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This is a quick read, and I enjoyed spending time with the characters, but it feels a little insubstantial and a little too on the nose to really feel like satire. The layers of meaning and posturing and hypocrisy and lack of self-awareness are interesting, I just wanted a little more substance (and maybe a little more connection between elements). #bookerlonglist

A timely read about unpleasant characters with unfortunate logic. I‘d say this barely hangs together as a novel and praise the writing and evocative characters- especially Lenny. The first and last sections are super tight but there‘s a lag in the middle.

My 8th from the #Booker Prize longlist was fun, clever, politically timely satire, if a little thin. Very interesting in light of recent assassination of rightwing Charlie Kirk, whose form of disguised racism is exactly in line with that of our main satirized character here, Lenny. Lenny is a highly confident self-interested pundit in need of a public reboot, who won't spend a moment in self-doubt about her terrible logic. #Booker2025

1-5 Sep 2025
#Bookerlonglist2025 No 8
Far from a perfect book but I was entertained and found that I read through it quickly.
The initial feature article engaged me the most - the various POV narratives that followed less so. Perhaps it was a bit laboured in its point that truth in journalism cannot be taken for granted.
Anyway, given so many poor reviews I expected to enjoy it less.

😂😂

Just starting my next booker read 6/13. I‘ve been slow this year bc of work and holiday (which ended up being less reading-filled than usual). So far I‘ve mostly enjoyed the books I‘ve read but nothing has blown me away yet. Audition is at the top of my list so far. Will this be the one book that blows me away?

Overall I enjoyed spending an evening with this book, but it did feel rather unresolved. It's hard to discuss this book without giving spoilers, so suffice to say that I enjoyed what I thought was a mildly satirical piece full of stereotypes, but from there it moved on to a sequence of unlikeable characters and several truths about the media that are no revelation. I'm not entirely sure what the author wanted me to take away from this story.

Getting into this. It‘s fun. This will be book 8 in my #Booker longlist quest. (Yes, I have several reviews to post) #Booker2025

Given that this is Booker longlisted, this may be an unpopular opinion, but this missed the mark for me. The structure apes Hernan Diaz‘s Trust, longlisted in 2022, but whereas Trust had a natural flow, Universality feels very disjointed, and purely a vehicle for Brown‘s view of the press. I had to reread some sections 3 times because I just didn‘t feel engaged with the writing at all. Too much of a hard slog.

Book 69/80 #Read2025 @DieAReader

My 2nd booker book is a satirical look on modern media. From a young reporters account of a raid upon a rave in which a gold bar is stolen, to the reporter's encounter with her obnoxious University friends and ending with a populist columnist at a literary festival, a character typical of today's media when saying anything outrageous is free speech. It is a short book that deserves a reread and definitely an appealing new literary voice.

I agree with those who‘ve compared this to Birnam Wood at the start with that long form essay. Then readers get the background story on how that piece came to be. A satire, I suppose, of the way media distorts and public opinion is sculpted. Also, a very “of the moment” read. I thought it was fine but worry I am missing something to make it worthy of such praise. Another from the #BookerLonglist that was fine, but not as great as I‘d hoped.

This is what the publisher has to say about this #Booker25 longlisted novel.

For me, not so much. This is a subject I'd rather read NF on (as it's bonkers enough) or listen to a discussion podcast. I'd have liked more about Hannah or any of the characters really: they felt like little more than caricatures to voice particular views. Not for me! (YMMV).

https://youtu.be/FPZFbMk_jOE?feature=shared

Book review and discussion
Spoilers / more indepth discussion from 11:28

Quick on audio but ultimately not for me. This was a look at class, wealth, journalism, and politics. Brown deftly gets you into the minds of her characters but even spending time in the thoughts of those with entirely different t perspectives from my own did not make me feel any more enlightened.

This is an excellent conversation starter and a compelling read. I did feel that a lot of problematic ideas were left unchallenged (which is fine if you are aware of the counterarguments already) and that it could have done with a bit more meat.

Still, it's a provocative, shape shifting narrative that spirals out in an exploration of the zeitgeist and capitalist system. Worth reading if you like social commentary in your contemporary fiction.

This book starts with a chapter that reads like a long form article in a newspaper or current affairs magazine, then peels back the layers of that story to show the manipulations perpetrated & the consequences for the people involved. There‘s lots to think about, not least the insidious nature of columnists whose “opinions” are written to “maximise [their] own profits, influence and longevity”. I think it‘s really good - a worthy Booker contender.

And isn‘t that exactly how a lot of people see the world? It just makes me sad.

#bookerlonglist
This novel made me so sad about the state of the world, yet I want to reread it! Was interesting reading this right after the nonfiction book White Trash. Some of the same world views were expressed in both works.
I'm not sure it would be on my short list, but it is the first Booker read for me this year.
@BookishTrish @JenP @AnneCecilie @TheKidUpstairs @Leniverse @charl08 @Chelsea.Poole @JamieArc @BarbaraBB @Graywacke

Universality, by Natasha Brown (2025)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Premise: A disturbing satire of the current state of journalism and public discourse

Review: While this has a lot going for it, it felt like a cynical take down of the easiest targets in our media landscape, and offered nothing in the way of an alternative or way forward. ⬇️

I completely agree with Shawna‘s review on this book. @ChaoticMissAdventures

It was completely Birnam Wood-esque at the start, which was promising, but then became very disjointed and confusing. Or maybe I‘m just not clever enough for this book.

It only took about an hour to read and, ultimately, it felt like a collection of notes and thoughts for an unfinished book.

Book 1 of #14books14weeks @Liz_M

Beauty!

Do you ever finish a book that is getting rave reviews and you just don't really get it? And you wonder if it's you or if the reviews are just going off the synopsis and didn't actually read the book? This started well for me, it had Eleanor Catton Birnam Wood vibes, but each chapter shifts, and POV shift I felt a bit more at sea and a bit more bored.
If you are super into British politics and hearing from "anti-woke" characters you might like it