A review by whatzoreads
We Pretty Pieces of Flesh by Colwill Brown

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 

Synopsis

It’s early noughties Yorkshire, three Donny lassies – Kel, Rach and Shaz – live in a former mining town where the word aspiration has more to do with how many cigs they can smoke before school rather than career prospects. They want to be known as shaggers but not slag it about, they practice drinking until they can hold their own like one of the lads, and proof of friendship is trips made in solidarity to the Family Planning Clinic on a Satdi.
 
Following an enforced hospital internment one of the girls returns to find the others have boyfriends and have moved on with a new social circle. Insecurities arise, along with accusations of attention seeking behaviour; boys coming between bezzies, their once indestructible bond begins to breakdown as they struggle to deal with the toxic side of female friendship. Now in their twenties, one seemingly has the perfect life, one moves overseas, and the other harbours a devastating secret that could destroy the future happiness of another. Perhaps their estrangement is for the best. But then something happens and ‘Feminen’ the girlband are forced back together, but which one will be dropping the mic
 

My Thoughts

The book is written entirely in South Yorkshire dialect and for a southerner this was literally like a foreign language. I can’t lie it was heavy going and it slowed the reading down significantly in the early stages but once I started sounding it out phonetically I picked it up and actually really fell in love with the sound. This without doubt will be divisive amongst readers but I urge you to plough on and not penalise this book for the choice of using the local language because this book would not have the same impact without it. I became so immersed in the people and the place I could practically taste the Yorkshire Tea and true Northern grit. I love coming-of-age stories and this is one of the best I have ever read about girlhood. This felt frighteningly and fulfilling familiar about three Donny lasses just trying to figure out how to do life and do friendship and survive adolescence without turning up in adulthood carrying too many binbags full of guilt and shame. 

I loved the characters of Kel, Rach and Shaz, ok maybe not so much Rach, but I understood her and why she was essential to making that dynamic of the three work the way it did. I rarely say this about a character, but I would walk through fire for Shaz, she was the most incredible and complete female character and I adored her.
 
This was an incredible debut, an absolute gut punch, any girl who grew up in and around the 90s and noughties in the UK will recognise themselves somewhere in this book and these characters. Its beautifully eccentric and full of gorgeous nostalgia and Colwill Brown certainly honours local history, people and places with this outstanding debut. 

I gave this a perfect score, welcome to my roman empire. 

I would like to thank the publishers Vintage Books and author, for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book via #NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

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