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alenabaggins's review
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Misogyny, and Racism
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
brown's assembly is so effective in achieving its goals that it's akin to a manifesto, a subdued rallying cry of exasperation, exhaustion, rage, and detached numbness of those who are black and british.
there's not a whole lot of plot here, merely different contexts and scenes from the narrator's life that eventually come together to form a finished puzzle and allow the reader to understand the reasoning behind her ultimate choice.
the novel's very reflective and introspective, and straddles the border of being almost preachy at times, but somehow it works: one couldnt possibly understand the narrator's current circumstances w/o being aware of the larger historical and political forces that precede her, shaping britain and its ppl into what they are - and how they act towards her and those like her - today.
i have to say brown does a stellar job of depicting what it's like to be a black british woman, even one on the ascent. i felt claustrophobic, exasperated, constantly judged simply reading abt the narrator's daily experience. the lie of being taught to always strive and be better so things can get better, but in reality it's never enough no matter what one does, white ppl will always deem minorities as outsiders granted unfair advantages. no wonder the narrator's seemingly bone-deep exhausted; the clownery rly never ends.
while the narrative can feel disjointed at times bc of the frequent, abrupt changes in setting, assembly is nevertheless an impactful book.
there's not a whole lot of plot here, merely different contexts and scenes from the narrator's life that eventually come together to form a finished puzzle and allow the reader to understand the reasoning behind her ultimate choice.
the novel's very reflective and introspective, and straddles the border of being almost preachy at times, but somehow it works: one couldnt possibly understand the narrator's current circumstances w/o being aware of the larger historical and political forces that precede her, shaping britain and its ppl into what they are - and how they act towards her and those like her - today.
i have to say brown does a stellar job of depicting what it's like to be a black british woman, even one on the ascent. i felt claustrophobic, exasperated, constantly judged simply reading abt the narrator's daily experience. the lie of being taught to always strive and be better so things can get better, but in reality it's never enough no matter what one does, white ppl will always deem minorities as outsiders granted unfair advantages. no wonder the narrator's seemingly bone-deep exhausted; the clownery rly never ends.
while the narrative can feel disjointed at times bc of the frequent, abrupt changes in setting, assembly is nevertheless an impactful book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
Minor: Death and Medical content
arj's review
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Sexual harassment
marissab's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Death, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Medical content, Trafficking, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
vif's review
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A really clear and powerful look into what it means to be a black woman in the corporate world. It looks at how class, race and gender plays a role.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, and Classism
roraisabella's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
a gripping and important read. i read it in one sitting. the themes and some of the lines stick with you for days after, however the pacing and style of writing was difficult to follow at times for me. if you like intellectual and poetic writing, you may appreciate it more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Medical content
franklola's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Classism
savvylit's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
In just over 100 pages of fragmented prose, Natasha Brown dissects the racism inherent in everyday life in the UK. From endless microaggressions to very direct slurs, Brown examines the legacy of British imperialism and how it affects our narrator's every interaction. Assembly is a story about agency, detachment, identity, and generational oppression.
Overall, I loved Assembly. This novella was bleak, heart-wrenching, and thought-provoking. An excellent book - not to mention debut! - from Natasha Brown.
Overall, I loved Assembly. This novella was bleak, heart-wrenching, and thought-provoking. An excellent book - not to mention debut! - from Natasha Brown.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, and Classism
jesshindes's review
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Natasha Brown's Assembly is short - a short novella - barely longer than short story length. It tells the story of a nameless narrator, who - like Brown - is a Black woman who went to Oxbridge and then into the City, following two days of her life at work and then her journey into the countryside to visit her white boyfriend's parents for a family party. So far, so simple; but Assembly packs an incredible punch into its 100 or so pages. It's a story about participating in systems that don't respect you; that require you to fit yourself into a different shape in order to achieve what the system tells you is success. It's about the hundreds of microaggressions that shape the narrator's experience in her high-powered job, and about the white men around her who perpetrate them sometimes deliberately, sometimes completely unawares. It's about what happens to the narrator internally as she puts her head down and lifts her hands up to climb the corporate ladder, and about her desperation - articulated in a shock decision - to escape.
Clearly, I don't have a lot of experience of the milieu that Brown describes. I've never worked a corporate job and I had a ton of privilege and confidence to support me through my Oxbridge experience. But one of the triumphs of this book is the efficiency with which she issues descriptions: I could see every single member of her cast, often after just one or two sentences (and a lot of this work is done very effectively through dialogue or free indirect speech). I felt like I understood the world she was showing me and I was grateful for her skill and her surgical precision in depicting it.
Clearly, I don't have a lot of experience of the milieu that Brown describes. I've never worked a corporate job and I had a ton of privilege and confidence to support me through my Oxbridge experience. But one of the triumphs of this book is the efficiency with which she issues descriptions: I could see every single member of her cast, often after just one or two sentences (and a lot of this work is done very effectively through dialogue or free indirect speech). I felt like I understood the world she was showing me and I was grateful for her skill and her surgical precision in depicting it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Racism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Colonisation
absolute_bookery's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Read this in one sitting and wow wow wow, what a book. An informed, brutally honest portrayal and narrative on race, class, conformity and choice. Excellently written and emotion provoking, can't believe this is a debut.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation