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A review by deedireads
Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Case Study is a quick, (I found) engrossing read. The way it explores the idea of the self and performance was also very smart. I don’t think it’ll be for everyone, but I liked it!
For you if: You like epistolary, psychological novels.
FULL REVIEW:
Longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize, Case Study was definitely one of those I probably never would have picked up otherwise. But I’m glad I did!
The novel is written by “GMB,” a fictional narrator who presents a woman’s journal entries alongside GMB’s own biography of fictional psychotherapist Collins Braithwaite. The woman believes Braithwaite drove her sister to death by suicide and goes undercover as “Rebecca Smyth” to find him out. (Braithwaite’s prevailing belief was that there’s no such thing as the “real” Self; all our various versions of ourselves are performances, and so to free ourselves from misery we have to “kill our Selves.”) We flip-flop back and forth between her journals and GMB’s biography as things become more and more unraveled.
Not everyone in my book club liked this one, but I did. I found it to be surprisingly engaging; I was drawn in and held the whole time. I also thought the parallelism between Braithwaite’s theories and “Rebecca Smyth’s” journey was smart and creative enough to not be too on the nose. There were some parts of this (which professional reviews called satire to the counter-counter culture of the 1960s) that went a bit over my head, but I’m not bothered by it.
Ultimately, this was a quick, fun one!
CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Suicide, suicidal thoughts; Mental illness; Rape (imagined and off-screen); Alcohol use
TL;DR REVIEW:
Case Study is a quick, (I found) engrossing read. The way it explores the idea of the self and performance was also very smart. I don’t think it’ll be for everyone, but I liked it!
For you if: You like epistolary, psychological novels.
FULL REVIEW:
Longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize, Case Study was definitely one of those I probably never would have picked up otherwise. But I’m glad I did!
The novel is written by “GMB,” a fictional narrator who presents a woman’s journal entries alongside GMB’s own biography of fictional psychotherapist Collins Braithwaite. The woman believes Braithwaite drove her sister to death by suicide and goes undercover as “Rebecca Smyth” to find him out. (Braithwaite’s prevailing belief was that there’s no such thing as the “real” Self; all our various versions of ourselves are performances, and so to free ourselves from misery we have to “kill our Selves.”) We flip-flop back and forth between her journals and GMB’s biography as things become more and more unraveled.
Not everyone in my book club liked this one, but I did. I found it to be surprisingly engaging; I was drawn in and held the whole time. I also thought the parallelism between Braithwaite’s theories and “Rebecca Smyth’s” journey was smart and creative enough to not be too on the nose. There were some parts of this (which professional reviews called satire to the counter-counter culture of the 1960s) that went a bit over my head, but I’m not bothered by it.
Ultimately, this was a quick, fun one!
CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Suicide, suicidal thoughts; Mental illness; Rape (imagined and off-screen); Alcohol use
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Suicide
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Rape