lauramardon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
drinkthefloor's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Murder
it took me ages to finish this book, so my reading slump almost definitely contributed to me not enjoying it as much as i could have. the syntax drew me in from the beginning- i liked how everything merged together into one messy mass- similar to sally rooney in the sense of there being no punctuation markers of speech, but almost better. this was because of the fragmented nature of the syntax, often bearing physical gaps and line breaks. i also liked how there was no clear trajectory for the chapters; they alternated between the two narrators but were only separated by a single bold sentence. i could feel myself sympathising with lauren in particular even though i hated her guts and it was interesting to see her future oriented self almost degrade during the book. also i appreciated how modern the storytelling was, with themes of class in particular, and the timely issue of brexit.sarah_bookshelf's review
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This isn't a bad book, but it's completely mis-marketed. The quote about blood freezing is only a small part of a subplot, and doesn't relate to murder or violent action as is implied. I found the story very slow and frustrating, although the descriptions are beautiful. I wish the blood freezing stuff had been the main plot as it was so under-explored and is such a huge topic. The characters were boring to me, refusing to change or do anything for other people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Terminal illness
Moderate: Blood and Vomit
Minor: War and Rape
abbie_'s review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Free review copy received from the publisher
This book is good. It’s very, very good. It’s the kind of good where I went online and bought the author’s debut novel halfway through reading because I knew, as I gulped down Exit Management, that I would need more Naomi Booth in my life.
This book is good. It’s very, very good. It’s the kind of good where I went online and bought the author’s debut novel halfway through reading because I knew, as I gulped down Exit Management, that I would need more Naomi Booth in my life.
.
The premise doesn’t do the execution justice. On the surface, it’s about a young man befriending an older Hungarian immigrant, becoming his carer, and his new girlfriend who’s intent on shedding her past self for a shiny new London self. Like, that doesn’t sound BAD, it sounds very interesting, but I wasn’t expecting the visceral feeling evoked in me while reading. Booth’s style reminded me of Ali Smith and Sally Rooney, fragmented thoughts and stream of consciousness running through, an effortless blend of personal and political.
.
Because behind Callum, József and Lauren’s relationships, Booth is poking around in the mess that is the UK today (pandemic aside, since this was published last year and presumably started before it hit). Brexit, class divides, wealth gaps, zero hour contracts, xenophobia, gentrification, it’s all there, simmering away in the background.
.
I read this book feverishly. It’s raw and painful at times (full content warnings on @the.storygraph but major TW for miscarriage), but Booth’s style is compulsive, she keeps her cast of characters tight so they feel all the more real. I’m annoyed at myself for not reading my copy sooner, but extremely grateful to @deadinkbooks for sending it over!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Child abuse, Death, Blood, Terminal illness, and Sexual violence
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