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The Body Lies
A dark, thrilling new novel from the best-selling author of Longbourn: a work of riveting psychological suspense that grapples with how to live as a woman in the world--or in the pages of a book--when the stakes are dangerously high.
When a young writer accepts a job at a university in the remote English countryside, it's meant to be a fresh start, away from the bustle of London and the scene of a violent assault she is desperate to forget. But despite the distractions of her new life and the demands of single motherhood, her nerves continue to jangle. To make matters worse, during class a vicious debate about violence against women inflames the tensions and mounting rivalries in her creative writing group. When a troubled student starts turning in chapters that blur the lines between fiction and reality, the professor recognizes herself as the main character in his book--and he has written her a horrific fate. Will she be able to stop life imitating art before it's too late? At once a breathless cat-and-mouse game and a layered interrogation of the fetishization of the female body, The Body Lies gives us an essential story for our time that will have you checking the locks on your doors.
When a young writer accepts a job at a university in the remote English countryside, it's meant to be a fresh start, away from the bustle of London and the scene of a violent assault she is desperate to forget. But despite the distractions of her new life and the demands of single motherhood, her nerves continue to jangle. To make matters worse, during class a vicious debate about violence against women inflames the tensions and mounting rivalries in her creative writing group. When a troubled student starts turning in chapters that blur the lines between fiction and reality, the professor recognizes herself as the main character in his book--and he has written her a horrific fate. Will she be able to stop life imitating art before it's too late? At once a breathless cat-and-mouse game and a layered interrogation of the fetishization of the female body, The Body Lies gives us an essential story for our time that will have you checking the locks on your doors.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published June 18, 2019
About the author
Jo Baker
18 books948 followersJo Baker is the author of six novels, most recently Longbourn and A Country Road, A Tree. She has also written for BBC Radio 4, and her short stories have been included in a number of anthologies. She lives in Lancaster, England, with her husband, the playwright and screenwriter Daragh Carville, and their two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 631 reviews
October 13, 2022
By this point I'm sure you're tired of hearing me hem and haw over my inability to enjoy the flashy psychological thrillers being published these days, but I think I've found an excellent compromise. Enter the literary crime fiction novel: typically, it is dark, gritty, atmospheric, and brooding, and contains many of the suspenseful and thrilling components I've previously loved in the twisty new novels, yet with a more relaxed pace. The focus isn't on a "twist that you'll never see coming"; usually, there is either a procedural aspect or an underlying drama that is overlapped with a current event or timely issue. Here, we have a tiny vein of mystery that is wrapped in the social issue of sexual assault against women, and how it affects the typical female's life. This format of character study that isn't dependent on a twist that, let's face it, after being tipped off to you'll DEFINITELY see coming, is so thoroughly working for me these days that I've mostly tossed all other reads aside. Why mess with perfection while it lasts?
The book takes place in the U.K., but The Body Lies is so relatable that it could have taken place anywhere. I'm not sure if it was the way I read the synopsis, or a genius move of the publisher's, but I felt the story was actually quite different than what the description above insinuates. This isn't a bad thing; in fact, I think it kept the slow burning pace suspenseful while also keeping me in the dark until the ending. Again, the ending is not some huge, unexpected twist that you'll never see coming (someone should really trademark that, yes?) but an emotional conclusion to a compelling buildup that has been meticulously crafted. The conclusion wasn't rushed, it didn't come out of left field, and it wasn't dropped into the narrative for shock value. What a novel concept? I know that, as a community, we thriller consumers have really come to expect the most wild and outlandish conclusions possible for a story, but what if the next wave of popular fiction returns to the roots of reliable, satisfying stories that stand on their own merit of solid writing and character development?
If you are sensitive to content containing sexual assault, there are two scenes in this book that may put you off, but I felt both were done in a minimal manner and in good taste. Nothing was included in a severely graphic manner or for shock value, and both brief portions are vital to the overall plot. The author did a fantastic job bringing light to the discussion of how rape and sexual assault can be processed by females in different manners, and how the outside world seems to be more comfortable hearing that a woman was taken advantage of, rather than hearing that she was in a consensual, unconventional relationship. Honestly, I had to sit for a few minutes and process a particular conversation between two of the characters; it was profoundly moving and something I think everyone should take a moment to think about.
Obviously, slow burning, literary crime fiction isn't everyone's cup of tea, and I respect that, but if you've been frustrated or in a slump by reading the typical thrillers and feel like you need a change of pace, don't be afraid to pick up The Body Lies, or something like it. You might find, like I did, that there is an entire sub-genre of books that you adore, but just haven't discovered yet.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
The book takes place in the U.K., but The Body Lies is so relatable that it could have taken place anywhere. I'm not sure if it was the way I read the synopsis, or a genius move of the publisher's, but I felt the story was actually quite different than what the description above insinuates. This isn't a bad thing; in fact, I think it kept the slow burning pace suspenseful while also keeping me in the dark until the ending. Again, the ending is not some huge, unexpected twist that you'll never see coming (someone should really trademark that, yes?) but an emotional conclusion to a compelling buildup that has been meticulously crafted. The conclusion wasn't rushed, it didn't come out of left field, and it wasn't dropped into the narrative for shock value. What a novel concept? I know that, as a community, we thriller consumers have really come to expect the most wild and outlandish conclusions possible for a story, but what if the next wave of popular fiction returns to the roots of reliable, satisfying stories that stand on their own merit of solid writing and character development?
If you are sensitive to content containing sexual assault, there are two scenes in this book that may put you off, but I felt both were done in a minimal manner and in good taste. Nothing was included in a severely graphic manner or for shock value, and both brief portions are vital to the overall plot. The author did a fantastic job bringing light to the discussion of how rape and sexual assault can be processed by females in different manners, and how the outside world seems to be more comfortable hearing that a woman was taken advantage of, rather than hearing that she was in a consensual, unconventional relationship. Honestly, I had to sit for a few minutes and process a particular conversation between two of the characters; it was profoundly moving and something I think everyone should take a moment to think about.
