NAMED AS ONE OF GRANTA MAGAZINE’S BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELISTS 2023

An unnerving, compelling and utterly contemporary debut novel about one woman’s metamorphosis into an online phenomenon, from a Sunday Times Short Story Award-shortlisted writer

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. Each of these three witnesses to the woman desires closeness. Each is left with only the husk of who she was before she became someone else: a woman on a singular and solitary path with the power to inspire and to influence her followers, for good and ill.

An oblique, intimate novel told in lucid, beguiling prose, Chrysalis a story about solitude and selfhood, and about the blurred line between self-care and narcissism. It is about controlling the body and the mind, about the place of the individual within society and what is means when someone choses to leave society behind. It is strikingly contemporary story about the search for answers and those we trust to give them to us.

‘Chrysalis is a thrilling look at how we spin silk around ourselves by watching the world on our screens. We are the gaping entomologist; we are the pupa, always a little stuck.’ Claire Luchette, New York Times

‘Strikingly original . . . explores the dark side of influencer culture and probes questions of solitude, perception and self-invention . . . a triumph of observation and control.’ Bookseller

‘The effect of the novel’s triptych form feels like looking at the protagonist through the lens of a kaleidoscope, each segment dazzling, but ultimately fractured, leaving compelling gaps in our perception of who she is.’ Electric Lit

‘Chrysalis examines the illusions built into our search for online connection and our idolisation of strangers simply because we feel intimate with them . . . The resulting tone is one of isolation and introspection, as though humanity were being viewed from afar — evocative of the psychological loneliness that is the extreme end of self-care.’ Literary Review

‘A beautifully conceived triptych, shining and modern.’ Lillian Fishman, author of Acts of Service

‘Chrysalis is a savvy exploration of one woman’s desire to inspire others, and how self-presentation can tip into obsession.’ Observer

‘It’s all in the telling, which is gripping and subtle. Small pieces of information are drip fed to the reader, each moment viewed and reviewed across the different narratives. [Chrysalis] feels fizzy, with all these pops of observation on the move.’ Guardian

‘This is a very well-written novel that is shrewdly revealing about the alluring and insidious nature of contemporary consumer culture.’ TLS

‘The characters are always intriguing.’ New Statesman

‘[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

‘A subtle, perceptive and highly enjoyable novel which illuminates many of the challenges and absurdities of life as we live it now.’ Cathy Rentzenbrink

‘Unputdownable, ice-cool and wittily contemporary, Chrysalis announces Anna Metcalfe as a distinctive and daring fresh literary voice. Utterly original and with shades of Ottessa Moshfegh, Patricia Lockwood, Yoko Ogawa and Alexandra Kleeman, this brilliant portrayal of desire and transcendence had me totally entranced.’ Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti

‘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, author of The Butchers

‘WOW. I just devoured this. What a wonderful, painful, funny novel . . . It’s so beautiful and cruel, and summed up just perfectly by the ending – a flawless final sentence, one of the best I’ve ever read, it absolutely gave me chills.’ Avni Doshi

‘Managing the intimacy of the mother-daughter relationship and coming to terms with how it went wrong makes for compelling material.’ The Times