Take a photo of a barcode or cover
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my free e-ARC of The Catch! This novel was wild and original, and probably one of my faves of 2025. I was hooked, often had no idea what was real and what was imaginary, and I think that’s the whole point. The whole novel is a story within a story, unreliable narrators abound, possible time travel, dreamy unrealities - and yet it all feels completely grounded? Like the feeling, the emotion, the grief, trauma, mental illness explored is all raw and real, no question about that.
It follows Clara and Dempsey, 30 year old twins whose mother abandoned them at 3 years old. They’re adopted by different people, Clara by Claudette and her white Italian husband, whose top priority is ‘good’ hair, and Dempsey by a down-to-earth councillor. The twins’ lives diverge after an altercation between their adoptive parents. Dempsey becomes enmeshed in a questionable wellness scheme run by a wannabe psychologist, while Clara becomes a successful author, penning a novel about two twins whose mother leaves, but returns in a fantastical manner. When Clara spots someone who looks exactly like their mother would at 30, she begins to wonder if her novel is becoming a reality.
I’ve not read Daley-Ward’s poetry, nor am I particularly a poetry person, but the little fragments of poetry scattered through the prose were lovely. The writing overall was knockout, so even when the plot got very meta and I was wondering what the hell was going on, I was always drawn back in by the writing. It’s one of those books where you just have to let the characters take you by the hand and let them drag you down with them - into mania or science fiction? I’m not really sure, but I know I loved the ride.