Obviously, slow burning, literary crime fiction isn't everyone's cup of tea, and I respect that, but if you've been frustrated or in a slump by reading the typical thrillers and feel like you need a change of pace, don't be afraid to pick up The Body Lies, or something like it. You might find, like I did, that there is an entire sub-genre of books that you adore, but just haven't discovered yet.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
June 16, 2019
The Body Lies starts with the assault of a thirty year old pregnant unnamed woman and this assault colors her life in the next years. Three years after she has her baby, she takes a job as a professor in rural England university, living apart from her partner/husband Mark, seeing him only on holidays and some weekends. Immediately the Creative Writing department, which should have had two experienced mentors, is down to just her and her boss is piling on more work constantly. With a three year old toddler to raise, way too much work for one person to accomplish, and the feeling of loneliness that comes from moving to the country from the city, she is always tired, always behind, always frazzled. and always aware that she could be attacked at any time, like she was attacked three years earlier.
The author chooses not to name our main character so I can only speak of her as "she" and "her". Into her masters writing class comes a very troubled young man, Nick. According to Nick, the story he is writing must adhere to his rules and one of them is that whatever he writes must be true. He writes of a young woman he loved, dying, his anguish and his time after her death. We can see the parallels to his classmates and to his teacher. Nick really is writing about what has happened in life although the way he sees things are not the way others see them. Nick is obviously obsessed with our main character, something the woman does not need, especially with her jumpiness from her attack three years ago.
Nick pushes himself on the woman, she makes decisions that are not wise such as not reporting Nick as disturbed, of Nick having crossed a very wrong line, and then for not coming to classes. There is a claustrophobic feel to the story, despite it taking place in the country. Her boss is constantly inserting himself into her personal space, loading her with massive amounts of work that she isn't even trained to do, Nick is ever present in her thoughts even when he's not around and the parts of his story that he sends to her intimately detail what has happened between them although his view of what has happened aren't reality...Nick is a very troubled man.
I had such a feeling of dread throughout the book, Even when there were moments of friendship or of a possible budding romance, after her marriage goes sour, there is always a darkness lurking. A huge bright spot in the story, for me, is little three year old Sammy. I could read a story about Sammy every day. Such a cute little one and he seemed so real to me, the light in her life and what kept her from giving in to the oppression she felt around her. Thank you to Knopf/Random House and Edelweiss for this ARC.
The author chooses not to name our main character so I can only speak of her as "she" and "her". Into her masters writing class comes a very troubled young man, Nick. According to Nick, the story he is writing must adhere to his rules and one of them is that whatever he writes must be true. He writes of a young woman he loved, dying, his anguish and his time after her death. We can see the parallels to his classmates and to his teacher. Nick really is writing about what has happened in life although the way he sees things are not the way others see them. Nick is obviously obsessed with our main character, something the woman does not need, especially with her jumpiness from her attack three years ago.
Nick pushes himself on the woman, she makes decisions that are not wise such as not reporting Nick as disturbed, of Nick having crossed a very wrong line, and then for not coming to classes. There is a claustrophobic feel to the story, despite it taking place in the country. Her boss is constantly inserting himself into her personal space, loading her with massive amounts of work that she isn't even trained to do, Nick is ever present in her thoughts even when he's not around and the parts of his story that he sends to her intimately detail what has happened between them although his view of what has happened aren't reality...Nick is a very troubled man.
I had such a feeling of dread throughout the book, Even when there were moments of friendship or of a possible budding romance, after her marriage goes sour, there is always a darkness lurking. A huge bright spot in the story, for me, is little three year old Sammy. I could read a story about Sammy every day. Such a cute little one and he seemed so real to me, the light in her life and what kept her from giving in to the oppression she felt around her. Thank you to Knopf/Random House and Edelweiss for this ARC.
March 23, 2021
I was disappointed when my ARC of this book was denied and was eager to read it when I found it at my local library.
It was an engrossing read and I loved the format of chapters mixed with testimonials etc.
The books description talks of the main character needing to stop life imitating art. However I feel this is misleading as it was more the other way around, the events came first and then the art.. which wasn’t as exciting for me.
I found the ending climax to be pretty predictable however I was hooked so it did the job
It was an engrossing read and I loved the format of chapters mixed with testimonials etc.
The books description talks of the main character needing to stop life imitating art. However I feel this is misleading as it was more the other way around, the events came first and then the art.. which wasn’t as exciting for me.
I found the ending climax to be pretty predictable however I was hooked so it did the job
February 21, 2019
The beginning had me intrigued. I loved the writing.
“The beck is frozen into silence. Snow falls. It muffles the road, bundles up the houses, deepens the meadows, turns the river black by contrast. It settles along the gray-green twigs and branches of the beech wood, sifts like sugar to the hard earth below —and dusts the young women curled there, her skin blue-white, dark hair tumbled over her face. She doesn’t say a word; she doesn’t even shiver now. Her breath comes thinly”.
“A deer, scraping at the snow for roots, stops and snuffs the air, and scents her, and turns to move silently from the place”.
“Above the canopy, the sky is clear, the moon stands full. An owl scuds across the meadow, drops to kill a vole. In the shadow of the beech tree, there is stillness, not a breath. The body lies.”
A young woman- (no name) - was assaulted while pregnant. Luckily the baby and she were physically ok.
I was definitely engaged and curious about where the story was going, ....but then I started to feel frustrated trying to keep track of all of the students- and each of their stories and characteristics -that the woman taught at a University in a small town. She was their creative writing teacher.
