This electric debut blurs the lines between psychological realism and science fiction with startling narratives that map the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies. From a wife refusing to remove a green ribbon from her neck to a plague consuming humanity through sexual encounters, these stories enlarge the possibilities of contemporary fiction. With a voice all her own, Carmen Maria Machado's Her Body and Other Parties is both earthy and otherworldly, queer and caustic, and swings from horrific violence to the most exquisite sentiment.