Distortion

The leftfield fictions of Julia Armfield and Katie Kitamura meet in this unsettling novel of power, seduction and surrender

'Exquisite: darkly gripping and sensuous' DAISY LAFARGE, author of Paul 'I never realised what it meant, to give yourself fully to a character. Every part of you. Would I go through it again, despite everything? In a heartbeat.' When aspiring actor Natalie is offered her first major role in the new film by Robert Langford - a revered director with an intimidating reputation - she instantly accepts. It would be madness to turn down this career-making opportunity - wouldn't it? As always, he demands total immersion: extended rehearsals in a remote location, close bonding among the cast, a set cloistered away from outsiders and even loved ones. Langford claims his take on the horror genre will expose prejudice itself as the hidden terror plaguing society. But as filming gets underway and the project tightens its grip on Natalie's body and mind - exposing her disability in ways she's never experienced before - normal boundaries seem to shift. There are freak incidents and sudden disappearances, murmured secrets and hidden meetings. What, exactly, is Langford's purpose? And what has Natalie truly sacrificed in her pursuit of success?