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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
funny
medium-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
2.5 rounded to 3. Natasha brown is an incredible writer and knows how to fit a lot of content in a short book. I really enjoyed her debut novel Assembly a lot, the perspective of a Black woman living in the UK struggling to find her independence and identity whilst examining racism, class, misogny — it stuck with me for a while after I read it. Unfortunately Universality was not really that for me, or at least not right now. I think a lot of folks are going to enjoy this one, as there is something there and I appreciate the message and the voyeuristic approach into each subjects chapter. It was interesting but sometimes seemed to go over my head a little bit. Sometimes I read things and it's just not the right time for me to read that book and I think that was the case for this one. Maybe I just need to think about it some more before I post my true thoughts! More detailed review to come. Thanks very much to the publisher for an advanced copy!
reflective
a fast paced & punchy social commentary where there are only villains. i feel like this succeeds at what andrew ohagan tried to do in caledonia road, but this book doesn’t have the self indulgence or icky voyeurism & it’s only 150 pages. takes on fractured modern media / politics / ‘wokism’ in a way that feels affecting rather than deeply annoying, which imo is no small feat, 4⭐️
challenging
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
This is a quick read, and I enjoyed spending time with the characters, but it feels a little insubstantial and a little too on the nose to really feel like satire. The layers of meaning and posturing and hypocrisy and lack of self-awareness are interesting, I just wanted a little more substance (and maybe a little more connection between elements?).
reflective
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I get what this book was trying to do and I think it did it well, but it was just too academic and possibly too British for me. I think I was looking for more story, and this book is more analysis/musings of the socioeconomic state of England and wokeness. I had hoped that the different narratives would come together in some way, but each section got its message across and that voice then mostly disappeared. I'm sure readers can unpack and appreciate the commentary, but I didn't have the energy to commit to that and sort of felt like I was clicking through various news channels. I didn't like the characters (it's not a stretch to say this is intentional) but the writing was tight and I could appreciate what the book accomplished.