ChloroPhilia

Would you sacrifice your humanity to save the world?

In English for the first time (translated by Sue Burke), ChloroPhilia, an Ignotus Award-nominated novella by Cristina Jurado, is a strange coming–of-age story while addressing life after an environmental disaster, collective madness, and sacrifices made for the greater good.

Reviews

"Chlorophilia could be viewed as an example of the New Weird genre. Other New Weird books like Annihilation encourage us not to fight the inevitable changeability of the world around us, but rather to embrace it, even if we may not fully understand it. ... While Chlorophilia intentionally leaves many questions open, one point is clear: humanity requires a connection with the natural world to survive."
—Ancillary Review of Books

"ChloroPhilia —an unsettling, enticing novella about evolution in overdrive—is Cristina Jurado's most recent work in English. Like her collection Alphaland,  which came out in English in 2018 and then was reissued in 2023, ChloroPhilia  offers readers Jurado's unique vision of the world, in which the bizarre and grotesque erupts into the mundane world." 
—Strange Horizons

Description

Kirmen is different from the other inhabitants of the Cloister, whose walls protect them all from the endless storm ravaging Earth. As a result of the Doctor’s cruel experiments, his physical form is gradually evolving into something better fit for survival in the world outside.

Kirmen worries about becoming a pariah, an outcast among the other denizens of the domes. But his desire for affection and acceptance, and his humanity, fade away as the Doctor’s treatments progress. What will happen when the metamorphosis is complete? What will be left of Kirmen and the group of survivors that he knows and loves?

In English for the first time (translated by Sue Burke), ChloroPhilia, an Ignotus Award-nominated novella by Cristina Jurado, is a strange coming–of-age story while addressing life after an environmental disaster, collective madness, and sacrifices made for the greater good.

About the Author

Cristina Jurado is a bilingual author, editor and translator of speculative fiction. In 2019 she became the first female writer to win the Best Novel Ignotus Award (Spain’s Hugo Award) for Bionautas. Her recent fiction includes the novella CloroPhilia and her collection of stories Alphaland. Since 2015 she has ran the Spanish multi-awarded magazine SuperSonic. In 2020 she was distinguished as Europe’s Best SF Promoter Award and started to work as a contributor for the bilingual quarterly Constelación magazine.

About the Translator

Sue Burke is the author of the science fiction novel Dual Memory. She also wrote Semosis, Interference, and Immunity Index, along with short stories, poems, and essays. As a result of living overseas, she's also a literary translator, working from Spanish into English for such writers as Angélica Gorodischer, Sofia Rhei, and Cristina Jurado. She's currently enjoying life in Chicago.