Main students were:
Nicolas Palmer, Merlye E. Sharratt,Karen, Steven, Tim, Richard.
Plus we meet the head of the department - Christian Scaife...( Who assigns himself as her mentor), and many other staff members : Mina and Patrick...Simon Peters, Michael Lynch....plus another dozen characters.
We knew the woman was on edge....still fearful from the attack. She loved her toddler little boy, Sammy.
We ‘think’ she cares for her partner, Mark, the man she lived with in London...( but I wasn’t sure). Mark stayed back in London...( he had his teaching job)....while the the woman took a job further away. She and Mark worked out an arrangement. He came to visit on weekends and visited his little son, Sammy.
It doesn’t take long to figure out that one of the students had something to do with the sexual assault that happened to the woman a few years back, before she came to teach at this university. But there is still much mystery.
I found this book - in parts - GOOD - yet disjointed with loose ends that never went anywhere...with a boggled down feeling from too many students to keep track of.
Jo Baker ‘does’ write beautiful sentences - and engage our thoughts....( I apologize - I just felt a little confused at times)....Maybe other readers won’t.
Little things made me laugh about the University rules. Students could declare if they had mental issues or not. For the students who did - a yellow sticker was attached to their file.
However no teacher was allowed to find out any specifics about their students issues.
Around 40% of the creative writing students did declare having a mental health issue.
One particular student wrote heavy dark stories - about grief and self destruction. It’s creepy enough that I didn't know what to make of him. Or what he’s up to.
Too hard to write more without spoilers. I ‘do’ like Jo Baker’s work - but this was a mixed bag ...Be clear - I DID ENJOY much of it - the unlikable flawed characters too.
At the same time it’s a book of only around 3 stars for me.
Much thanks to Knopf Publishing and Jo Baker
“The beck is frozen into silence. Snow falls. It muffles the road, bundles up the houses, deepens the meadows, turns the river black by contrast. It settles along the gray-green twigs and branches of the beech wood, sifts like sugar to the hard earth below —and dusts the young women curled there, her skin blue-white, dark hair tumbled over her face. She doesn’t say a word; she doesn’t even shiver now. Her breath comes thinly”.
“A deer, scraping at the snow for roots, stops and snuffs the air, and scents her, and turns to move silently from the place”.
“Above the canopy, the sky is clear, the moon stands full. An owl scuds across the meadow, drops to kill a vole. In the shadow of the beech tree, there is stillness, not a breath. The body lies.”
A young woman- (no name) - was assaulted while pregnant. Luckily the baby and she were physically ok.
I was definitely engaged and curious about where the story was going, ....but then I started to feel frustrated trying to keep track of all of the students- and each of their stories and characteristics -that the woman taught at a University in a small town. She was their creative writing teacher.
Main students were:
Nicolas Palmer, Merlye E. Sharratt,Karen, Steven, Tim, Richard.
Plus we meet the head of the department - Christian Scaife...( Who assigns himself as her mentor), and many other staff members : Mina and Patrick...Simon Peters, Michael Lynch....plus another dozen characters.
We knew the woman was on edge....still fearful from the attack. She loved her toddler little boy, Sammy.
We ‘think’ she cares for her partner, Mark, the man she lived with in London...( but I wasn’t sure). Mark stayed back in London...( he had his teaching job)....while the the woman took a job further away. She and Mark worked out an arrangement. He came to visit on weekends and visited his little son, Sammy.
It doesn’t take long to figure out that one of the students had something to do with the sexual assault that happened to the woman a few years back, before she came to teach at this university. But there is still much mystery.
I found this book - in parts - GOOD - yet disjointed with loose ends that never went anywhere...with a boggled down feeling from too many students to keep track of.
Jo Baker ‘does’ write beautiful sentences - and engage our thoughts....( I apologize - I just felt a little confused at times)....Maybe other readers won’t.
Little things made me laugh about the University rules. Students could declare if they had mental issues or not. For the students who did - a yellow sticker was attached to their file.
However no teacher was allowed to find out any specifics about their students issues.
Around 40% of the creative writing students did declare having a mental health issue.
One particular student wrote heavy dark stories - about grief and self destruction. It’s creepy enough that I didn't know what to make of him. Or what he’s up to.
Too hard to write more without spoilers. I ‘do’ like Jo Baker’s work - but this was a mixed bag ...Be clear - I DID ENJOY much of it - the unlikable flawed characters too.
At the same time it’s a book of only around 3 stars for me.
Much thanks to Knopf Publishing and Jo Baker
April 17, 2019
"The Body Lies" by Jo Baker was a compelling, tense and suspenseful thriller that I enjoyed right from the start.
“When a young writer accepts a job at a university in the remote countryside, it’s meant to be a fresh start, away from the big city and the scene of a violent assault she’s desperate to forget. But despite the distractions of a new life and single motherhood, her nerves continue to jangle. To make matters worse, a vicious debate about violence against women inflames the tensions and mounting rivalries in her creative writing group. When a troubled student starts sending in chapters from his novel that blur the lines between fiction and reality, the professor recognises herself as the main character in his book - and he has written her a horrific fate."
I really did find this author's style of writing a breath of fresh air, there were so many different variations of writing within the story. The short stories we were privy to of the students work were so different to each other, they themselves were as entertaining as the book itself. I enjoyed how the multi layered story was set out, with occasional witness statements and in particular, chapters of one of the character's novel which was crucial to the suspense of the plot. I also thought it was ingenious how the title of the book was incorporated into sections of the story, which were literary and atmospheric - "Above the canopy, the sky is clear, the moon stands full. An owl scuds across the meadow, drops to kill a vole. In the shadow of the beech tree, there is stillness, not a breath. The body lies.”
