Review – 1000 Coils of Fear by Olivia Wenzel

Summary:

Olivia Wenzel’s debut novel is a bold and experimental exploration of Black identity in Germany. The unnamed narrator’s feelings of alienation are established in the very first sentence “My heart is a snack machine made of tin.” She then enters a rhythmic, multi-layered conversation with herself which is interjected by several other competing voices (perhaps the ID, ego and superego which make up her personality). This imaginative device allows Wenzel to jump back and forth between time and place and, in turn, grants the reader an insight into the protagonist’s family history; the story of her her white mother who was a punk in the former East Germany, her absent Angolan father and her twin brother who committed suicide when he was nineteen.

My Review:

Since reading the novel, I have come to learn that Wenzel is not just an author, but also a musician and playwright. I loved how she managed to incorporate these talents into her writing and intertwine them all to create such a unique form, almost a hybrid between autofiction and a play. The experimental form won’t be for everyone; it’s an unsettling and challenging literary novel which left me completely perplexed at times, but also in awe. Not only is it a beautifully written novel, but it is also masterfully translated from the German by Priscilla Layne.

The protagonist’s everyday life is peppered with events which shine a light on racism in Germany. In one chapter, she attends a play about the Berlin Wall coming down and is the only Black person in the audience. In another, she is sitting with her boyfriend by a bathing lake and four neo-Nazis show up. In New York, she witnesses Trump’s election victory in a strange hotel room and later awakes to panicked messages from friends. These moments are woven in alongside passages which read more like a stream of consciousness as she recounts the insurmountable grief she felt at witnessing her brother take his own life.

I did feel, at times, that the novel was slightly too ambitious and that Wenzel was trying to cram too much in, but there is no doubting that she is an exceptionally gifted writer. Despite the heavy themes (please do check out the trigger warnings), I found it to be both captivating and easy to read. 1,000 Coils of Fear is a truly unique reading experience and one which will certainly have a lasting impact on me.

Star Rating: 3.5/5

With thanks to Dialogue Books for my gifted copy (AD PR product). 1,000 Coils of Fear is out now.

Review – Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli

Someday, Maybe is the debut novel from Nigerian-British author Onyi Nwabineli and one of the leading titles from Oneworld Publication’s latest commercial imprint, Magpie.

Summary:

Nwabineli’s novel is a powerful tale of a London widow whose photographer husband died by suicide. After Eve finds her husband, Quentin, dead on New Year’s Eve, she struggles in the aftermath, turning to her close-knit Nigerian family and best friend Bee for support. Having been with Quentin since their college years, Eve feels completely lost. How did she not recognise that the person she loved the most was going through so much pain? Matters are made worse by Eve’s mother-in-law, Aspen, who blames Eve for the suicide of her only child. Just when it looks like Eve will never recover, a series of unexpected events and people show her a way to climb out of the depths of despair.

Despite the bleak topics of this book, there is so much warmth and spirit in Nwabineli’s words. She captures the tidal force of emotions that come with grief with such eloquence and compassion; I just wanted to scoop Eve up and give her a big hug. Eve is flawed and messy and spends much of the novel blaming herself for Quentin’s death, but through flashbacks to the early years of their relationship, we’re invited to see a completely different side to Eve; the person she was before. These chapters were heart-breaking knowing what is going to happen, but they are also some light relief for the reader full of happiness and humour.

Not only has Nwabineli created a loveable protagonist, but she has written an entire cast of friends and family who form Eve’s support network. My favourite character was her younger brother Nate, but each of them were everything a person could dream of without feeling false or over-the-top.

It’s not a novel that I would recommend lightly; the grief and pain is unrelenting to the point that you feel like you are experiencing Eve’s loss yourself. As a trigger warning, anyone who has dealt with the suicide of a loved one may want to steer clear. A harrowing and beautifully written debut, I can’t wait to see what Nwabineli writes next.

With thanks to Oneworld Publications for my gifted copy (Ad PR product).

Star Rating: 4/5

Review – Assembly by Natasha Brown

Although a slim novel, Natasha Brown’s debut into the literary world is a stunning exploration of a young black British woman’s musings on life with no holds barred.

Summary:

As our narrator prepares to attend a lavish garden party at her boyfriend’s family estate, she begins reflecting on her life. Having carved a successful banking career and with a major promotion on the horizon (plus a potential marriage proposal), she should be living the dream, so why is she so unhappy? Exhausted and burnt-out from the daily micro-aggressions, misogyny and discrimination she faces, thus begins her musings in this timely read.

My Review:

I feel like the saying ‘this book packed a punch’ has become somewhat of a cliche, yet I honestly can’t think of a more apt description for Natasha Brown’s novel. At only 100 pages long, the topics of conversation she interrogates are nothing short of outstanding. In a time when Britain’s colonial past is being scrutinised in the public eye, perhaps more so than ever, Assembly makes for a necessary read on institutional racism.

