Reviews with content warning for Racism - I'm a Fan

This is a book of two halves for me.

On one hand I really liked the format and narration, with the monologue of a thirty-something woman of colour who is obsessed with an older married man she is having a mostly one-sided affair with, as well as being obsessed with the younger, white instagram influencer who the man is having an affair with. She is pathetic and self-destructive yet also apparently very self-aware. The (very short) chapters are a mix of plot/backstory, and mini essays on society, class, race, and misogyny.

It falls down for me though when it comes to the actual substance of the book. The critiques on influencer culture bordered a bit too much on internalised misogyny for my liking, and the thoughts on other issues did feel very surface level. Essentially, not nearly as deep or original as I would expect from a Women’s Prize nominee.

I just think it could have done more with this, especially when it comes to cognitive dissonance, for example the main character continuing to beg for this man while also knowing she was being strung along and racially fetishised.

Content Warnings

emilyrowanstudio's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

4.75 rounded up - This is a fantastic book and I would love to see it win the Women's Prize (although I don't think it will).
I love books like this. So 2023, so modern, so political, so about social media and internet culture.
I'm a Fan is told in short chapters, many less than a page long. Some are first person narratives where our protagonist loses herself in The Man I Want To Be With and The Woman I Am Obsessed With, some are essays about race, womanhood, manhood, art, and some are a mixture of both.

I can see why this such a marmite book. If you're not a lover of the internet, or intrigued by fame and influencer culture, or fascinated by the way we can so easily be found and traced online, then you won't "get" this. It as an acquired 21st century taste. The protagonist, and three of the other main characters, are never named. They are all horrible and unlikeable people. The impersonality with the lack of names combined with the spewing of dark thoughs and deep desires, the conscious and unconscious will to destroy themselves, the sinister traits of their character - there is much here reminiscent of the MCs in Eliza Clark's Boy Parts and Otessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest in Relaxation, but I'm A Fan is smarter than them both. The social and political commentary interspersed with the non-linear plotless prose is expertly done.

I'm A Fan is so of the moment yet so one of a kind. This is a near perfect book. I can't wait to see what Sheena Patel does next.

[To add - and this has nothing to do with the book itself and only the reception it has received - I didn't find I'm A Fan as dark as I expected. Unhinged, certainly. The actions of the protagonist make you wince at times, but to be labelled 'dark' I was expecting something more explicitly sinister to happen].

Content Warnings

jacs63's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

“A fast, fizzing cherry bomb of a debut” (The Observer [UK]) about power, intimacy, and the internet“

This was a very good book. Easy to read. I enjoyed the short chapters. They were punchy and easy to take in.
I can see why it's on the Longlist for the Woman's Prize, but I can't see it winning.

It's so well written and interesting, but its quite depressing and a bit of downer. I could have seen myself being a little bit like the main character when I was quite young, but not now. Thankfully.
As the mother of a young woman myself, I found the book a bit disturbing.
It talks about gender, race, racism, politics, the patriarchy, colonisation, toxic relationships, sex, abuse, obsession, art, status, social media, family etc etc etc .
It's a lot.

Content Warnings

risemini's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny informative mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

feebles640's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

More...