Review of ChloroPhilia by Cristina Jurado
Cristina Jurado’s ChloroPhilia (originally published in Spanish as CloroFilia in 2017; English edition, Apex Book Company, 2025) is a dystopian novella with elements of body and post-apocalyptic horror, with a strong focus on the characters.
The novella opens with a pair of prologue chapters that introduce the reader to the situation in the world and an unnamed doctor making his way through the early days of a world that has suffered an apocalyptic event but that has not fully taken shape. After these, the meat of the story begins with Kirmen, a surgically altered teenage boy who the unnamed doctor hopes will be humanity’s salvation while simultaneously finding his patient repugnant. The novella then weaves between past and present from Kirmen’s perspective, as he undergoes surgeries and becomes more and more different from the remainder of humanity living within the domed settlement called the Cloister.
While Sue Burke’s translation of Jurado’s prose is magnificent and poetic, the real strength of the novella itself is in the characters and their relationships with one another. Though aspects of Kirmen’s own personality are not always as prevalent, the way in which he sees the characters around him brings them to life and offers the reader insight into his personality as well, as a young man who has been isolated throughout his life. I would have liked to see more of some characters (which might have required a longer story), in part because one reveal of a character’s backstory near the end of the novella felt a bit abrupt when I read it.
For readers who enjoy dystopian fiction and are not averse to horror elements, ChloroPhilia is a dark but good and quick read!
The publisher provided me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for review consideration.
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