Including the exploration of sexual politics in the thriller and the timely theme of how men see women in the world, it really was a powerful, gripping and very modern book, for a very modern world. The fact that the main female protagonist has no name in the story reflects how she represents all women and was a very clever idea. It's difficult to write much about this story without giving too much away, suffice to say I was totally hooked and although some of the characters are totally flawed and unlikeable, they are addictive and you want to follow each of their journey’s through to the end. There are a couple of unsettling scenes but they were appropriate to the story and really enhanced the powerful message of the book and along with a tense and suspenseful denouement this really is an immensely entertaining novel.
I'd happily recommend "The Body Lies" and I wish Jo the very best with this excellently written and well thought out piece of modern literary fiction.
5 stars
“When a young writer accepts a job at a university in the remote countryside, it’s meant to be a fresh start, away from the big city and the scene of a violent assault she’s desperate to forget. But despite the distractions of a new life and single motherhood, her nerves continue to jangle. To make matters worse, a vicious debate about violence against women inflames the tensions and mounting rivalries in her creative writing group. When a troubled student starts sending in chapters from his novel that blur the lines between fiction and reality, the professor recognises herself as the main character in his book - and he has written her a horrific fate."
I really did find this author's style of writing a breath of fresh air, there were so many different variations of writing within the story. The short stories we were privy to of the students work were so different to each other, they themselves were as entertaining as the book itself. I enjoyed how the multi layered story was set out, with occasional witness statements and in particular, chapters of one of the character's novel which was crucial to the suspense of the plot. I also thought it was ingenious how the title of the book was incorporated into sections of the story, which were literary and atmospheric - "Above the canopy, the sky is clear, the moon stands full. An owl scuds across the meadow, drops to kill a vole. In the shadow of the beech tree, there is stillness, not a breath. The body lies.”
Including the exploration of sexual politics in the thriller and the timely theme of how men see women in the world, it really was a powerful, gripping and very modern book, for a very modern world. The fact that the main female protagonist has no name in the story reflects how she represents all women and was a very clever idea. It's difficult to write much about this story without giving too much away, suffice to say I was totally hooked and although some of the characters are totally flawed and unlikeable, they are addictive and you want to follow each of their journey’s through to the end. There are a couple of unsettling scenes but they were appropriate to the story and really enhanced the powerful message of the book and along with a tense and suspenseful denouement this really is an immensely entertaining novel.
I'd happily recommend "The Body Lies" and I wish Jo the very best with this excellently written and well thought out piece of modern literary fiction.
5 stars
November 8, 2019
Despite not fitting neatly into the mystery/thriller genre, The Body Lies is one of the most tense, terrifying things I've ever read. It follows an unnamed narrator (a normally irritating, overused convention, which is employed here with actual purpose) who takes up a teaching position somewhere in the north of England following a violent assault in London. While at the university, she awkwardly attempts to mediate heated discussions on gender politics in her MA writing course, while receiving increasingly disturbing submissions from one of her students.
The Body Lies has a meta element that's almost tongue in cheek; one of her students criticizes another for writing a detective novel which opens with the discovery of a dead girl, while Baker's novel also opens with a dead female body. But this book is a series of subverted tropes, of self-conscious commentary on these common, taken-for-granted elements that comprise so many thrillers. It's a razor sharp commentary and a compelling story all in one.
What also sets it apart from the genre is that the identity of the dead girl never really feels like the point. For the first time... probably ever reading a thriller, I cared less about the mystery and more about the safety and the sanity of the protagonist, whose experiences as a woman in academia are all chillingly relatable. This book isn't the type of terrifying where there's a serial killer lurking in the corner - it's the sort of terrifying that hones in on the disturbing, oddly normalized commonalities of womanhood that are too easily accepted. I raced through this, not because I was intent on getting to the bottom of the mystery, but because of the increasing sense of crushing dread that I couldn't escape every time I attempted to step away from this book.
If I have to nitpick, I'd say the ending was let down by a too-long resolution which insisted on wrapping up every minor subplot in a neat bow, which is probably my least favorite way to end a novel, but I loved everything else about this, and I think it's one of the smartest, most unsettling things I've read in a long time, that I'd encourage literary readers and genre readers alike to pick up.
The Body Lies has a meta element that's almost tongue in cheek; one of her students criticizes another for writing a detective novel which opens with the discovery of a dead girl, while Baker's novel also opens with a dead female body. But this book is a series of subverted tropes, of self-conscious commentary on these common, taken-for-granted elements that comprise so many thrillers. It's a razor sharp commentary and a compelling story all in one.
What also sets it apart from the genre is that the identity of the dead girl never really feels like the point. For the first time... probably ever reading a thriller, I cared less about the mystery and more about the safety and the sanity of the protagonist, whose experiences as a woman in academia are all chillingly relatable. This book isn't the type of terrifying where there's a serial killer lurking in the corner - it's the sort of terrifying that hones in on the disturbing, oddly normalized commonalities of womanhood that are too easily accepted. I raced through this, not because I was intent on getting to the bottom of the mystery, but because of the increasing sense of crushing dread that I couldn't escape every time I attempted to step away from this book.
If I have to nitpick, I'd say the ending was let down by a too-long resolution which insisted on wrapping up every minor subplot in a neat bow, which is probably my least favorite way to end a novel, but I loved everything else about this, and I think it's one of the smartest, most unsettling things I've read in a long time, that I'd encourage literary readers and genre readers alike to pick up.
July 17, 2019
Beautifully told, thought-provoking, and DEEPLY unsettling.
May 1, 2019
The book is described as suspenseful and thrilling. It's not.
The story is plodding, with not much happening until the end. And even that end is more unsurprising than exciting.
