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Novels like this, that are told in small pieces, almost like a kind of pointillism in book form, are hit or miss with me. It's not my preferred style so there needs to be something special about it. Luckily this book has a lot that's special about it.

This is a work novel, a subgenre I always want to see more of. It's about being a Black British woman who works hard, who has become successful. That sounds like it will be a story of triumph, but it isn't. This is about everything that kind of success cannot give you in a world that is still bound by all the old rules. This contrast is illustrated on the page as we see our protagonist and her boyfriend, a white man with generational wealth. And it is all brought to a head by a health crisis.

This is a book that does not sit easily, that pushes you in uncomfortable directions, that makes you consider actions and outcomes that may seem at first to be self-destructive. The short-form style of the prose means that our protagonist is not going to sit down and explain it all to you. But it is quite effective regardless, as you see each small point pile up and pile up, you gain character insight slowly but surely.

As I often do with marketing copy, I would note that the Raven Leilani comp is not a good one. (There is a tendency to throw in the hot name of the moment in these.) This isn't like LUSTER in tone or subject. The thing they have in common is that they are not trying to be nice or palatable, but I still think it's a bit too much of a stretch that may mislead readers.