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#BookReport 16/24

Two #WomenPrize reads this week and the tagged one. I was disappointed by Nightbloom because my expectations were high but both others I enjoyed.

An Australian “matron” works at a posh English boarding school for girls and becomes obsessed with Mrs S, the headmaster‘s wife. The book is slowly building up towards a summer of queer love and seduction, the love between the narrator and Mrs S a forbidden one. And one that could not last. I was curious how the book would end and was glad with the way it did!

I liked this. Worried that the power dynamic between the couple would end problematically, but it didn‘t. The matron maintained control and left on their terms. What an interesting perspective on upper class boarding schools

Reading this for book club tomorrow night. #coffeeandabook

This book was a slow burn in more ways than one. Both the build up between the MC and Mrs. S and the somewhat inevitable ending. I also loved how Patrick wrote the nuance in the relationships the MC has in book with other characters as they navigate queerness, and they also captured the subtle discrimination the MC experienced in a perfect way, putting you inside the MC‘s body and mind. A great debut novel - excited to see what they write next.

I liked it. It sort of reminded me of a queer Mrs. Robinson. #lgbtq #sandiegosummer

Pre-work read and tea. #sandiegosummer

I requested this from #netgalley a while ago as the author was named on Granta‘s Best Young British Novelists list. I didn‘t get it until this week and I think that could be as it‘s had such poor reviews on NG, so they‘re hoping for better, but not from me. 😬

The book is described as ‘powerfully sensual‘ but at 30% in I haven‘t seen a scintilla of sensuality. It‘s also written without any quotation marks, hardly any paragraphs and no chapters.