Our characters are smug and insufferable and they spend the book doing smug and insufferable things - all with an overlay of complete arrogance.
Our main character has an oddly fatalistic viewpoint. Since things are going to happen to her anyway, she simply lets things happen. (Including a very odd sex scene which she hints is rape, but maybe not? Because it was going to happen anyway and the whole encounter bored her?)
I do think the author has some talent. She has a way with words and can definitely impart atmosphere. But the plot and characters left me cold.
The story is plodding, with not much happening until the end. And even that end is more unsurprising than exciting.
Our characters are smug and insufferable and they spend the book doing smug and insufferable things - all with an overlay of complete arrogance.
Our main character has an oddly fatalistic viewpoint. Since things are going to happen to her anyway, she simply lets things happen. (Including a very odd sex scene which she hints is rape, but maybe not? Because it was going to happen anyway and the whole encounter bored her?)
I do think the author has some talent. She has a way with words and can definitely impart atmosphere. But the plot and characters left me cold.
Read
May 24, 2020
Many thanks to Knopf Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review
Edit: (temporary?) dnf. I'm so bored plus there are a ton of other books that I have audio for and that I'm more interested in. Bye for now
**********
Me: *eats gluten*
Body: ALERT! BACTERIA! DESTROYYY
Me: It's just bread
Body: No! IT'S BACTERIAAAAAAAAA!
Me: LLLLLLLIAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR
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April 25, 2019
I was hooked on this book from page one—sinking into it like a knife into butter. The premise is galvanizing: a thirty-something woman takes a position as a creative writing professor in the rural English countryside on the heels of a violent assault. She is assigned six students, including the immensely talented and mercurial Nicholas Baker, whose work – he claims – is always based on “truth.” Yet the “truth” begins to get darker and darker particularly after the first-person narrator begins to recognize herself as a main player in his book
The theme is riveting: the fear of “being caught up in someone else’s story; of being written by someone else; the fear of having no say in who I was at all.” Without being cloying or overpowering, essential questions are raised here: how can a woman claim her authentic voice, especially after assault, when she feels compelled to say “yes” instead of “no” at the workplace, when she forced to upset her work/life balance, when her very life becomes fodder for a volatile student’s sick writings? Jo Baker does a masterful job of capturing her narrator’s state of mind as well as the often-ridiculous politics of a university setting (for example, student writers must issue “trigger warnings” in case something they write upsets someone else.)
I was well on my way to a glowing five-star rating. But about two-thirds through the book, the author deviates from her premise in favor of a more cinematic ending. Suddenly the narrator makes a few choices that are inconsistent with the character we’ve come to know. Her sympathies with Nicholas belie her own carefully-crafted sense of self-protection, particularly since she is also caring for her three-year-old son. Ultimately, we get action scenes that would play well in the movies but discredit the nuanced psychological suspense we’ve come to expect and also veer wildly from the book’s theme.
My verdict: the first two-thirds of the book contain 5-star writing. The last third: only 3-star. I’ll clock in at 4.
The theme is riveting: the fear of “being caught up in someone else’s story; of being written by someone else; the fear of having no say in who I was at all.” Without being cloying or overpowering, essential questions are raised here: how can a woman claim her authentic voice, especially after assault, when she feels compelled to say “yes” instead of “no” at the workplace, when she forced to upset her work/life balance, when her very life becomes fodder for a volatile student’s sick writings? Jo Baker does a masterful job of capturing her narrator’s state of mind as well as the often-ridiculous politics of a university setting (for example, student writers must issue “trigger warnings” in case something they write upsets someone else.)
I was well on my way to a glowing five-star rating. But about two-thirds through the book, the author deviates from her premise in favor of a more cinematic ending. Suddenly the narrator makes a few choices that are inconsistent with the character we’ve come to know. Her sympathies with Nicholas belie her own carefully-crafted sense of self-protection, particularly since she is also caring for her three-year-old son. Ultimately, we get action scenes that would play well in the movies but discredit the nuanced psychological suspense we’ve come to expect and also veer wildly from the book’s theme.
My verdict: the first two-thirds of the book contain 5-star writing. The last third: only 3-star. I’ll clock in at 4.
June 17, 2019
And I was struggling with my own question of whether there was a way to write female without writing body, and whether there was a way to be female without being reduced to body
The thing I like about Jo Baker is that every book of hers I've read has been utterly different: she's not an author who writes herself into a rut. In this book she tackles fiction head on: how and why people write, writing as a form of gendered expression pre-loaded with ideology, authorship as power, the twisted and complicated relationships between 'truth' and 'fiction'.
Dealing with on-trend and rightly uncomfortable topics of physical assault, rape, non-consent, this also deals more subtly with other nuances of gendered politics: the physical vulnerability of women whose bodies are, generally, smaller and less powerful than those of men; spacial sexism as male characters, unconsciously or not, intimidate through unwanted touching, invading personal space and cornering women even in professional situations. There's an acute intelligence that threads these moments through the narrative, the daily struggle that women will recognise but which are so hard to explain to men since they're not overtly aggressive or intimidatory: the man who stands in his open office doorway, for example, to welcome you in so that it's impossible for you to enter without squeezing past his body while trying to avoid touching him...
For all the good stuff, though, there is also a particularly lurid B-movie sequence towards the end which relies on our heroine being as dumb as women always are in horror films: , and she displays acute levels of bad judgement throughout (not that that's any excuse for the violence she suffers). There are also plot strands that are more obvious than the author seems to think they are, and others that are treated way too glibly .
Nevertheless, this is a quick and accessible read that makes urgent points about the ways in which gender and power inflect our culture, not least how and what we choose to read, and write.
Thanks to Random House/Transworld for an ARC via NetGalley.
