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A review by shawcrit
Victoria Sees It by Carrie Jenkins
5.0
This is a puzzling, challenging, but ultimately rewarding philosophical novel. I'm not sure if the characterization of this as a "psychological thriller" is just weird marketing or a tongue-and-cheek joke about what it feels like to be an academic and/or a thinking human. I feel like people read "psychological thriller" and think Gillian Flynn-esque books, and this is NOT that. There is a mystery here, but the mystery is not central, at least in my view. It starts off with a kind of dark academia mystery vibe and then upends that whole trope and the conventions of mystery novels. It focuses more on the interiority of the protagonist and how the "mystery" shapes their identity rather than the mystery itself. The reference to Dorothy Sayers' Gaudy Night at the beginning is telling, as I feel like the whole novel is working within and against that kind of narrative. There is a quality of meta-fiction here in that the novel draws attention to its sources and influences while very self-consciously departing from them.
This novel addresses so many themes, but if I had to narrow it down, these are the central issues it addresses:
-inheritance (what is passed down from family, what is passed on from culture, what is passed down in language - also what is lacking in what is passed down)
-language, language, language in general
-the performativity of gender/femininity and the "crazy woman" cliche, as well as mental illness in general
-academia (the toxicity of,)
-what it means to be a person who has to live in the world and navigate people, including the multiple selves we present to the world and the changing self over time.
I agree with other reviewers that the novel doesn't always know what it wants to be, but I think that's the point of it. It's always shifting and going in different directions, sometimes going off on tangents and surrealist passages that don't really end up anywhere. However, the tangents are pretty brilliant and somehow manage to address a wide variety of philosophical concepts and concerns.
As a woman who spent 10 years in academia and deals with mental illness, this book packs a punch and I strongly identify with it. It was not always a comfortable experience, but I truly appreciate what the author is doing here and I look forward to reading more from them.
This novel addresses so many themes, but if I had to narrow it down, these are the central issues it addresses:
-inheritance (what is passed down from family, what is passed on from culture, what is passed down in language - also what is lacking in what is passed down)
-language, language, language in general
-the performativity of gender/femininity and the "crazy woman" cliche, as well as mental illness in general
-academia (the toxicity of,)
-what it means to be a person who has to live in the world and navigate people, including the multiple selves we present to the world and the changing self over time.
I agree with other reviewers that the novel doesn't always know what it wants to be, but I think that's the point of it. It's always shifting and going in different directions, sometimes going off on tangents and surrealist passages that don't really end up anywhere. However, the tangents are pretty brilliant and somehow manage to address a wide variety of philosophical concepts and concerns.
As a woman who spent 10 years in academia and deals with mental illness, this book packs a punch and I strongly identify with it. It was not always a comfortable experience, but I truly appreciate what the author is doing here and I look forward to reading more from them.