The Body Harvest is a profoundly confusing reading experience. We follow protagonists Will and Olivia - in a strangely passive third-person omniscient voice, one I never got used to - two individuals who are addicted to being sick, and always chasing their next fix.

It's a simple - albeit disgusting - premise, and easy enough to understand - or, it would be, if the author didn't feel the need to obfuscate absolutely everything about it with alternately pretentious and cringe-worthy language that is at best, vague, and at worst, intentionally misleading. To give an example: Will and Olivia name the viruses they catch. These names are impossible to take seriously - ordinary names like Gregory, Charles, and Roderick - but why do they do this, other than to confuse the reader? Unless I missed it, it's ever explained, justified, or even hinted at; it's just baffling.

To revisit the passive narration: The text is littered with quotes like "Zaff is carried over to the couch, where he sleeps off an attack." He "is carried" by Will, so why not just say "Will carries Zaff to the couch"? Or "The woman is tortured" - BY ZAFF, so why not say "Zaff tortures the woman"? Or - again! - "The car takes her through the outskirts of the city", which makes it sound as if Olivia is being driven, when in fact OLIVIA IS DRIVING THE CAR. Direct action was removed as much as possible, rendering the action scenes staccato and stuttering and everything else near unreadable.

The Fight Club and American Psycho influences are clear, but The Body Harvest has none of their clarity of purpose or charm. The bottom line is, this concept is not as high-brow, weird, or interesting as Seidlinger seems to think it is, but as a post-pandemic narrative it could have stood on its own two feet had he just leant into its simplicity, rather than trying to elevate the horror. Unfortunately, he took the latter route, and this is the result.

A rapid-fire, remarkable novel that does deserve the Ballard comparisons. Should inspire a fierce loyalty and cult fandom!

"**The Body Harvest**" struggles with a convoluted plot and underdeveloped characters, leading to a less engaging reading experience. Despite its intriguing premise, the novel fails to deliver the depth and cohesion needed to captivate its audience.

What a wonderfully weird book this is! This took me a moment to fall into a groove with these characters, but Seidlinger delivered! I definitely was uncomfortable a few times during this horror novel. exactly what I wanted from this read! I loved it!

<b>TW/CW: Language, anxiety, toxic family relationships, abusive relationship, cheating, self harm, death by suicide (attempts), depression, body dysmorphia, covid mention, gory scenes, blood, violence</b>

<b><big>*****SPOILERS*****</b></big>
<b>About the book:</b>
Will is a fraud. Olivia is a wreck. They meet at a grief share group and quickly bond over their brokenness. They also have a peculiar hobby; they seek out sickness. Will hunts for the latest strain of flu. Olivia doesn’t feel comfortable in her body if she isn’t suffering from a fever. They become virus chasers, finding confidence in their ability to conquer every affliction they come across. They soon discover an online community of chasers called The Source and realize that their hobby isn’t all that odd when seen from the right distance. And then the mysterious Zaff literally walks into their life, claiming that he has the goods, knows where the latest outbreak will drop. Intrigued, Will and Olivia decide to take their hobby to the point of obsession, believing that if they can conquer the newest strain, nobody can hurt them.
<b>Release Date:</b> July 23rd, 2024
<b>Genre:</b> Horror
<b>Pages:</b> 244
<b>Rating:</b>

<b>What I Liked:</b>
1. Loved the writing style

<b>What I Didn't Like:</b>
1. Repetitive at times
2. Some parts just rambled on & on

<b>Overall Thoughts:</b>
<b><i><small>{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}</small></i></b>

Getting to know the characters we learn that Will was a successful businessman who worked with a man named Chase to steal $250,000. Chase throws them under the bus and pretty much says it's all Will's fault. Will of course gets fired and he's not allowed to work in any other big business companies. Will gets violently sick. He's sick for a month vomiting and everything and when he finally comes out of being sick he feels "light" and he gets hooked on that feeling. Is it odd that I know what he's talking about? That feeling when you've been sick for so long and you're finally feeling good, I can definitely relate to that.

Olivia is raised by parents that emotionally and physically abuse her constantly. She ends up meeting a man called B. At first he's wonderful and great and they end up moving in together. She works for his resale business. He ends up cheating and pretty much beating her too. A month later she gets very sick and doesn't talk about him anymore. This part was really confusing was trying to figure out why she was sick and what made her so sick that she got like a bacterial infection. Anyways after she's released from the hospital they give her a brochure for grief as she goes to an website chatroom.

Olivia and Will end up going for a walk after the landlord is after them for rent. And then we get this montage of gross things they're willing to do to get sick. They start with licking the doorknob, then jump into looking through dumpsters, and decide to go to a pet daycare where Olivia lets a dog lick inside her mouth, and now Olivia has fallen and gotten a gash so they're going to go to the emergency room to see what they can pick up in there.

