The Spirit Bares Its Teeth

By: Andrew Joseph White

Narrated by: Raphael Corkhill

Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

A blood-soaked and nauseating triumph that cuts like a scalpel and reads like your darkest nightmare.

New York Times bestselling author Andrew Joseph White returns with the transgressive gothic horror of our time!

Mors vincit omnia. Death conquers all.

London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old trans, autistic Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife.

After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Finishing School and Sanitorium. When the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its guts to the world—so long as the school doesn’t break him first.

Featuring an autistic trans protagonist in a historical setting, Andrew Joseph White’s much-anticipated sophomore novel does not back down from exposing the violence of the patriarchy and the harm inflicted on trans youth who are forced into conformity.

©2023 Andrew Joseph White (P)2023 Listening Library

I hurt

Andrew Joseph White really knows how to just rip your heart out. It feels amazing tho 10/10 would recommend.

an excellent body horror experience

As a transmasc autistic with severe anxiety, it is extremely rare to hear almost my exact point of view in a character. the biggest departure being surgery and human anatomy as a special interest.

This book is brutally honest without engaging in torture porn and is a thrilling experience. I do not know if it would hit someone who does not view the world through this lens as hard, but I hope it would instill a spirit of empathy. The horrific practices centered around a fantastical premise still happen for different reasons, even today.

But take care, this books trigger warnings should be taken very seriously.

Big fan of AJW, Loved Every Moment Of This!

Its kind of funny but this book actually helped me realized that im slightly on the spectrum as well, loved the read very very dark and a great way to put the spooky season to a close for me.

Painful yet cathartic

This book is incredible, and the narration is perfect. Raphael Corkhill has brought Andrew Joseph White's vivid writing to life beautifully.
With my AuDHD I often struggle with audiobooks, it can be the most interesting and well written story, but if the narration doesn't click with me I just won't be able to stay focused.
Raphael's narration was perfect to me - he told the story as if he was living through it, embodying every character, feeling all their emotions. I got so engrossed that I couldn't stop listening and finished it in two days, and now I just want to start it all over again.
The writing is gut wrenching and beautiful, as pretty as open heart surgery. The story is painful yet cathartic, and will resonate deeply with anyone who has ever experienced the world as a woman, an outsider, or both. It will tear you apart and stitch you back together, leaving you more whole than when you began.

I love this book

I feel seen and represented as a person with autism. The story hooked me and I couldn’t wait to get back to it and the characters. The narrator did a good job although sometimes I had difficulty recognizing what was spoken dialogue between characters and the narrator voicing a character’s inner thoughts. I look forward to more of this author’s work.

Wow!

The beginning feels like the author drops the reader into a story already in progress. It took me a few chapters to catch up and catch on, but once I did, I was hooked. This was creepy and horrifying, but sadly not far from actual history concerning medical experiments at the time.

horrifically good

This was so disturbing and so well written that even when I was cringing and squirming with my feelings on the awful things being done, I literally couldn't stop listening. It was such a dark story, but the sprinkles of hope and the self-discovery and the connections made it beautiful.

I love this book and author so much

I love this goddamn books so much. It is diverse, detailed, and accurate. It is a fantasy, but I was never bored during the story and dreaded when I had to put it down to go on with my day. Please read it!

Best audio book I own

Bot only was this book absolutely a riveting start to finish, but the performance is the best I have ever heard. The dialogue sounded authentic and distinct between characters. And the narration really leaned into the suspenseful aspect of this story! Loved every second of it!

Well Ahead of the Competition for My Best Read of the Year

I had zero expectations for this book. I bought it in the recent 2-for 1 credit sale, essentially for the cover art.

Holy Sh*t.

Not only is the performance IMPECCABLE, the writing put me directly in Silas's shoes. I don't really read horror, this is my first book with a trans main character and I'm over 40. Going in blind with zero knowledge or skin in the game didn't stop me from falling deeply in love with this book. Even the rabbit. Maybe especially the rabbit.