varsha_ravi 's review for:

White on White by Ayşegül Savaş

3.5

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The story follows an unnamed academic researching Gothic nudes and sculptures, who rents an apartment from Agnes, an older artist. The two women orbit each other—distant at first, then increasingly entangled as if being brought together by some invisible force. The narrator finds herself drawn—at first out of curiosity, then more involuntarily—into Agnes’s private world. What begins as a polite cohabitation slowly reveals itself as something more unsettling: a portrait of a person slowly unspooling, while another stands by, unsure if she’s intruding or simply bearing witness.

Though I’m not sure this novel will linger with me long term, there’s a distinct beauty in the reading experience itself. The writing is precise, restrained, and quietly absorbing. I blitzed through it—and enjoyed every moment of its subtle unraveling.