Covering points on race, slavery, capitalism, politics and British history, there’s a lot to digest. In hindsight, I wish that I’d taken my time with really savouring what I was reading, not only because the prose is gorgeous, but also to process the information. It’s quite an overwhelming and claustrophobic read in a lot of ways, but I think that’s the point; Brown mimics the feelings that her narrator is experiencing on an everyday basis.

I’m not sure how much this book will stand out to me over time, and I do think that the messages conveyed are stronger than the actual storyline, but that’s certainly no bad thing! Assembly is a powerful and astute read which I would recommend to any reader, just take your time with it more than I did!

With thanks to Penguin Random House for my gifted copy (Ad PR Product).

Star Rating: 3.5/5

Review – Berlin by Bea Setton

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Berlin by Bea Setton, and if you’re a fan of unlikeable protagonists and dark character-driven narratives, you’re going to want to get this on your summer reading list!

Summary:

Berlin is a story of reflection and re-invention; when Daphne arrives in Berlin for a fresh start in a thrilling new city, she’s ready to make some new friends, grapple with online dating and improve her German language skills. The last thing she expects is to run into more drama than she left behind, but after something strange and dangerous happens one night, life in bohemian Kreuzberg suddenly doesn’t seem like the clean break from her past that she’d hoped. As this series of events continues to make Daphne’s life a misery, she begins reaching for desperate measures to maintain a sense of control.

My Review:

Much like many of her millennial counterparts, Bea Setton has captured the modern female experience with extreme wit, insight and good humour. Daphne spends much of her time ruminating on her past, the decisions that have led her to her current state, and comparing herself to her peers who seem to have a much better grasp of adulthood than her. Inherently scheming, manipulative and self-centred, Daphne is the kind of protagonist who readers will love to hate. You can’t trust a single thing that comes out of her mouth, yet you can’t help but hang on to her every word.

I also enjoyed how Setton writes about language; Daphne’s narration is littered with footnotes, which, at first, I worried might distract from the beautifully-written prose, but instead, they act as a nuanced insight into the German language and Daphne’s relationship with it. Berlin, as a city, is depicted as a melting pot of culture and a place for reinvention, and I loved how Setton quickly turned the feelings of hope and renewal which will be familiar to anyone who has ever moved to a new city on their own, into something sinister and eerie.

I don’t want to spill too many more details, especially about the plot twist, but if you like books like Exciting Times (Naoise Dolan) or Intimacies (Katie Kitamura) which focus on an unlikeable female protagonist abroad, I think you’ll really enjoy this one.

Berlin is out now! With thanks to Hamish Hamilton for my copy (AD PR Product).

Review – Vladimir by Julia May Jonas

Julia May Jonas’ debut novel, Vladimir, is the more grown-up version of the ever-popular millennial/sad girl fiction. Instead of a lost twenty-something year old woman, however, the action of Jonas’ novel is centred around a fifty-eight year old woman’s spiralling midlife crisis.

Summary:

At the opening of the novel, an unnamed English professor gazes at her beautiful colleague, Vladimir, as he sleeps serenely in a chair. A scene which at first seems mundane quickly takes a dark turn when it reveals that Vladimir is, in fact, tied to the chair. Jonas’ clever prologue grabs its reader as if it were an ambush predator, luring us in under the guise of innocence before capturing us with an element of surprise. The rest of the novel unfolds in the wake of seven allegations of sexual misconduct against the female academic’s husband, John, triggering a debate surrounding his removal from the college. As our protagonist grapples with the repercussions of her husband’s actions, her infatuation for Vladimir intensifies…

My Review:

Vladimir is the kind of book that sucks you in, chews you up and spits you out again; I was completely engrossed from the first sentence. Rarely do I read a book in one sitting, but I relished a four-hour long train journey to Leeds earlier this week which allowed me to give Vladimir my undivided attention. Similar to my experience with Boy Parts (still one of my favourite debut novels to date), this book both intrigued and repulsed me in equal measure. It’s the kind of book where you hate every single character, yet you can’t look away.

Following in the footsteps of many of her contemporary counterparts, Jonas has chosen to jump on the trend of the nameless protagonist, an interesting decision given that one of the overarching themes of the novel is female agency. The novel is fraught with some big questions, most importantly, the narrator’s complicity in her husband’s affairs (she frequently mentions their ‘agreement’ of a free marriage yet rarely engages in extra-marital affairs after being left heartbroken by another colleague), and, moreover, how consensual these relationships were. Reading about the age-related power dynamics from the perspective of the perpetrator’s wife (whilst she pursues a relationship with a man fifteen years her junior) is jarring to say the least.

