Prickle is a novella by E.K. Larson-Burnett.
Finished on: 5.10.2025
[I won this book in a LibraryThing Early Reviewer give-away.]

Plot:
Duscha lives with her babushka above her tattoo studio and the two are just about getting by. There has always been something dark and strange about her babulya, and when Duscha sets out to tattoo a wolf and ends up with a twisting, strange design that the ink seems to have demanded of her on its own, her babulya appears to know more than she is letting on. Duscha knows that there is a darkness, a hunger inside her, even if her grandmother keeps quiet and her girlfriend Valentina doesn’t really understand. But is it a blessing or a curse?

Prickle is an intriguing novella with a very interesting concept. As someone with personal ties to both tattoos and to Russia (and to queerness), it was especially nice to read this – and it did creep me out.

Prickle is probably strongest at its beginning when we don’t really know yet what is happening, only that the ink is hungry and the tattooed people are changing. Larson-Burnett’s prose is evocative, and Duscha’s predicament and her quest to understand what is happening is engaging. I also liked the apparently ambiguous role her grandmother plays and that went in a different direction than I thought.

At times, things moved a little quickly for me and I am not sure I always understood what exactly is happening in this particular second, but that doesn’t change the fact that there is a claustrophobic atmosphere to the entire thing where Duscha’s loneliness and the feeling of her being trapped between bad choices become palpable.

I will say that the explanation finally didn’t work that well for me. It felt a little contradictory to what came before it, especially the question of blessing or curse wasn’t resolved for me. That being said, it was an interesting take on the “monster” that I won’t spoil her. I don’t know if Larson-Burnett drew from Russian folklore for it, but it seems possible. Just like her version of Moscow seems realistic and nicely modern (full disclaimer, my Russia trip was 25 years ago and I only spent a couple of days in Moscow, so WHAT DO I KNOW).

I could see the concept expanded into a full length novel or in another novella. It definitely has potential, even if I didn’t think it was all fulfilled in this novella.

Summarizing: engaging and creepy.