Welcome to Litsy!

I was quickly sucked into this psychological thriller where nothing is as it seems, from the very first page. Fact and fictions and identities layer on top of one another in multiple ways. With a fascinating main character of the most unreliable sort. In the end I‘m not sure what was true, but I really enjoyed the ride.

Strange, but good. I think the whole thing was structured to be a novel, but elements felt so real. I thought to look him up/explore the facts further, but why? It stands alone very well, and all characters seem real. I was worried at first about a man creating the dual personality young woman, but her arc was satisfying and seemed true.

My 8th book from the #Booker2022 longlist. I‘ve had to sit on this. Like the novel Trust, this is a collection of unreliable documents, here a look at where psychiatric therapy appears to have led to a suicide. It takes some focus and begins as a little work for the reader. But an intelligent tension develops as we try to understand our narrator and this _nonfictional_ quack therapist from 1965. I enjoyed it a lot more than i thought I would.

Looking for something to read when I tire of Robert Musil, I picked this up. But…however it opens a little dry and is not great for that. #Booker2022

I‘m not sure I enjoyed this book, but it was definitely thought provoking and it got under my skin in the way that well drawn characters and strong writing so easily do. I see why it was longlisted for the Booker.

This was an IRL book group read or I would have bailed. I don't think I gained anything from finishing - I was left wondering what the point of it was. It's decently written & the Braithwaite chapters were interesting enough, but I found the Rebecca chapters dull, prurient and unconvincing as a female voice. Spoiler question for anyone who has read it in comments.

This was ok while I read it, but two weeks later I had a difficult time recalling the story/book. A meshing of fact & fiction, a diabolical therapist and one very confused young woman. Disappointing and a surprising contender for the 2022 Booker Prize. #MoreMehThanYeah

Burnet blurs the line between fiction and nonfiction in such fun and clever ways. Great metafiction with an excellent unreliable narrator. Gave me some The Bird‘s Nest (Shirley Jackson) vibes in parts. Not sure if it will make my personal #Booker2022 shortlist, but thoroughly enjoyed.

A psychological drama, totally up my alley. A very unreliable narrator meets an anti-psychiatrist for some psychiatric sessions in which she wants to discover if he drove her sister to suicide.

I was very much engaged by this book, but not sure yet if it‘ll make my shortlist for the #BookerPrize2022

Twisty, engaging, devilishly clever. Macrae Barnet‘s Booker Prize longlisted novel of psychotherapy misadventures is a glittering marvel of smoke and mirrors. A delicious and unexpected metamorphosis materializes as the unorthodox plot unfolds, prompting both characters and reader to wonder what is real, and what is not. Highly recommended. Coming November 1.

#Booker22 #Longlist
On the face of it, this is the diary of a mostly unpleasant young woman going to see a therapist after her sister kills herself. This is interspersed with an account by "the author" of the controversial life of the therapist, supposedly a 60s counterculture rebel.

I'm not a fan of McRae Burnet: I didn't enjoy his last (also award nominated) or feel that I "got" this one either. ?‍♀️?‍♀️

This was what people did. They sat in pubs drinking beer and gin and listening to each other talk. They pretended to be interested and then took their own turn at talking. It was difficult to see the point of any of it was. .....

The man at the table by the door was still there with his newspaper. He had been sitting silently with the same glass of beer all this time. I envied him.

#Booker2022

I was excited to read this faux/factual narrative. As expected, nothing in this novel is as it seems on the surface. The conceit that blurs fact and fiction works less effectively than I‘d hoped. Ultimately while I found both narrative threads separately interesting, even compelling, the clashing styles in which they are written made it challenging for me to find a rhythm in this reading experience.

The following day's newspapers were filled with condemnation of Dr Braithwaite's behaviour: he was the embodiment of everything that was wrong with modern Britain; his books were filled with the most obscene ideas.... Naturally, the following day I visited Foyle's during my lunch hour and asked for a copy of his most recent book...

“At Oxford he could be whatever, or whomever, he chose. He realised that the person he thought he had been was no more than a construct. You could not separate an individual from the environment they found themselves in, or the people they interacted with. His identity up to that point - or what he thought of as his identity - was no more than a reaction to his upbringing,“ (52).

Book number 4 on the Booker prize longlist which was just a so so for me. This thriller was the one I was most looking forward to from the list but it missed the mark for me. I found it a bit long winded and boring while the characters fell flat. I did enjoy the story but it didn‘t have me dying to know what happens next, which a good thriller should

It's perfect weather (for me) to hide in the shade and read. That'll have to wait until tomorrow though!

#Booker22

One of my #Booker2022 orders arrived today! I enjoyed His Bloody Project so looking forward to his newest. #bookmail

I enjoyed this novel about identity, suggestion and personality. We never learn the true identity of the MC, who adopts the persona of Rebecca Smyth, in order to investigate the psychologist (based on a real person) she suspects of encouraging her sister‘s suicide.

Whilst this was good I know already it won‘t make my #booker2022 shortlist. It‘s book 7 from the 13 and it‘s 7th on my list; only because the first 6 books were so good! ⬇️

An interesting psychological thriller where a young women believes that Collins Braithwaite a psychotherapist drove her sister to commit suicide. It's written as notebooks. Certainly had me gripped.