Scan barcode
A review by mmarlborough
I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I won this from a Goodreads giveaway awhile back and finally got to this debut. This is such a unique book. While being short, it packs such a punch that it took me awhile to read it, as I was contemplating and highlighting so much of it.
Our unnamed female protagonist is obsessed with the aptly named “man I am sleeping with.” She’s also obsessed with the unnamed influencer that he is also sleeping with, crippled by following her social media presence to criticize her every move. But she also wants to be like this woman, who somehow has a stronger hold on the man she is sleeping with. We see the protagonist in her lowest of lows, let inside the mind of someone who isn’t loved back by the one they love.
This is a very character driven novel, broken up into fragmented essays. The loose plot follows a modern hookup steeped in infidelity that takes hold of the unnamed protagonist’s life, but the focus of the book is so much more than that. Exploring themes of racism, class, social media, and infidelity this book is an insanely explosive debut. It won’t be for every reader, as it’s cringe inducing and hard to watch our protagonist blow her own life up in her obsessions, but I couldn’t look away. Count me as a fan of Patel’s.
✨Trigger Warnings: Infidelity, Toxic Relationship, Sexual Content, Gaslighting, Racism, Classism
Our unnamed female protagonist is obsessed with the aptly named “man I am sleeping with.” She’s also obsessed with the unnamed influencer that he is also sleeping with, crippled by following her social media presence to criticize her every move. But she also wants to be like this woman, who somehow has a stronger hold on the man she is sleeping with. We see the protagonist in her lowest of lows, let inside the mind of someone who isn’t loved back by the one they love.
This is a very character driven novel, broken up into fragmented essays. The loose plot follows a modern hookup steeped in infidelity that takes hold of the unnamed protagonist’s life, but the focus of the book is so much more than that. Exploring themes of racism, class, social media, and infidelity this book is an insanely explosive debut. It won’t be for every reader, as it’s cringe inducing and hard to watch our protagonist blow her own life up in her obsessions, but I couldn’t look away. Count me as a fan of Patel’s.
✨Trigger Warnings: Infidelity, Toxic Relationship, Sexual Content, Gaslighting, Racism, Classism