In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Hanif Abdurraqib, Andrew Sean Greer, Roxane Gay, and many others.
Grace Byron’s novel Herculine is a brilliantly riveting and visceral debut.
Publishers Weekly wrote of the book:
“A brilliant addition to the growing genre of trans horror…a piercing portrait of trans community and solidarity. The author brings enough humor to the proceedings to prevent the horror from becoming too all-consuming while keeping the pages flying with a thrilling plot and a moving examination of loneliness, desire, and hope in the wake of trauma. Byron proves an exciting new voice in horror fiction.”
In her own words, here is Grace Byron’s Book Notes music playlist for her debut novel Herculine:
Hardwired, Metallica
My protagonist is a huge metal head, a sort of ex-punk. Her ripped Metallica tee shirt is an important motif, so I had to include one of my later favs.
God, Tori Amos
Long one of my favorite songs about religion. “Do you need a woman to take care of you?” is one of the most withering lines of theology. I think of it often.
Gibson Girl, Ethel Cain
I can’t but pay tribute to one of our best Gothic singer-songwriters. Her work was inevitably a big mood while writing Herculine. Sexy, sad, stormy.
Devil Town, Bright Eyes
Always have admired Oberst’s lyrics, even though this is a cover. His twisty tales of Gnosticism imbued with Shakespearean language and political intrigue are breathtaking. No musician has influenced my prose more than Bright Eyes and its extended universe.
Demons, Kim Petras
Someone joked this would be the credit song if Herculine was ever made into a movie. Maybe not emotionally the same, but sure, why not?
Song for Sharon, Joni Mitchell
Huge reflection point for the novel, a few riffs on Joni in the book. She’s a legend. My favorite musician of all time. Her thoughts on love and marriage are gospel.
Mouths Cradle, Bjork
I wanted the chapter of the same name to feel this creepy-crawly, once the demons are out of the bag.
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Lucinda Williams
A girl’s roadtrip anthem. I do think in some ways, like Nevada, this is a road trip book. I was happy to write a brief chapter set in Pittsburgh which is halfway between NYC and Indiana.
I Dreamt We Spoke Again, Death Cab for Cutie
I almost had a chapter written as a letter years later at the end of the book—there’s a way that the protagonist is yearning to talk again to her ex-love—but perhaps it’s better left on a more ambiguous note.
Ring of Fire, Johnny Cash
I had to set a chapter in hell, of course, and there’s an echo of country music in my mind at least to a few of the chapters in the book.
Grace Byron is a writer from the Midwest based in Queens. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, New York magazine, The Nation, and Vogue, among other outlets. Find her @EmoTrophyWife. Herculine is her debut novel.