Chrysalis

Product Information

One of the beauties of Chrysalis: the story isn't only about Nicola but the ways Nicola impacts the lives of those around her, particularly the novel's three narrators. An] eerily cool debut... in its acute examination of voyeurism, image and the deceptive nature of connection, [it] feels tailor-made for the age of the internet * Daily Mail *

Taking on questions of femininity and expectation, as well as social media and its ability to make a cult leader of anyone, Chrysalis raises as many questions as it answers about our society and our place within it.” — Lit Hub, Most Anticipated Books of 2023 Over the course of the novel it becomes clear that the woman is preparing for “the next phase” of her life where she will leave those who knew her behind, in favour of something else. The abandoned narrators watch the content that she creates and posts online: she is a wellness influencer of a sort and her strange videos are devoted to strength and stillness. “Variously all three narrators describe her as being made out of stone or carved from something, so it’s as if she becomes made of some natural material rather than a person. Something that’s more durable or more permanent than a person.”

Anna Metcalfe

Her mother gives us a history of how she was growing up, her personality and the kind of daughter she was. I really enjoyed the mother’s perspective because I loved the mother-daughter theme that was explored.

Anna Metcalfe: I thought lots about perception. I really enjoyed how the book could explore that in it’s opening section, a lot of which takes place in a gym, partly because that seems like such a fishbowl of an environment where people are really focused on looking at themselves all the time, in all the mirrors that are everywhere, but also anxiously looking around them to see are other people running faster than them, lifting heavier weights than them. There was something helpful about having that as a setting early on in the book to establish that as a theme. It gets to weave through more subtly through the other two narrators. JA: The treatment of trauma is interesting in this narrative: the main character at one point shares her traumatic experience with a guy she’s kind of seeing, and he listens “dutifully” and thinks, “I wanted her to need me, but not like this.” Were there cultural moments of recent that have prompted you to think about the ways trauma is treated? A lot of it resonated with me in terms of women finally sharing their stories and then being undermined or not actually heard when they share. Or, maybe that we don’t collectively have the tools to talk about trauma in a way that feels helpful; people are often at a loss for how to respond. She is watched by Elliot as he trains in the gym. He notices her dedication to building her body and taking up space, and he is drawn to her strength. She is observed by her mother, as she grows from a taciturn, tremulous child into a determined and distant woman, who severs all familial ties. She is observed by her former colleague Susie, who offers her sanctuary and support as she leaves her partner and her job and rebuilds her life, transforms her body, and reinvents herself online. I thought a lot about the necessity of performing some sort of victimhood in the face of trauma [in] a way that makes their trauma legible to others. Chrysalis is an entirely unique novel about an unnamed woman who transforms herself, physically and mentally, in the wake of an abusive relationship.Chrysalis is a savvy exploration of one woman’s desire to inspire others, and how self-presentation can tip into obsession. Although Metcalfe’s three perspectives offer a nuanced portrait of an online sensation, they are similar in tone. Her health guru rises from the ashes of an abusive relationship, but also discards those who’ve outgrown their use. Metcalfe is insightful about the world of contemporary influencers, voyeurism and the rise of narcissism, but it’s hard to warm to her aloof heroine. JA: There are so many systems that hold us all. It reminds me of when you were talking about buying a new dress; like do we really have to transform our whole selves? It feels like you’re chasing this other version of yourself that never really actually exists, but for a brief period of time you can pretend like if you do this one thing, you will. There’s a measure of fleeting joy to be found in that.

I am not going to lie; this book floored me in a good way. The author did a spectacular job showcasing how society views the body of women in such a layered way. The story is told from the perspective of three characters: I really, really did love [it]... I think it's a really interesting discussion and reflection on a topic that is very prevalent in the world -- Jen Campbell It’s about the different forms of isolation and the effects that come from it, including loneliness, solitude and sometimes, independence. AM: We get glimpses of her throughout the story that suggest at other points in her life she has taken on traditional gendered burdens of emotional responsibility. She has cared for other people in the book, dealt with their feelings when they couldn’t deal with their feelings themselves. At the point where we meet her, she has just quit all of that. Her behavior in the gym, those first moments that we meet her, are to tell us that she’s rejecting all these social conventions and she’s not that interested in participating in anything that might not serve her any more, regardless of what is expected of her. Because she is female, that reads slightly differently. It comes across as slightly more abrasive.Incredibly smart and totally unique... ranging from online obsession, to mothers and daughters, to the very nature of selfhood, the whole thing is strange and warm and, crucially, very funny... I savoured every last brilliant sentence' - Ruth Gilligan Metcalfe, who teaches creative writing at the University of Birmingham, set her students a timed writing exercise in the classroom: to invent their own “recalcitrant or hard to pin down” protagonist and then describe that character through three different points of view in 20 minutes. She sat down to do the same exercise alongside her students, and Chrysalis was born. “I’ve really borrowed my whole structure from Han Kang, hopefully not in an exercise of plagiarism but more in literary adoration,” she says cheerfully, when we meet for tea near London Bridge.

Over the course of the novel it becomes clear that the woman is preparing for the ‘the next phase’ of her life where she will leave those she knew behind Character in flux

Become a Member

Metcalfe was shortlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award in 2014 for “Number Three”, a story that later appeared in her first collection of short stories, Blind Water Pass, published by John Murray in 2016. Through the three point of view we basically piece together who the character is and her motivation behind her transformation. I loved that the author took us through each stage, even though it wasn’t told the character herself and I think that is what made it very intriguing.