August 15, 2019
A pregnant woman is assaulted. Three years later, she is struggling with living in London and afraid to go out alone. For a fresh start, she takes a job teaching creative writing at a university in the remote English countryside. During her course, a male student writes disturbing stories that blur the line between fiction and reality.
The unnamed narrator is a woman who struggles with life after an assault. The assault colors her view of the world, and eventually leads her to move away from London. Her husband chooses to stay in London for his work, so they attempt to maintain a long-distance relationship, spending time together on holidays and occasional weekends. She move to the countryside with her son and starts a new job that proves to be more challenging than anticipated. The new job has a higher workload than she agreed to, and no guidance. Add in the loneliness of not having her husband around and the struggles of being the mother of a toddler, the narrator is stressed and exhausted. The character development is well done, and provides an insightful look into challenges of being a woman.
The narrator’s life is stressful enough, and when a male student writes disturbing stories, she starts to feel unsafe. The suspense builds slowly in this atmospheric novel. A good read for fans of literary crime fiction. Slow-burning, dark, and unsettling.
The unnamed narrator is a woman who struggles with life after an assault. The assault colors her view of the world, and eventually leads her to move away from London. Her husband chooses to stay in London for his work, so they attempt to maintain a long-distance relationship, spending time together on holidays and occasional weekends. She move to the countryside with her son and starts a new job that proves to be more challenging than anticipated. The new job has a higher workload than she agreed to, and no guidance. Add in the loneliness of not having her husband around and the struggles of being the mother of a toddler, the narrator is stressed and exhausted. The character development is well done, and provides an insightful look into challenges of being a woman.
The narrator’s life is stressful enough, and when a male student writes disturbing stories, she starts to feel unsafe. The suspense builds slowly in this atmospheric novel. A good read for fans of literary crime fiction. Slow-burning, dark, and unsettling.
July 15, 2019
So I give it a full 5 stars. Is it perfect? Not entirely. But it's close. After finishing I did read others' reviews. Plodding? This is how fiction exists to meet life. And how women, no, a WOMAN- proceed to follow or connect to those paths of anxiety or extra radar or just a trying to keep to the middle line of the pulling "loves" dichotomies. This author gets the walk. Loving your child, loving your other, loving your work- and fulfilling career dreams so long in the making and creating.
And how that also develops into the art that is Fiction writing. And how close to the writer is the copy? Is it make believe? Really, truly?
The prose style is outstanding. Only the third book I've hit this year that pairs honed skill and sublime counterpoint with the slow draw of the plotted tension. Just perfectly. Kind of like a bow and arrow with a lengthy, minute long at least pull back to get the angle and the force just precisely right. Beyond the target aim- the strength of this is awesome.
If you are not a mother. Or you are not a teacher, or at least somewhat Academia employed or or involved- the full strength of this pull- will probably not hit you as it did me. Maybe not? Most of you will get the extreme charge and twang of the last portion of the book titled "Trinity". It's one that would make great film logistics.
But know this. Her maths at the end- figuring out that she would have 4000 days free of being assaulted to the 1 she WOULD be assaulted? That becomes dicey. She's only in her mid-30's- this kind of stranger punch that changes "eyes"- becomes MORE acute the older she will get. I do know. She's had 3 by the ending of this book. And she has how many more days to her life at only 34 or 35? And making a few of the bad decisions of association that she did?
You never learn the proper name of this prime woman / narrator "eyes" telling her story. And Jo Baker writes the copy of the 4 or 5 other students in the Creative Writing class within this book, as well. Not a one of those inserts are shabby either. And in varying with opposition reaction genre styles. English countryside is winter and in spring placements. Those locale descriptive skills go beyond my ability to measure and posit.
Who is the dead girl of the first few pages? When was this? Who is the reliable historic record of "eyes" here at this college and this village? Is it a crime story? Is it a London marriage domestic modern? Is it about the workplace and the "stuff" that happens there nearly universally? Is it about worth at work to ones own self-regard? How compliant and adaptable is great for team onus? How is too much adaptability a crime when it is misunderstood? When is the snowflake ever wrong? Or when is the troubled and disturbed just too much REAL? What and where and how is it so unstructured in soul baring dynamics to allow such vulnerability to fly free? When is personal harm verbally to be tolerated? And most of all when is the work bureaucracy just that and not serving either employees or customers (pupils). Made only for the necessity and survival of the bureaucrats first, foremost and ultimately last- so that the viscous liability lines that exist now can be never "crossed". With forgiveness given way, way too often when there is little or no recompense to the working victim. Sorry is never enough. Violence speaks for itself. And violence dismissed or atoned? It still deserves the consequence of full answers. Not the kind that end up happening in forestry.
Great writing, deep story to modern marriage reality, heart of a teacher and lover of words superb- all of it was awesome. Absolutely in my top 5 fiction for this year- even though it is only 1/2 way through 2019. I might not come across such a breath holder coupled with such poignancy easily again, that's for sure.
Lastly-it's also the perfect length. And Jo Baker does serendipity dialog of peers, work-mates, chore associated etc.- well enough to be a film dialog writer.
And how that also develops into the art that is Fiction writing. And how close to the writer is the copy? Is it make believe? Really, truly?
The prose style is outstanding. Only the third book I've hit this year that pairs honed skill and sublime counterpoint with the slow draw of the plotted tension. Just perfectly. Kind of like a bow and arrow with a lengthy, minute long at least pull back to get the angle and the force just precisely right. Beyond the target aim- the strength of this is awesome.
If you are not a mother. Or you are not a teacher, or at least somewhat Academia employed or or involved- the full strength of this pull- will probably not hit you as it did me. Maybe not? Most of you will get the extreme charge and twang of the last portion of the book titled "Trinity". It's one that would make great film logistics.