For all of Vladimir’s delicious messiness which enamoured me, the ending felt like a stilted attempt to tie up loose ends. In the last twenty pages or so, the novel really loses its footing and I was left disappointed, but perhaps this is the price we pay for such an explosive beginning. All this being said, I was left in awe of this astonishing debut and I’ll definitely be picking up anything Jonas writes next.

Star Rating: 3.5/5

Review – None of This is Serious by Catherine Prasifka

Who, me? Reading a sad girl book by an Irish debut author? Always. I don’t know what it is about this genre, perhaps the fact that the novels are often painfully relatable to every woman who has ever felt lost in her twenties, but I just can’t get enough.

Summary:

As Dublin student life comes to an end, Sophie can’t help but feel she’s being left behind. All of her friends have graduate jobs lined up and she can’t even get any interviews. To top it all off, she’s constantly overshadowed by her twin sister and her best friend, and she can’t get out of the friendzone with the boy she’s been in love with for as long as she can remember.

My Review:

This is very much the kind of book where everything and nothing happens simultaneously. Something I wasn’t expecting when I picked it up was the freak event which has Sophie and the rest of the world obsessively doom scrolling. Combine social media speculation, anxious spirals and a lost graduate and you’ve hit pretty close to where I was back in 2020…

Unlike some novels which try to incorporate social media and phones in a way that becomes cringey and a little forced, Prasifka manages to portray today’s social media addiction in a mind-blowingly realistic way. I think we’ve all felt the toxic yet endless draw to living our lives through Twitter and Instagram, aware that it’s not real life but being unable to stop comparing ourselves to others, yet, like Sophie, we can’t stop ourselves. If you’re looking for a book to call you out on your phone habits, look no further.

If you’re a fan of contemporary fiction which deals with the uncertainty, anxieties and vulnerabilities that come with being in your twenties, combined with the joy along the way as your search for your place in the world, None of This is Serious is the book for you.

A huge thank you to Canongate Books for my gifted copy (AD PR Product), I loved it!

Star Rating: 4/5

Review – Wild Pets by Amber Medland

Fans of Sally Rooney, Raven Leilani and Megan Nolan, I’ve found your next sad girl read. I’m honestly not sure why I’ve not seen more reviews of this book because it has everything in common with its generational counterparts in the millennial fiction genre. I’d never heard of Wild Pets before picking it up but was drawn to the abstract cover when browsing the shelves of Waterstones last year and I’m so glad I did – whoever said you can’t judge a book by its cover must be seriously deranged because the contents of this book were just as perfect as the cover design.

Summary:

Our story follows Iris and Ezra, two Londoners who met during their time at Oxford, and a handful of their mutual friends. Both Iris and Ezra are the epitome of rich kids who are able to pursue their creative endeavours due to the support from their wealthy families; Ezra’s band is about to hit the big time and go off on tour and Iris is in New York writing a book about salt as part of a creative writing course. As we watch their long-distance relationship become gradually more and more strained, the second half of the novel, which sees Iris sink into a depressive state, comes as an emotional punch.

My Review:

Medland does a brilliant job at conveying the faltering Skype calls and the stilted, awkward emails between Iris and Ezra whilst showing the depth of their connection with each other from their university days. The action of the novel takes place against the backdrop of Trump’s election campaign, and we see a lot of exchanges between Iris, Ezra and their friends which discuss the Weinstein scandal, #MeToo Movement and the US border crisis (something which hits particularly close to home for Iris on account of her Indian heritage).

Whilst Wild Pets deals with some incredibly difficult themes including mental health and substance abuse, nothing ever felt trivialised. Iris also feels fresh as a protagonist; she’s a protagonist who struggles with feeling at home, viewed as British in the US but as a foreigner in England. This definitely added more depth to her character, distinguishing her from the many other millennial fiction characters sitting alongside her on the shelves.

At nearly four-hundred pages long, this did start to drag a little towards the end and some readers might be disappointed with the open ending, but I, for one, can’t wait to see what Amber Medland writes next.

Star Rating: 3.5/5

Review – Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer

As I read a book, I like to jot down my thoughts as I go along. The only note I took whilst reading Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies* was ‘THIS IS SO SAD’ which I think gives you a) an indication that this is not an uplifting read and b) an insight into how engrossed I was in Maddie Mortimer’s debut novel that I forgot to write anything else down.

Summary:

Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is about, as one might expect, the human body; its intricacies, its beauty and, ultimately, its failings. Lia’s body has been inhabited once again by a malevolent shape-shifter which courses through her veins before setting up camp in her internal organs; her cancer is back. Both a coming-of-age story and one about motherhood and illness, the story is as complex and beautiful as it is devastating, and I, for one, absolutely adored it.

