Who could have known a Frankenstein-inspired book about two gay Victorian London-era men using mycelium to build a daughter would be so thoughtful about the human condition? No me, that's for sure.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I went in expecting a fun reset or a weird story about some scientists who play build-a-bear with plants. I ended up immersed in a complicated story about love, family, sacrifice, personhood, identity and what is sentience. We follow Jennifer, Gregor, and Simon in the use of an exotic mycelium to turn a corpse into their sentient daughter Chloe. She begins as an experiment and turns into a member of their bizarre family who live in a beautiful greenhouse.

This story takes place in 19th century Victorian-era London where queerness was understood and discouraged, but one of those oft-not discussed features of life. Gregor and Simon love one another dearly, but they test each other a lot between Simon's fervent worry and Gregor's megalomania. Jennifer is their housekeeper-turned-family whose best friend's unexpected passing paves the way for Chloe, the "substrate" for this experiment.

We watch Chloe develop and behind to get away from her fathers' original ambitions, turning into something entirely herself. It forces Gregor to consider what is personhood? What does it mean to be sentient? At what point has Chloe earned a right to autonomy? Simon, on the other hand, is horrified at first. Over time, he learns what it means to love paternally and how to see Chloe as her own person instead of an identity crafted around what he hoped she might be.

The style is very gothic and the prose is springy and fluid, but can be a bit drab at times. I loved some of the imagery and the moments where we see Jennifer start to come out of her shell from "quirky village girl" to fully realized passionate woman. Watching her interactions with Chloe and how she becomes an advocate for her independence is charming, in a weird "this woman is made of plants" way.

One thing I found surprising, personally, was how I forgot at a certain point Chloe was just a jumble of plant life. When she is given a voice and subsequently robbed of it, I was furious for her. It was beautiful commentary on the way women are often silenced to sate the egos of men. I appreciated Medlock's subtlety with showing how gay men in Victorian London still had more power and voice than a woman did, despite both of them being subjugated and shackled by their own society. Gregor could pretend and society would be happy to let him, but Jennifer and Chloe can't hide their womanhood despite Jennifer's affinity for suits.

Gregor, I think, was a fantastic Dr. Frankenstein-inspired mad scientist. He was stiff-upper-lip and completely convinced of his own superiority to the point of nearly destroying everything he loved. His megalomania and pathological need to be right almost ruined his relationship with Simon and had me scowling at the text because how dare he say such things to my precious Simon. His ego started this experiment and nearly destroyed him.

Simon learned to pull past his timidity and fear because of his growing love for Chloe. At first, she was an abomination to him, but then she becomes his daughter as much as any flesh and blood child could. Her curiosity and her desire to be free and participate in the world inspires him to stop fearing life and shying away from valiantly loving the way he wishes. Neither he nor Gregor seek to change London's societal woes around queerness, but they stop pretending to be anything other than themselves.

This was much more than I was expecting in a pleasant way. A quick, easy read that got delightfully weird and a little gross. It asked questions of me I did not expect and for that I am very grateful.

Gregor with your testy letters to Julian though? You better keep my man happy or it's on sight.