I'm guessing that they give their sicknesses names because so far we've had (I'm guessing);
• Gerry (maybe flu)
• Amanda (food poisoning)
• Charles (Kawasaki disease)
• Gregory (unsure)
• Charles again (Std this time)

Will Pockets a bunch of syringes from The Biohazard box. Olivia ends up leaving with nothing other than being told she just has a scrape and she'll be fine. Then they proceed to go back to the apartment where they split up the syringes and start playing with them. Just to see what they can get from them. This is insane. I can't even imagine trying to get sick and using other people's needles to see what I can get from them.

Okay this very weird and out of place masturbation scene. I do learn that Will's only had sex one time and Olivia is a virgin. Which I found very odd considering she was dating that man, B for a while and they never had sex? I'm not saying that Olivia can't be in a relationship and not have sex, but I found it odd that she wouldn't have written about it before even a mention in her journal.

I had to laugh because the author wrote that Olivia settled on untasted wheat bread so bread. Not sure why we had to put on toasted in there.

Will goes over some emails talking about how he got out of jail time but people are still mad at him. I'm just curious why no one brought a civil suit against him when his company decided not to press charges. He's still $250,000 I can't imagine that individual people wouldn't want to get their money back. Also not sure how he avoided jail time.

It's pretty interesting because Will gets this email from a group called The Source and they are a group of like-minded people that are interested in sickness. There are chasers and terminal people. Honestly I guess there would be a group for anybody who's really interested in anything. Curious to see how this email made its way to Will.

Also there's a question that kind of sets will off asking if he has ever had an STD before. He starts talking about how sex is gross and he hates his penis. So it seems that Will might suffer from Sexual Aversion Disorder.

They end up talking to the mod because they make a mistake sending out the introduction publicly. The mod ends up sending them a pledge that they have to sign. They have to agree that they have to sign in and update their health status within 48 hours. This just seemed like such a ludacris idea to have to do because this is a community that's based on getting sick and when you're sick - depending on the sickness are you going to be able to update your status?

That group ends up making them think that the sickness is in Roanoke when it's somewhere else. Will and Olivia sneak onto a bus to try and get the sickness but find out that the mods lied about where it's at and they're nowhere near it.

Will ends up meeting a man outside the bus station and they have oral sex. He's hopeful when he gets back trying to give it to Olivia but weirdly they name it Charles, and they already have a disease name of Charles so it's confused why they would reuse the name. Perhaps an error of the author.

This man is off just randomly shows up in their house spewing about sickness and stuff like that. He knows where the knives are in the drawer, he knows about their history, he knows about how all the websites and things are fake. That's weird it's like they said almost like they manifested him at a time in their need.

I still don't understand why this group would send them Olivia and Will an email to join this community only to then abandon them because they don't trust them. Just like who sent this email? Why do they send this email to them? Why do they abandon them?

Honestly I'm starting to wonder if Olivia and this new person is a figment of Will's imagination. Whenever he's feeling down he just imagines another person

I can't tell if something is happening with Olivia and will because this soft guy shows up and magically he is able to give them this illness that they've been craving forever and now he is healing hands from Cuts he gave to starting a Corvette from just touch alone. Are they even like a fever dream?


<b>Final Thoughts:</b>
I'll be honest with you I did not enjoy the book Crash. I love the movie but the book is so dry and boring. I thought it would be interesting to read a book that's in the same kind of genre as that book thinking maybe it would do better for me as a reader and I could enjoy this book instead.

There's just something so interesting about a person's obsession with something that's so weird and taboo. Things like sexual attraction to car accidents or in this case attraction to being sick is a fascinating thing to study.

I have zero idea what the last half of the book was trying to be. It felt like a totally different book though. I can't tell you what even happened since it felt complete nonsense. That's real shame because the first half of the book I was really enthralled with it and drawn in with the characters.

Some 12 years ago, Brandon (son of David) Cronenberg released a film called Antiviral. The film’s premise involved a corporation that gave illnesses from celebrities to their devout fans. That’s right. People would pay to get sick from a disease that, say, Taylor Swift had — all to be closer to their idol, feeling every ounce of ache, pain, and chill that said idol had been stricken with. Well, Michael J. Seidlinger mines a similar premise in his new book, The Body Harvest. The story revolves around a young man named Will — who was fired from his Fortune 500 job for committing fraud, narrowly avoiding jail time in the process — and Olivia — a woman who was beaten by her parents and first boyfriend, all for wanting to pursue her dreams of being an artist. Will and Olivia live together, though their relationship is hardly romantic, though sexual. Their goal is to chase after viruses and get sick on them, as though getting sick were along the lines of a drug high. Then weird things start to happen: they come across an online community of similar people, and then, for no real reason, a stranger named Zaff breaks into their apartment to show them how their illness addiction is really a power play.