But know this. Her maths at the end- figuring out that she would have 4000 days free of being assaulted to the 1 she WOULD be assaulted? That becomes dicey. She's only in her mid-30's- this kind of stranger punch that changes "eyes"- becomes MORE acute the older she will get. I do know. She's had 3 by the ending of this book. And she has how many more days to her life at only 34 or 35? And making a few of the bad decisions of association that she did?
You never learn the proper name of this prime woman / narrator "eyes" telling her story. And Jo Baker writes the copy of the 4 or 5 other students in the Creative Writing class within this book, as well. Not a one of those inserts are shabby either. And in varying with opposition reaction genre styles. English countryside is winter and in spring placements. Those locale descriptive skills go beyond my ability to measure and posit.
Who is the dead girl of the first few pages? When was this? Who is the reliable historic record of "eyes" here at this college and this village? Is it a crime story? Is it a London marriage domestic modern? Is it about the workplace and the "stuff" that happens there nearly universally? Is it about worth at work to ones own self-regard? How compliant and adaptable is great for team onus? How is too much adaptability a crime when it is misunderstood? When is the snowflake ever wrong? Or when is the troubled and disturbed just too much REAL? What and where and how is it so unstructured in soul baring dynamics to allow such vulnerability to fly free? When is personal harm verbally to be tolerated? And most of all when is the work bureaucracy just that and not serving either employees or customers (pupils). Made only for the necessity and survival of the bureaucrats first, foremost and ultimately last- so that the viscous liability lines that exist now can be never "crossed". With forgiveness given way, way too often when there is little or no recompense to the working victim. Sorry is never enough. Violence speaks for itself. And violence dismissed or atoned? It still deserves the consequence of full answers. Not the kind that end up happening in forestry.
Great writing, deep story to modern marriage reality, heart of a teacher and lover of words superb- all of it was awesome. Absolutely in my top 5 fiction for this year- even though it is only 1/2 way through 2019. I might not come across such a breath holder coupled with such poignancy easily again, that's for sure.
Lastly-it's also the perfect length. And Jo Baker does serendipity dialog of peers, work-mates, chore associated etc.- well enough to be a film dialog writer.
August 29, 2019
The story begins with an innocent walk home by our main character, a young writer. It is dark and it is raining, it’s quite hard to see. She is wet, her mind is wandering, she has a lot on her mind, so while she sees and hears everything around her, it’s really in a muted state.
Hence it begins...a hooded attacker, first running by and then coming back to grab her.
The author writes so well, we feel as if we are standing there watching all this happen.
Of course, our character is traumatized after this incident more so psychologically than physically, and there is physical and mental bruising and scars that will follow her for life. A grim reminder marked on her mind, body and soul. Her life changes in so many ways after this attack; her living arrangements, her new job, away from her husband, her husband (who is not a very dynamic or caring sort of man), her baby, Sammy (who I must say is the one adorable, bright shining light in this story), her marriage, her confidence, her self-esteem, her decisions/choices. Everything is affected.
It’s getting away from the city and scene if her attack that she applies and gets her new job at a university. Her students in her MA creative writing class are an interesting group in and of themselves. I enjoyed reading about their personalities and their excerpts of the stories they were working on for class. One student, Nicholas, is a very odd duck. His stories and comments and involvement with the other class members is questionable. His history at the school is not clear, but raises some waving red flags. He emphatically says he writes “only the truth.” His stories are so vivid and real and shocking. It’s hard to accept his writing as being true. Yet, it’s so real...
Her mentor/department head at the university is a real piece of work and is of no help to her. I had questions about his behavior and his comments about the missing staff members. Why did he keep grabbing and/or avoiding our main character and why did he keep loading more and more responsibility on her?
Her husband stayed behind in the big city to pursue HIS career and commuted to visit her and Sammy on weekends/holidays. While it was agreed to be short term, time flies when you’re having fun and also when you’re occupied by paranoia in an old, dark, lonely house in the countryside, by yourself with a little child, haunted by any little thing. So there are some missing links within the story that I couldn’t quite piece together, but all in all it was quite a good literary, twisted, psychological/crime thriller.
3.5 stars overall, with 4.0 stars for the parts that were very well done and held my interest to the point I read this book within one day!
Hence it begins...a hooded attacker, first running by and then coming back to grab her.
The author writes so well, we feel as if we are standing there watching all this happen.
Of course, our character is traumatized after this incident more so psychologically than physically, and there is physical and mental bruising and scars that will follow her for life. A grim reminder marked on her mind, body and soul. Her life changes in so many ways after this attack; her living arrangements, her new job, away from her husband, her husband (who is not a very dynamic or caring sort of man), her baby, Sammy (who I must say is the one adorable, bright shining light in this story), her marriage, her confidence, her self-esteem, her decisions/choices. Everything is affected.
It’s getting away from the city and scene if her attack that she applies and gets her new job at a university. Her students in her MA creative writing class are an interesting group in and of themselves. I enjoyed reading about their personalities and their excerpts of the stories they were working on for class. One student, Nicholas, is a very odd duck. His stories and comments and involvement with the other class members is questionable. His history at the school is not clear, but raises some waving red flags. He emphatically says he writes “only the truth.” His stories are so vivid and real and shocking. It’s hard to accept his writing as being true. Yet, it’s so real...
Her mentor/department head at the university is a real piece of work and is of no help to her. I had questions about his behavior and his comments about the missing staff members. Why did he keep grabbing and/or avoiding our main character and why did he keep loading more and more responsibility on her?
Her husband stayed behind in the big city to pursue HIS career and commuted to visit her and Sammy on weekends/holidays. While it was agreed to be short term, time flies when you’re having fun and also when you’re occupied by paranoia in an old, dark, lonely house in the countryside, by yourself with a little child, haunted by any little thing. So there are some missing links within the story that I couldn’t quite piece together, but all in all it was quite a good literary, twisted, psychological/crime thriller.
