Lois refuses to let the body be regulated. When the right to assemble is revoked and the city turns brittle with violence, she plans an illegal three-day 'long dance' inside a crumbling East End church. What begins as an act of liberation will ripple through the lives of five strangers, with consequences none of them can foresee.
Ecstatic is a fierce, lyrical novel about freedom and control, intimacy and collective release. It captures a city on edge and the underground communities that refuse to surrender joy. At once political and deeply human, it asks what happens when we lose touch with our bodies, and what it might cost to reclaim them.
In a near-future London gripped by heat, unrest and state control, Lois refuses to let the body be regulated. When the right to assemble is revoked and the city turns brittle with violence, she plans an illegal three-day 'long dance' inside a crumbling East End church. What begins as an act of liberation will ripple through the lives of five strangers, with consequences none of them can foresee.
Ecstatic is a fierce, lyrical novel about freedom and control, intimacy and collective release. It captures a city on edge and the underground communities that refuse to surrender joy. At once political and deeply human, it asks what happens when we lose touch with our bodies, and what it might cost to reclaim them.
320 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication January 26, 2027
About the author
Emily Woof
10 books7 followersBorn in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Emily Woof has written for stage, film and radio.
Her plays include Sex III for the Royal Court, Revolver and Going Going for the South Bank Centre, and, for BBC Radio 4, Pianoman, Baby Love and Home to the Black Sea.
She wrote and directed Meeting Helen for FilmFour, and directed the prize-winning short film Between The Wars. She has also worked as a trapeze artist and actor; her screen credits include Oliver Twist, The Full Monty, Pandaemonium, This Year's Love and Velvet Goldmine.
Her first novel The Whole Wide Beauty was published to great acclaim in 2010.
She lives in London with her husband and two children.
Her plays include Sex III for the Royal Court, Revolver and Going Going for the South Bank Centre, and, for BBC Radio 4, Pianoman, Baby Love and Home to the Black Sea.
She wrote and directed Meeting Helen for FilmFour, and directed the prize-winning short film Between The Wars. She has also worked as a trapeze artist and actor; her screen credits include Oliver Twist, The Full Monty, Pandaemonium, This Year's Love and Velvet Goldmine.
Her first novel The Whole Wide Beauty was published to great acclaim in 2010.
She lives in London with her husband and two children.
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Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This has been my most anticipated read since applying for a proof copy, and every second of the wait was worth it!
In a near-future London crumbling from climate catastrophe, Woof follows five characters through their vastly different day-to-day lives. The only things that unite these five individuals is the city which they call home, and the weekly dance session they attend, hosted by Lois. As political unrest continues to spread and a curfew is announced, all of these characters have a choice to make.
This was different from what I expected in a number of ways but most prominantely, the role the political landscape plays shocked me. I am a climate-fiction/speculative fiction enthusiast and the majority of the time, the politics is at the forefront in an explicit way. Characters tend to be involved within it (whether that be rebelling from the status quo in a loud, unhindered way, or propelling the negative policies) but here? Here, the climate crisis and the overall political unrest in London steps to the sidelines… and this worried me.
But, ultimately, Woof proved me wrong! By having the larger questions exist as a peripheral blur to the daily challenges these characters face, Woof brings the evermost important question to light: what makes us human? For me, in climate-fiction/spec fiction, to be human is to typically be active in the ongoings. Instead, Woof made me consider that to be inactive is a form of humanity too. A digging deep within oneself to find out what the word “human” truly means when all the news in the world is about humanity’s end.
Despite how it presents itself as a secondary character, politics *is* at the forefront. The politics of the body, the politics of movement, the very combination of consciousness and structured awareness (thank you Fareed!) that dominates the story. The political landscape is subtle, ebbing throughout the story yet as it goes on, you see the way each and every character posss a different response to what is going on.
This is a heavily researched, intricately written piece of work that questions what makes us human, and the various different answers we will all have to that question. When faced with the reality of having to answer it, however, Woof digs deep into one fundamental truth that exists within all of us - consciousness without thought, without compromise, and without contradiction. True, free consciousness dictated by the body.
An immaculate read. I cannot recommend this enough.
In a near-future London crumbling from climate catastrophe, Woof follows five characters through their vastly different day-to-day lives. The only things that unite these five individuals is the city which they call home, and the weekly dance session they attend, hosted by Lois. As political unrest continues to spread and a curfew is announced, all of these characters have a choice to make.
This was different from what I expected in a number of ways but most prominantely, the role the political landscape plays shocked me. I am a climate-fiction/speculative fiction enthusiast and the majority of the time, the politics is at the forefront in an explicit way. Characters tend to be involved within it (whether that be rebelling from the status quo in a loud, unhindered way, or propelling the negative policies) but here? Here, the climate crisis and the overall political unrest in London steps to the sidelines… and this worried me.
But, ultimately, Woof proved me wrong! By having the larger questions exist as a peripheral blur to the daily challenges these characters face, Woof brings the evermost important question to light: what makes us human? For me, in climate-fiction/spec fiction, to be human is to typically be active in the ongoings. Instead, Woof made me consider that to be inactive is a form of humanity too. A digging deep within oneself to find out what the word “human” truly means when all the news in the world is about humanity’s end.
Despite how it presents itself as a secondary character, politics *is* at the forefront. The politics of the body, the politics of movement, the very combination of consciousness and structured awareness (thank you Fareed!) that dominates the story. The political landscape is subtle, ebbing throughout the story yet as it goes on, you see the way each and every character posss a different response to what is going on.
This is a heavily researched, intricately written piece of work that questions what makes us human, and the various different answers we will all have to that question. When faced with the reality of having to answer it, however, Woof digs deep into one fundamental truth that exists within all of us - consciousness without thought, without compromise, and without contradiction. True, free consciousness dictated by the body.
An immaculate read. I cannot recommend this enough.
Displaying 1 of 1 review