From there, the novel turns pro — at least in terms of getting weird. I’m told that I’m an intelligent person, and I would agree that I am to some extent. Still, I’m not as bright as the author of this book because I could not, for any reason, fathom what happens in the last half of The Body Harvest. It’s probably a good thing I can’t, so I don’t risk spoiling any part of this short read that will take less than three hours. All I can say about this work as a whole is that this is a work of transgressive horror. Still, there’s hardly any horror unless you count the exchange of various bodily fluids Will and Olivia share (not those kinds of fluids, you sick puppy!) to make themselves ill. This is one guh-ross book, and there were times when I was reading this when I threw up a little bit in my mouth. To that end, The Body Harvest is a little bit like a slasher flick: it’s the type of work university professors might study, but it’s also one that might not get critical acclaim at the same time. I shouldn’t be churlish, however, because Michale J. Seidlinger is an author who has garnered some level of critical acclaim. I read The Body Harvest on my Kindle, and three percent of the front of the book was taken up by blurbs from fellow authors or review publications for his previous book, Anybody Home? I haven’t read that book, but it turns out that it was partly inspired by the film Funny Games. I’m sensing a pattern emerging here, don’t you?

In any case, I don’t know what to make of The Body Harvest. I wanted to like it because I usually enjoy transgressive fiction. (However, my parents only shake their heads at me and wonder how their son could stomach such weird fiction.) I’ve finally found such a book that I couldn’t enjoy. The main problem is that it devolves into absolute nonsense once it finishes grossing you out. Again, maybe I wasn’t smart enough for this book — however, it may also be that this book isn’t all that great, either. After all, a true masterpiece teaches you how to read it, while The Body Harvest is just awash in sheer abasement. It keeps the reader at arm’s length and employs various techniques — such as the gross-out — to do so. I don’t know why this is so because The Body Harvest could have had something to say about COVID-19 and the role of anti-vaxxers during the pandemic. But no. The whole thing plays like a terrible acid trip. I must wonder if illicit substance use is crucial for understanding this book.

And so I must conclude something that my parents usually conclude when they encounter a book review written by yours truly that’s strange: this one wasn’t for me! I don’t know who this book is for. It has a very bitter, tart edge to it, so a loner or someone relegated to the outskirts of mainstream society might find solace in it. Maybe you have to be some masochist to enjoy this. I don’t know. All I know is that The Body Harvest is disturbing for the sake of being disturbing and should be given as wide a berth as possible by those who enjoy the pleasures of reading. Nothing here is worth spending the scant hours it takes to read it (those are nearly three hours I’ll never get back) and all it will do is make you feel bad about yourself for having read it. A few other words could be said about reading this book, but I can try: Hack! Spit! Blech! Barf! Those are just a few sounds that will emit from your mouth as you give this one a go. Don’t say you weren’t warned: The Body Harvest is best avoided at all costs.

This title will be featured/reviewed in a print publication. Please contact this reviewer directly for more details.

This book has serious Fight Club vibes -- instead of toxic masculinity this one focuses on our obsession with pain and diseases. It's great for fans of Chuck Palahniuk, but it might be too much for sensitive readers. It tries to be deep and philosophical, but I think it sometimes misses the mark because this one is all over the place. I enjoyed it plenty, but I'm not sure it is one I would recommend lightly or widely.

Michael Seidlinger is one of the few authors with the insane knack for upsetting me so thoroughly in his books. I haven't read another author that can get under my skin the way his works do.

A very creepy, odd, atmospheric book. Went into it now knowing exactly what I was getting into, so it shocked me a little bit. Perfect for everyone who wants to feel in control of their own lives or anyone who longs to get revenge on anyone and everyone.

Thank you NetGalley for a digital arc of The Body Harvest. This book reminded me of the movie Bliss with Salma Hayek and Owen Wilson as well as the cult classic film Fight Club with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. Dizzyingly disturbing, I’ve never read anything quite like this book. I’ve also never read a book in this way—hand covering my mouth and nose with pure disgust as if the words would jump out from the page and infect me. In my mind I separated this book into three acts. The first act when we meet our ill fated couple was my favorite. The second act when the mysterious Zaff arrives was my least favorite. The last act absolutely stole the show for me and breathed back a lot of life and excitement into the story. I really loved the ending and the direction the author took with the timeline mix ups. If you enjoy unreliable narrators, disturbing characters and body horror, this is a story perfect for you.

