Toxic Nursery is a deranged journey through the life of an artist with a dissociative mental health condition. Hurtling at breakneck speed through a series of bleak yet hilarious misadventures, it explores the different facets of a fractured mind – from meek terror to unhinged exhibitionism, from cold cynicism to irritating mania, and from academic introversion to vitriolic fury. Often scathing in its view of humanity, this book cheerfully mocks the “misery memoir” genre by turning dark subjects into even darker comedy.
“It’s all incredibly tragic. Like death. Like poverty. Like losing your favourite kitten, in a junkyard, on acid, at Christmas.”
Combining the edgy surrealism of high-concept sci-fi with the emotional intensity of mental health biography, this vicious parody is designed to make the reader question existing notions of self and sanity. The sardonic and lyrical narrative voice guides you across a roller coaster storyline while events play out with an almost beautiful brutality. Toxic Nursery reads as a poem crossed with a joke, mixed with an artist’s manifesto and a psychological case study and presented as a contemporary fairy tale.
“It’s bad enough having a small frame and skinny arms, without having a masochistic twin who opens the door to strangers. It takes veins full of nitroglycerine and hatred just to counterbalance the incessant invitation to violation.”
Searing honesty combines with a twisted sense of humour to pour an unflinching spotlight onto the myriad of truths shaping the human character. Uncensored in theme or language, Martece’s writing is not suitable for those easily offended. This demented account of a creative life involves “courage”, art, madness, badgers, demons, alien princesses, broken mirrors, Gothic melodrama, nudity and petrol.
Toxic Nursery is a deranged journey through the life of an artist with a dissociative mental health condition. Hurtling at breakneck speed through a series of bleak yet hilarious misadventures, it explores the different facets of a fractured mind – from meek terror to unhinged exhibitionism, from cold cynicism to irritating mania, and from academic introversion to vitriolic fury. Often scathing in its view of humanity, this book cheerfully mocks the “misery memoir” genre by turning dark subjects into even darker comedy.
“It’s all incredibly tragic. Like death. Like poverty. Like losing your favourite kitten, in a junkyard, on acid, at Christmas.”
Combining the edgy surrealism of high-concept sci-fi with the emotional intensity of mental health biography, this vicious parody is designed to make the reader question existing notions of self and sanity. The sardonic and lyrical narrative voice guides you across a roller coaster storyline while events play out with an almost beautiful brutality. Toxic Nursery reads as a poem crossed with a joke, mixed with an artist’s manifesto and a psychological case study and presented as a contemporary fairy tale.
“It’s bad enough having a small frame and skinny arms, without having a masochistic twin who opens the door to strangers. It takes veins full of nitroglycerine and hatred just to counterbalance the incessant invitation to violation.”
Searing honesty combines with a twisted sense of humour to pour an unflinching spotlight onto the myriad of truths shaping the human character. Uncensored in theme or language, Martece’s writing is not suitable for those easily offended. This demented account of a creative life involves “courage”, art, madness, badgers, demons, alien princesses, broken mirrors, Gothic melodrama, nudity and petrol.
