Voice Like a Hyacinth

Five young women eager for success rely on the unspeakable to make their dreams come true in a chilling novel about martyrdom, ritual, and obsession by the author of We Ate the Dark.

Art student Jo Kozak and her fellow classmates and best friends, Caroline, Finch, Amrita, and Saz, are one another’s muses—so close they have their own language and so devoted to the craft that they’ll do anything to keep their inspiration alive. Even if it means naively resorting to the occult to unlock their creativity and to curse their esteemed, if notoriously creepy, professor. They soon learn the horrible price to be paid for such a transgressive ritual.

In its violent aftermath, things are changing. Jo is feeling unnervingly haunted by something inexplicable. Their paintings, once prodigious and full of life, are growing dark and unhealthy. And their journey together—as women, students, and artists—is starting to crumble.

To right the wrong they’ve done, these five desperate friends will take their obsession a step too far. When that happens, there may be no turning back.

“In this lush and propulsive gothic outing, Pearson (We Ate the Dark) takes the dark academia aesthetic to art school…Vivid descriptions, believable emotional stakes, and deeply creepy horror elements keep the pages flying as Pearson probes the experience of queer womanhood and the toll of ambition. This stuns.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Pearson’s lush prose enlivens this creepy tale of friendship, art, and ambition.” —Booklist

“Voice Like a Hyacinth blends the seductive decadence of Saltburn with the fierce, feral femininity of Yellowjackets to conjure a spine-tingling story of ambition and obsession that deserves to be an instant dark academia classic. You’ll be desperate to join Mallory Pearson’s indelible art school girl gang—and to read whatever her dark imagination conjures up next.” —Layne Fargo, author of The Favorites and They Never Learn

“Mallory Pearson’s Voice Like a Hyacinth is lush chaos. Whatever your experience with codependent, homoerotic friendships, Pearson’s feral quintet is on another level. ‘I want to go home, but maybe home was years ago,’ her narrator, Jo, thinks after reaping what they’ve sowed. If going home means putting down Pearson’s novel and returning to my life, I’m not going without a fight.” —Ruth Madievsky, author of All-Night Pharmacy

“Voice Like a Hyacinth is violently delicious. Prose so vibrant it’s neon. So skillfully messy, deep in the mess, obsessed with the mess. This book makes me want to learn how to write.” —Sarah Gailey, author of Just Like Home and The Echo Wife

“A miraculous, enthralling book that combines the magic of queer friendship, the toxicity of ambition, and the dangerous rivalry between artists, Voice Like a Hyacinth is the dark academic book of my dreams—and nightmares. Pearson works magic in creating this special group of characters and their obsessive ties to one another; I felt like I had become one of them, living in their house, attending their classes, and falling in love with them and their darkness. Hyacinth is everything I want in a novel: addictive, gorgeously-written, deeply unsettling, and very queer. A perfect page-turner with staying power. I cannot wait to return to it.” —Francesca McDonnell Capossela, author of Trouble the Living

“Voice Like a Hyacinth captivated me like a siren’s song. Mallory Pearson’s sophomore novel tackles obsession, art, friendship, and competition, and asks just how far people are willing to go to create the immortal. Pearson’s signature prose is rich, lush, and a mesmerizing spell in itself, twisting me around and pulling me along these women’s journey in crossing lines and resisting the consequences of their choices. This is a must-read for not only every artist, but everyone who thirsts for the eternal mirage of just enough recognition. It’s spooky, surreal, and utterly alive.” —Marissa Higgins, author of A Good Happy Girl

Mallory Pearson is the author of We Ate the Dark. She is a writer and artist portraying themes of folklore, queer identity, loss, and the interaction of these elements with the southern United States. She studied painting and bookbinding, and now spends her time translating visual art into prose. She is an avid fan of horror movies and elaborate stews cooked in big witchy pots, and her work has appeared in Electric Literature, Capsule Stories, and Haverthorn Press. Mallory was raised in Virginia and now lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her dearest friends. For more information,

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