Reviews

In this collection of personal essays, author and podcaster Sophie White catalogues stories of her life as lived horror stories with the theme of her body being the thread binding them all together. The essays deal with topics such as grief, addiction, body image, mental illness, and motherhood. While White’s first book Recipes for a Nervous Breakdown deals with her mental illness and her fiction novels are entirely removed from that world, this collection gives readers a brutally honest and insightful look into the authors personal life. This is not a book for the faint-hearted and it is often a difficult read. But while the subject matter can be upsetting, White’s empathy, humour, and intelligent reflection bring a new level of nuance and insight into the themes dealt with in the book. While not a horror book, it does tip-toe around the genre, often referencing common horror tropes. This is a book that many people will likely already have been recommended, just as I was. But after reading it, I understand why. It really is worth the hype and even if you may think that the topics dealt with in the book may not be relatable to you, White’s writing style and original takes will offer something for everyone.

It’s difficult to review an essay collection or memoir in the same way that you might with a work of fiction. The stories are deeply personal and are told how the author lived and felt them. But even still, the work is intended to be read and so the readers experience and criticism is valid. As a reviewer, I feel myself more hesitant to discuss my thoughts on this book, even though they are mostly positive. It’s more important then, to discuss the book in terms of its impact on a larger scale. In this sense, I do feel this book is an important one. White writes extremely honestly, even when that means she might not be reflected in the most positive way. But she also notes the importance of being so brutally honest in her work and how she has seen the impact this has had on others, namely through her podcasting work. Even though White writes about themes that have been written about many times before (motherhood, addiction, and grief, for example), the author brings a brutal honesty and reflection, peppered with research and light academia to her writing. Such writing is vital, especially when it comes to topics that might be considered taboo. Because she has allowed herself to be honest in the face of possible judgement, the reader is able to hear and relate to things that are often not spoken about.

How White writes about motherhood and mental illness, both as separate topics and also as two things that are in tandem for her, is particularly impactful. Her personal struggles evoked a deep compassion and the final essay, ‘Bad Timing II’ strings together a lot of the writing on this from earlier in the novel. “Once a woman wrote to me to ask if I felt it was irresponsible to have children if you’re mentally ill. It is a question that takes more than even a book to answer. It takes a life”. And yet, it did feel like the author attempted to answer this question in the book although the answer might not have been found. Even though I am not a mother, I was able to relate to a lot of her writing in a way that I didn’t expect. The essays are specific to White’s life, but ultimately, she was expressing feelings of unworthiness and self-doubt, something which will resonate with many readers.

‘Fat and Bones’ which dealt with the pressures placed on the female body to look beautiful and thin and how this had presented itself in the authors life in different ways was a stand-out for me. This essay, like many of them, was well-researched, meshing academia and pop culture with lived experiences. The opening essay ‘Beginnings’ was gripping and describes how while she gives birth to her son, the authors father is dying in hospital. ‘Craving’ is a welcome palette cleanser, the premise of which I won’t spoil. In this essay, we see the authors humour turned up a level, but throughout the collection, there is a dry, dark comedy. There were some essays that I didn’t connect with as much but were essential in the creation of a narrative arc and will likely resonate with other readers.

The only issue I had with this book was with its format and structure. The essays are not told chronologically, and the context or background isn’t always clear to the reader - it was unclear at times what period of the authors life we were in. The authors thoughts did seem to meander at times, even though the point would eventually become clear later, by the end of an essay. But the biggest problem was repetition which I see from other reviews that others also had trouble with. Because of the format, the author would often repeat a sentiment or give contextual information that we had already read before. To me, this seems like less the author’s fault and more an issue that the editor should have picked up on and remedied. The writing was so strong outside of this, that it was a shame to see formatting and structural issues. However, as much as this was something that bothered me at the time of reading, upon finishing the book, the good outweighed the bad in spite of it.

Corpsing was shortlisted for Best Irish Published Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards in 2021. It is clear from the writing why this book received such a nomination but it’s also important to point out the production qualities and work done by the independent Irish publisher, Tramp Press. Unfortunately, we all judge a book by its cover but luckily, this one is beautiful. The cover graphic is of a haunted-looking house, superimposed onto the body of a woman. It perfectly captures the overlap of horror and the female body which is present in the book. From French flaps to an illustration by White herself, the book is a stunning object with even better writing. This book really feels special in every aspect and is a fantastic example of the talent we have in the Irish publishing industry. It is worthy of its award nomination and definitely worth a read.