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A review by whatsallyreadnext
In Defence Of The Act by Effie Black
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Longlisted for this year's Women's Prize for Fiction, this is another one that I think could be a contender and is on my dream shortlist! It's a fairly short book at less than 200 pages, but it certainly packs a punch and covers a lot of themes, including family, grief, queer love, and trauma.
Jessica works as a scientist who is researching the reasons why people choose to end their lives to support her controversial view that committing such an act can be morally right. However, one single event makes her question whether this is still true.
Although it took a little time to get used to initially, I enjoyed how Black had structured the book into various flashback periods of Jessica's life, interspersed by a funeral set in the present day. Whose funeral this is for is gradually and cleverly revealed in the book. Despite the seriousness of the topics, I think that Black successfully interweaves humour and a sense of lightheartedness amongst the trauma and sadness that occurs in the book.
Jessica works as a scientist who is researching the reasons why people choose to end their lives to support her controversial view that committing such an act can be morally right. However, one single event makes her question whether this is still true.
Although it took a little time to get used to initially, I enjoyed how Black had structured the book into various flashback periods of Jessica's life, interspersed by a funeral set in the present day. Whose funeral this is for is gradually and cleverly revealed in the book. Despite the seriousness of the topics, I think that Black successfully interweaves humour and a sense of lightheartedness amongst the trauma and sadness that occurs in the book.