My Review:

Alternating between the voice of Lia and that of her silent killer, I was often reminded of Marcus Zusak’s personification of death in his novel The Book Thief (though Zusak’s narrator didn’t quite have the dry wit of Mortimer’s). As Lia’s condition worsens, the narrator inside of her, the cancer itself, only grows stronger until it not only consumes her body but takes over the entire narrative.

Although quite the tome at over four-hundred pages, Mortimer’s experimental style which seamlessly blends prose and poetry quickly makes you forget the density of the novel. Words spiral off the pages, they drop from line to line as if mirroring something falling, sometimes, entire pages are filled with a singular repeated word. You can tell just how deliberate each choice of word is down to the very last page, nothing is superfluous.

Yet this isn’t just a book about cancer, it’s about so much more than that. Mortimer doesn’t shy away from tricky themes, and Maps grapples with many of them. There are themes of religion and guilt during Lia’s teenage years, of stolen moments and sordid secrets, of first encounters and final departures. Bodies are intertwined, broken, abused, and, finally, put back together again, yet the ripple effects of these chasms never leave.

Maddie Mortimer’s debut novel is, indeed, spectacular.

Star Rating: 4.5/5

*(AD PR Product – With thanks to Picador for my gifted copy. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is out on the 31st of March in the UK).

Review – My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

I went into My Monticello, the debut novel of Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, knowing relatively little about it, but after seeing several glowing reviews, I decided to take a gamble and selected this short book as part of my Love My Read subscription (AD PR Product, with thanks again to the team for my gifted subscription).

Summary:

In what appears to be a vaguely dystopian future (though one which feels only a mere few years away from our own), the neighbourhood of 1st Street, Charlottesville is attacked by violent white supremacists. A group of neighbours make it to an abandoned bus and, fleeing for their lives, end up taking refuge in Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s historic plantation home in the hills above town.

My Review:

Whilst My Monticello is a shocking and visceral depiction of a racist attack, it is also a quiet and thoughtful meditation on identity, heritage and belonging. We learn that our protagonist, Da’Naisha Love, is a young Black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings (one of Jefferson’s slaves). I knew very little about the history of Jefferson and Hemings, but upon research, discovered that Jefferson is broadly believed to be the father of Hemings’ six children. Whether their relations were consensual, is still largely contested.

For such a short book, it took me a surprisingly long amount of time to read My Monticello. The pacing is quite slow and I kept taking time out to read up on the history of Jefferson and Hemings, so I do think this impacted my reading experience. Not a huge amount happens plot-wise, and beyond the beginning and the end, it began to feel a bit repetitive in the middle.

I’ve heard that the American version has five other short stories in addition to My Monticello which I’d be really interested in reading, as, on its own, I felt the book could have used some fleshing out. Nonetheless, a boldly original and disturbing debut with thoughtfully interwoven history, I’d recommend this one for a short read. I just wish there was a little more to it!

Star Rating: 3/5

Review – Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

On the surface, Cleopatra and Frankenstein seems to be another story about the relationship between a young, free-spirited artist and an older, successful man, but it is so much more than that.

Summary:

When Cleo and Frank have a chance encounter at a New Years Eve party, no one could have predicted how the following years would play out, but with just a few months left on her student visa, Frank’s marriage proposal offers her every opportunity she could ever want. We follow the pair as they navigate married life in the city that never sleeps, the highs, the lows and all moments in between.

My Review:

Whilst Cleo and Frank are the titular characters of Mellor’s debut novel, we are granted access to their lives in New York through an array of other enigmatic characters; their families, their friends, their co-workers. If New York were the universe, Cleo and Frank would be the sun, pulling the other characters into their orbit with their gravitational force. Their marriage not only changes the shape of their own lives, but also the lives of those around them.

I wasn’t expecting there to be so many different points of view when I first opened this gorgeous book (I actually went into it quite blindly), but each is dazzling in their own way. I often find that I’m less interested in certain character’s chapters when there are so many points of view, but I genuinely empathised with each and every one of Mellor’s characters. They’re all incredibly flawed, yet this only rendered them to me even more. I especially loved the chapters from the perspective of Frank’s sister, Zoe, and his colleague, Eleanor. Their dry and sarcastic tone provided some moments of reprieve amongst a lot of the harder hitting subjects touched upon.

A beautifully messy portrayal of love, friendship and addiction, Coco Mellors has created a book which is entertaining and emotional in equal measure. Whilst both Cleo and Frank go through their own forms of emotional trauma, the overarching message is one of redemption and growth and the character arcs are honestly *chefs kiss*. I can’t recommend this highly enough, I LOVED it. Pre-order your copy now!

Star Rating: 5/5

(AD PR Product – With thanks to 4th Estate for my gifted copy. Cleopatra and Frankenstein is out in the UK on the 17th of February).