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A review by schopenhauers_poodle
I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Promising debut with an interesting plot twist and some missteps that's deeper than it appears to be.
The premise is straightforward: a South Asian woman in her 30s is having an affair with a serially unfaithful married white man in London. Patel's writing is at its best when the narrator articulates the experience of trying to reconcile the image of a partner or relationship that we have in our head with reality. Less successful are the political and sociocultural rants the narrator goes on that feel preachy, awkward, and sometimes obvious.
But that's all surface, on a closer reading I realized that "I'm a Fan", similar to "Poor Things," functions as a political allegory. "The man I want to be with" stands in for the UK, while "the woman I am obsessed with" is the US, the man's wife is the EU, and the narrator is a colony, (at one point she even describes the man as colonizing her body). It's clever.
I also want to point out an observation I had of many reviews that deride the narrator, calling her "unhinged" or "crazy," which I find dishonest and troubling. Why the focus on the narrator, who we know has less power than and is subordinate to the man and British society? What responsibility does he/it bear? And what responsibility do we have to each other in relationships?
"I'm a Fan" won't stand the test of time but Patel succeeded in creating a time capsule, capturing the zeitgeist of life online during the early 2020s steeped in consumerism, celeb culture, and technology.
The premise is straightforward: a South Asian woman in her 30s is having an affair with a serially unfaithful married white man in London. Patel's writing is at its best when the narrator articulates the experience of trying to reconcile the image of a partner or relationship that we have in our head with reality. Less successful are the political and sociocultural rants the narrator goes on that feel preachy, awkward, and sometimes obvious.
But that's all surface, on a closer reading I realized that "I'm a Fan", similar to "Poor Things," functions as a political allegory. "The man I want to be with" stands in for the UK, while "the woman I am obsessed with" is the US, the man's wife is the EU, and the narrator is a colony, (at one point she even describes the man as colonizing her body). It's clever.
I also want to point out an observation I had of many reviews that deride the narrator, calling her "unhinged" or "crazy," which I find dishonest and troubling. Why the focus on the narrator, who we know has less power than and is subordinate to the man and British society? What responsibility does he/it bear? And what responsibility do we have to each other in relationships?
"I'm a Fan" won't stand the test of time but Patel succeeded in creating a time capsule, capturing the zeitgeist of life online during the early 2020s steeped in consumerism, celeb culture, and technology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Violence