This book has serious Fight Club vibes -- instead of toxic masculinity this one focuses on our obsession with pain and diseases. It's great for fans of Chuck Palahniuk, but it might be too much for sensitive readers. It tries to be deep and philosophical, but I think it sometimes misses the mark because this one is all over the place. I enjoyed it plenty, but I'm not sure it is one I would recommend lightly or widely.

Being sick is a feeling that most of us hate. You can’t breathe properly, you’ve got the chills, and you’re just downright uncomfortable. It’s not a fun time but what happens when your entire existence is finding ways to get sick? Getting sick sends this euphoria through your body and that’s the life you crave.

There's no way to beat around the bush here, so here we go. This was fucked up and part of me enjoyed this. Well, parts of it. The first and second parts are what got me, it was the third part that didn't interest me all that much and the ending fell kind of flat.

It was easy to follow, the characters were whacked out of their minds, and it was all very disgusting. Me being a fan of disgusting really enjoyed the fuckedupness of Will and Olivia and their quest to catch the perfect illness. I've never read anything like this. What I didn't like was the very end. I think it should have ended after we found out what happened to Olivia. A big finish for the germ queen.

The Body Harvest was interesting, disgusting, and quite enjoyable. If you're weird like me then you'll love licking doorknobs right along with Oliva and Will.

Horror for a post-Covid world. It's a challenging read but I think that's the point. The narrator is a bit to adjust to but it's a unique title that I think body horror fans will gravitate towards.

This has a really unique concept but it’s gross and disturbing. Will and Olivia are sick, inside and out and I didn’t care what happened to them.

this is a book that makes your skin feel slimy, an unabashedly gross tale. i’ve grown bored of pandemic fiction over time but this was a bold, transgressive take on the subject matter. a triptych of sorts, i do feel like this narrative had three very different through lines that made it kind of choppy at points, but i will say i still physically recoiled at so many points which was mainly what i was searching for in this story.

I confess that in a COVID world I find plague narratives generally quite boring. Not so here, as Seidlinger has eschewed tired metaphor for something entirely unique. Disease haunts us, and has for centuries, and so this tale of facing sickness head on and seeking it out is sure to disgust and delight in equal measure.

iI enjoyed this a fair bit, disturbing and gross and extremely visceral, full of horrible people being horrible. I think the level of unreliability and, for lack of a better word, pretension in the narrative style made it harder for me to appreciate the excellent bones and freaky shivers it's clearly aiming to leave the reader with. The style might work better for others, but it was a little frustrating to me by the end, and I was left feeling a little disengaged. Probably a personal taste thing, but in terms of the themes etc, I loved this, and would reccommend for anyone who likes the really disgusting, visceral, pessimistic stories. Lots of different fluids in this one.

I don’t even want to give one star to be completely honest. I kept picking up the book and trying my hardest to get thru. I’m not a person who is easily offended by stories but I found this one repulsive!! I made it halfway and gave up! I’m mot sure I would say this book is right for anyone. A story of two ppl who try to get sick to feel something. And name their illnesses like a friend or foe!!
A deeply disturbing story that is for sure.
DNF
Do not recommend at all

Psychological Thriller / Horror
NetGalley ARC - Clash Books (SMPR)
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"Waking up without any symptoms reminds a person of everything they lack"

This books is split into three acts following the protagonists Will and Olivia after very low points in their lives they start to crave feeling sick as a way of coping with depression. I assume this is similar to bodily harm in that the goal is to feel something different and as they often refer to, attempt to become immune to the world they live in. They find a group of Chasers that pass on information about where exotic illnesses are out breaking so that these people can be the first in line to experience the new infections.
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"The feeling of being immune, not to any viral strain, but rather to others. People."

Act I is like if Fight Club was about catching viruses instead of hitting people. Chasing the high of near death. Trying to feel something, anything. All about finding a way to experience sickness, licking handles, accessing used medical equipment.

"For so many the thought of infection accentuates their greatest fears. Yet for a few, the word opens doors."

Act II becomes very Thelma and Louise, Alice in Wonderland, fever dream as the two protagonists explore a bit more of the supernatural and experience some quite gruesome horror scenes. Still not fully sure what was real or what was fake in this Act, similar to how the protagonists experience the events. However, the psychological part definitely lingers and leads us into Act III

"My temperature was so high...It rewrites how you think. It makes you see past all this bullshit, the people, the money, the so-called American Dream, and it shows you just how little we have control over anything."

Act III is a bit more subtle, focusing on the human experience and what we can and cannot control in life, and when we get what we want how long can it last