A giant lizard-like creature, capable of living underwater and on dry land, has escaped from the nearby Institute of Oceanographic Research. One day, while going about her chores at home, Dorothy hears an unusual announcement on the radio. There have been other dalliances in the past, so this wouldn’t be his first indiscretion, and his frequent absences from the house are a clear sign of trouble.

To make matters worse, Dorothy suspects Fred of having an affair with another woman. Each subtly blamed the other while feeling resentment, fury and guilt at the idea that a similar unjust censure was radiating from the opposite side. The first blow had stunned them both, but the second had turned them away from each other. That was the point where things began to change with Fred. Sadly, Dorothy’s husband, Fred, is of little or no help in this regard, the loss of Scotty and the unborn baby having pushed the couple apart. They might be a sign of trauma, but this is never made entirely clear. Now and again, Dorothy thinks she hears voices on the radio – people talking to her directly, offering personal messages of reassurance and support. Moreover, she has also recently experienced a miscarriage – another painful loss for her to come to terms with, largely on her own. Having lost her young son, Scotty, due to complications with routine surgery, Dorothy is still grieving – trying to cope with the impact of bereavement as best she can. Caliban, much like Guillermo del Toro's film The Shape of Water, uses an interspecies romance to explores issues of passion and loneliness, love and loss - and in its own wryly subversive way, it blends surrealism, satire, and a strong female perspective.Central to the novella is Mrs Dorothy Caliban, a middle-aged woman whose marriage is stagnating. Selected by the British Book Marketing Council as one of the greatest American novels since World War II, Mrs. The two begin a tender, clandestine affair, and no one, not even Dorothy's husband or her best friend, seems to notice. She is frightened at first, but there is something attractive about the monster.

That afternoon, the seven-foot-tall lizard man walks through Dorothy's kitchen door. Giant, spotted, and froglike, the beast - who was captured six months earlier by a team of scientists - is said to possess incredible strength and to be considered extremely dangerous. The announcer warns all listeners of an escaped sea monster. Suddenly, the music fades out and a soft, close, dreamy voice says, 'Don't worry, Dorothy.'Ī couple weeks later, there is a special interruption in regular programming. Dorothy's husband, Fred, has left for work, and she is at the kitchen sink washing the dishes, listening to classical music.

Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls