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Case Study
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
24 posts | 21 read | 23 to read
I have decided to write down everything that happens, because I feel, I suppose, I may be putting myself in danger. London, 1965. An unworldly young woman believes that a charismatic psychotherapist, Collins Braithwaite, has driven her sister to suicide. Intent on confirming her suspicions, she assumes a false identity and presents herself to him as a client, recording her experiences in a series of notebooks. But she soon finds herself drawn into a world in which she can no longer be certain of anything. Even her own character. In Case Study, Graeme Macrae Burnet presents these notebooks interspersed with his own biographical research into Collins Braithwaite. The result is a dazzling and often wickedly humorous meditation on the nature of sanity, identity and truth itself, by one of the most inventive novelists writing today.
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review
sarahbarnes
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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Pickpick

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.

42 likes2 stack adds
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Kazzie
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
Pickpick

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.

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Graywacke
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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Pickpick

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.

47 likes1 stack add
blurb
Graywacke
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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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

BarbaraBB I enjoyed this one but I can imagine you need something a bit easier ik between the Musil! 2y
Graywacke @BarbaraBB yeah, this actually requires a lot of attention. (edited) 2y
CarolynM Didn‘t do much for me. I‘m interested to hear what you think. 2y
43 likes3 comments
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IndoorDame
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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Pickpick

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.

51 likes1 stack add
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CarolynM
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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Mehso-so

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.

CarolynM Do you think the woman who introduces herself as Rebecca on the last page really had those experiences and wrote that diary in the '60's? That's what my book group friends all thought, but I thought she was "Mr Gray" and the diary was a hoax just as the author originally feared. 2y
Eva_B I did a bulk online order from my favourite small independent bookshop cos they were having a sale on some titles I‘ve been meaning to read. When I opened the box, they had thrown this one in as a freebie…..maybe there was a reason it was free 😂 2y
CarolynM @Eva_B That‘s a generous bookshop! It was on the Booker long list, so a lot of other people must have got more out of it than I did 😬 2y
LeahBergen Too bad! I quite enjoyed His Bloody Project when I read it a few years ago. 2y
Eva_B @CarolynM Yeah, I find Booker Prize books a bit hit and miss. They seem to be books that people feel they ‘should‘ read rather than enjoy. I have a friend who is a big reader like myself and if a book has been on a Booker list she avoids it altogether! 😊 2y
59 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Cinfhen
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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Mehso-so

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

squirrelbrain I agree - I could hardly recall this a few days after I‘d read it. 2y
BarbaraBB I have a hard time remembering it too while I enjoyed it a lot! 2y
64 likes2 comments
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jlhammar
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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Pickpick

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.

Ruthiella I love Jackson. I‘ve not read The Bird‘s Nest yet, but it is on my list. 2y
Cinfhen Great review!! I haven‘t been in the right mood for this one but I‘m looking forward to reading it 2y
BarbaraBB Great review! Totally agree! 2y
Hazel2019 I‘m struggling with whether this should be on my short list as well. 2y
67 likes4 comments
review
BarbaraBB
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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Pickpick

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

TrishB Great pic 😁 2y
squirrelbrain Love the pic - it totally fits with the book! I agree with you - I liked it but, as you know, it didn‘t make my shortlist. 2y
Cinfhen Fabulous photo!!!!!!!! My copy arrived but I‘m not sure my vacation brain is ready for this one 2y
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Ruthiella Love the photo! I think this will be entertaining enough when and if I get around to it! 2y
jlhammar I finished this one the other day (still need to get my review posted) and I felt much the same. Love the pic! 2y
charl08 I'm wondering if I even noticed the eye on the cover when I read it. 🤣 Great pic. 2y
Chelsea.Poole Lovely photo 😍 2y
Megabooks Sounds really interesting and I love the photo! 2y
LeahBergen Fab pic! 😆 2y
BarbaraBB @LeahBergen You‘re back! Hope you had a great time! 2y
Hazel2019 Yea! Love the picture!! 2y
78 likes3 stack adds11 comments
review
AlexGeorge
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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Pickpick

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.

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charl08
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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Mehso-so

#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. ?‍♀️?‍♀️

jlhammar The diary of a most unpleasant young woman indeed 😂 I‘m finding her kind of amusing though. She clearly has issues. I‘m around the halfway mark. Eager to see where it‘s all headed. 2y
squirrelbrain I liked it, but have no idea why it made the long list it just didn‘t seem special enough or different enough…. Or enough of anything! 2y
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Ruthiella I didn‘t love his last book which was shortlisted either 2y
AnneCecilie I wasn‘t a huge fan of his latest either, and take it from your review that I don‘t need to rush to this one either. 2y
BarbaraBB I love your photo but I am not so much looking forward to the book after your review. I did like His Bloody Project though. (edited) 2y
charl08 @jlhammar I never felt I understood where it went! 2y
charl08 @squirrelbrain I read a review which talked about multiple selves and identity: but I didn't feel the book made me think about that in new ways. I'm probably missing something. 2y
charl08 @ruthiella or me. I think I'll leave him for others to enjoy in future. 2y
charl08 @AnneCecilie I wouldn't have picked it up if not for the longlist, so... 2y
charl08 @BarbaraBB if you liked his last perhaps this will work too? Photo is from visit to RHS Bridgewater: gorgeous garden. 2y
59 likes11 comments
quote
charl08
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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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

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review
ClairesReads
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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Mehso-so

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.

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charl08
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet

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...

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NovelNancyM
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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“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).

review
Cazxxx
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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Mehso-so

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

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charl08
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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It's perfect weather (for me) to hide in the shade and read. That'll have to wait until tomorrow though!

#Booker22

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jlhammar
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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One of my #Booker2022 orders arrived today! I enjoyed His Bloody Project so looking forward to his newest. #bookmail

BarbaraBB Such a great cover. I hope the book is as good! 2y
JamieArc This arrived for me today too, among a few others. Post forthcoming 😊 2y
mjtwo I received this today also! 2y
EvieBee Sounds fascinating! 2y
50 likes4 comments
review
squirrelbrain
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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Pickpick

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! ⬇️

squirrelbrain I‘m rather worried as I get the feeling it may be all downhill from here on in, as far as the #booker2022 longlist is concerned! 😬 2y
rmaclean4 I may wait on this one and see if it makes the short list. 2y
rmaclean4 @squirrelbrain what are you top 3 so far? 2y
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squirrelbrain @rmaclean4 - my top 3 are; Maps, Trees and Colony. Sounds like a book title in itself! 2y
rmaclean4 @squirrelbrain it does! I am looking forward to Maps. I am loving Trees currently. 2y
Cinfhen This was one of the books I was kind of intrigued about but I‘m waiting to see if it makes the shortlist - thanks for tagging me. 2y
BarbaraBB Intriguing! This one sounds so good too!! 2y
Hazel2019 I‘m in the middle of Trust right now. Hoping that this will come in the mail soon so I can read it next! 2y
Ruthiella You are a book prize reading machine! 😂 I‘ve read his other Booker nominated title, which I liked but didn‘t love. 2y
squirrelbrain It helps that I‘d read 6 before the long list was published! @Ruthiella 2y
charl08 Just starting this one now, wondering what I'll make of it after being a bit less impressed by 2y
squirrelbrain I haven‘t read his previous book @charl08 - but I‘ve heard a lot of less than stellar reviews for it… 2y
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review
emmaturi
Case Study | Graeme Macrae Burnet
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Pickpick

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.

squirrelbrain Great review! I have this on reserve at the library. 2y
jlhammar I liked His Bloody Project. Might have to check this out! Looks like it comes out in the US Nov 1. 2y
emmaturi I also liked His Bloody Project too. @jlhammar 2y
30 likes2 stack adds3 comments