A review by serendipitysbooks
A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 With A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing it was the unique sentence structure. It’s fragmentary, experimental, stream-of—consciousness, as if you are only hearing half a conversation or getting partial thoughts in a jumbled order. It could have been confusing and a deal-breaker, especially when none of the characters are named. But for me it worked. I soon settled in to its rhythms and found it especially effective in vividly portraying strong emotions like grief and rage. The content of this story is a challenge in its own right, including cancer, an abusive parent, rape, grief, unhealthy sexual behaviours, negative impacts of religion, and suicide. I found this book to be memorable and expect it to stick with me for a long while.
 
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