Scan barcode
A review by sevaspeto
The Eighth Girl by Maxine Mei-Fung Chung
4.0
Brilliantly written -- while emotive and narratively interesting throughout, what struck me from *very* early on was the attention given to psychological disorder and analytical exploration of DID, therapy, disordered thinking, and disassociation. I thought it was fairly clear from the get-go that Chung has a substantial background in psychoanalysis to be able to convey and present the reality of what a person living with DID would experience, and I was pleased to read in the "About The Author" section that that's exactly the case.
The novel really does a pretty spectacular job of putting you into the mind and perspectives of the various personalities living in our heroine's head. You get the vantage point and motivation of each alter as they periodically take possession of the protagonist's body and inform her decision-making. We also get to see the perspective alternating between hers (and the cabal of alters that live in Alexa's head) and the perspective of her therapist Daniel, who's able to offer a bit more clinical insight into what's happening and potentially what's to come.
I thought it was compelling to give voice to a character with a disorder that we routinely see villainized in media or made to look completely insane, and to present them a bit more nuanced and equally vulnerable and powerful. It effectively offers us the ability to peak behind the curtain so to speak, and I loved that.
Though I've still got some gripes with bits of the dialogue and I DO wish there was a bit more psychic exploration during the novel's climax, considering that this is Chung's debut novel, I was HIGHLY impressed, and I'm strongly looking forward to reading whatever she puts out next =0)
The novel really does a pretty spectacular job of putting you into the mind and perspectives of the various personalities living in our heroine's head. You get the vantage point and motivation of each alter as they periodically take possession of the protagonist's body and inform her decision-making. We also get to see the perspective alternating between hers (and the cabal of alters that live in Alexa's head) and the perspective of her therapist Daniel, who's able to offer a bit more clinical insight into what's happening and potentially what's to come.
I thought it was compelling to give voice to a character with a disorder that we routinely see villainized in media or made to look completely insane, and to present them a bit more nuanced and equally vulnerable and powerful. It effectively offers us the ability to peak behind the curtain so to speak, and I loved that.
Though I've still got some gripes with bits of the dialogue and I DO wish there was a bit more psychic exploration during the novel's climax, considering that this is Chung's debut novel, I was HIGHLY impressed, and I'm strongly looking forward to reading whatever she puts out next =0)