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A long, nightmarish poem: Everything Under by Daisy Johnson #ManBooker2018 #ReadingChallenge

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I’ve decided to push myself to a new reading challenge for Man Booker Prize 2018. I am not scared. I will read the Long List this year. Decided to take it easy: I will quit reading if I don’t like any of them.

Everything Under was the first one, and I am blown away. You know the feeling When a book is even more beautiful than it’s gorgeous cover. This is it!

One warning: the world is full of spoilers for this book, which you will find none in this review. But people are blabbering around about this to spoil your reading joy so my recommendation is just close your eyes and read this!

This book will win the Man Booker prize. I know it. I am in shock, and awe. I am disgusted by some parts of this book but I am also equally blown away. I have never read something like this before. I dived into this book after reading the truly vague blurb, and thought `oh boy, this will be either a favourite or a disaster!`.

I am Turkish, not a native English speaker and of some heavily metaphorical books that is aimed to crack the reader’s skull just doesn’t work for me. So I had my doubts about this one but I am extremely pleased to say that it’s turned out to be an absolute reading joy. So guys, first thing first: If I get this book with my second hand English, you have no right to say, “Oh I just don’t get it” -I think I am making it pretty clear that I am officially a fan of this book-

The blurb is vague and it is for a reason. This book puzzled me for a long time, until 40% of the book I was a bit confused about who was who, and what was really going on. Once the pieces get connected I was transfixed, it was like seeing an avalanche coming on to me but I was so paralysed I couldn’t move, I couldn’t stop reading. I knew it’d hit me. I knew it was going to be a slap to my face. And it was but I enjoyed every moment of it. What happens in this book can be told in a paragraph and if I was told, I would have said ‘Ewww’ and refuse to read the book. The way it is told is so otherworldly, so dreamy, so damn good. It is in a way like Jeanette Winterson and Angela Carter- but better storytelling then Winterson and less bizarre than Carter.

This is a re-telling or re-imagining of something (not gonna say, not gonna spoil) but I am taken away with this writing.

Daisy Johnson could be our new Angela Carter dear readers. From now on I will read everything she writes. Even a shopping list.

5 full, bold stars. Just amazing.

5star

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

17 comments

  4. Oh wow, this book sounds fabulous! I can totally imagine how the vagueness makes a story better, because once things start to connect, it really hits you all the harder. Amazing review! I’ll definitely add this to my TBR! 😀

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  7. After your warning on spoilers everywhere I’m afraid to google. I tried but didn’t find the info I needed and I’m afraid to google further. So can you, please, clarify it one more time for me – it is a poem, right?

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    • No, it’s not a poem, it’s a novel.
      It’s told by the perspectives of several people. Starts with a girl called Gretel, and it’s between Gretel, Gretel’s mum, and a few other people. OMG don’t know what to say, how to explain 🙂 If I start explaining the plot, it would be giving away too much, taking the magic away

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      • Guess what. Just after we talked in your comments here I went and downloaded the sample of the book to my Kindle and remained glued to the book from the first lines. THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting about the book! Honestly, you are becoming one of my main sources of information on what to read and what to ignore. I’m so happy I discovered your blog! The book was magnificent, absolutely beautiful! I wrote a review too! 😀

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