3.5 stars overall, with 4.0 stars for the parts that were very well done and held my interest to the point I read this book within one day!
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
June 2, 2019The Body Lies sounded just like the sort of book that I could really sink my teeth into. It started off well but at around 30% I had to stop. The characters were just awful and obnoxious and the story got confusing and slow. The subjects discussed were also graphic and hard to read.
I have seen some fantastic reviews from fellow book readers but this book just wasn't for me. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.
I have seen some fantastic reviews from fellow book readers but this book just wasn't for me. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.
June 22, 2019
I chose to read (listen) to this book because I enjoyed A Country Road, A Tree, and took a liking to Baker's writing. She was educated at Queens University, Belfast where (I believe) she did her dissertation on Samuel Beckett. It was in Belfast in the mid-to-late 90's she recalls "You saw novelists in the street, poets at the cinema. You bumped into playwrights in the pub." That's my kind of city (Dublin used to be like that). My James Joyce Book Club spent a year or more reading Beckett's prose, so I admire anyone willing to tackle him.
I was also attracted to the novel because the protagonist (whose name we never learn) accepts a job in academia, to teach in a MA Writing Program. The details of academic life (one I just retired from) felt very accurate although harrowing. It is a job that requires too much education, is very underpaid, and in the last several years has changed radically for the worse. There are those who argue that graduate study in creative writing is not worthwhile. It can't teach someone to write. (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/ed...). I would not recommend a career in academia to anyone, but those with the thickest skin, and resources for support.
Our protagonist is anxious to leave London after a senseless assault in a London park leaves her fearful. But her move to a northern university with her three-year-old toddler, leaving her husband in London made little sense. To make things worse, she is without a car (her husband retains it despite the fact he lives in LONDON) and lives in an isolated rural house. Even more incomprehensible is that she has no phone in her house and her mobile phone does not get a reliable signal.
Finally, I picked this book up because it is a thriller. I like the genre, but lately have not always been satisfied with some of the most hyped titles. However, the thriller aspect of this story is well done, and was often frightening. At times I was frustrated with the main character's actions and failure to take action. But as someone new to academia, she was in over her head, and the sole carer for a toddler.
Baker writes beautiful prose and as other reviews have noted, her creation of written pieces by the students was impressive. Recommended for readers looking for a well written thriller.
I was also attracted to the novel because the protagonist (whose name we never learn) accepts a job in academia, to teach in a MA Writing Program. The details of academic life (one I just retired from) felt very accurate although harrowing. It is a job that requires too much education, is very underpaid, and in the last several years has changed radically for the worse. There are those who argue that graduate study in creative writing is not worthwhile. It can't teach someone to write. (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/ed...). I would not recommend a career in academia to anyone, but those with the thickest skin, and resources for support.
Our protagonist is anxious to leave London after a senseless assault in a London park leaves her fearful. But her move to a northern university with her three-year-old toddler, leaving her husband in London made little sense. To make things worse, she is without a car (her husband retains it despite the fact he lives in LONDON) and lives in an isolated rural house. Even more incomprehensible is that she has no phone in her house and her mobile phone does not get a reliable signal.
Finally, I picked this book up because it is a thriller. I like the genre, but lately have not always been satisfied with some of the most hyped titles. However, the thriller aspect of this story is well done, and was often frightening. At times I was frustrated with the main character's actions and failure to take action. But as someone new to academia, she was in over her head, and the sole carer for a toddler.
Baker writes beautiful prose and as other reviews have noted, her creation of written pieces by the students was impressive. Recommended for readers looking for a well written thriller.
June 11, 2019
This is a literary crime novel – where the emphasis is far more on the characters than a fast moving plot. That doesn’t mean this is not an excellent read, but if you read this thinking it is a fast paced crime novel, then you may be disappointed.
The main character in this novel, is attacked, while pregnant, and this assault changes her life. When son, Sammy, is born, she longs for a safer, different place to bring up her young son. Three years later, she gets a job at University, which leads to her moving to the country, with Sammy, while her partner, Mark, keeps his teaching job in London. At first, Mark visits regularly, but distance and isolation makes things difficult and, more and more, it feels that she is alone – both at work and as a parent.
It is a brave move to leave our narrator unnamed, but she works in the English department and runs the creative writing department. As the job unfolds, she takes on more than she anticipated and feels deeply out of her depth. However, it is during the scenes in the creative writing department that the story comes alive. We get to read parts of the students writing and of how this illuminates their characters. Gradually, as the novel unfolds, we begin to feel that all is not well and that the writing group tensions will spill into real life. Overall, an interesting and engaging read, which says lots about gender politics and violence against women. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
The main character in this novel, is attacked, while pregnant, and this assault changes her life. When son, Sammy, is born, she longs for a safer, different place to bring up her young son. Three years later, she gets a job at University, which leads to her moving to the country, with Sammy, while her partner, Mark, keeps his teaching job in London. At first, Mark visits regularly, but distance and isolation makes things difficult and, more and more, it feels that she is alone – both at work and as a parent.
It is a brave move to leave our narrator unnamed, but she works in the English department and runs the creative writing department. As the job unfolds, she takes on more than she anticipated and feels deeply out of her depth. However, it is during the scenes in the creative writing department that the story comes alive. We get to read parts of the students writing and of how this illuminates their characters. Gradually, as the novel unfolds, we begin to feel that all is not well and that the writing group tensions will spill into real life. Overall, an interesting and engaging read, which says lots about gender politics and violence against women. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
June 26, 2019
When I reviewed Jo Baker’s book A Country Road, A Tree (shortlisted for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2017), I described it as ‘clever, literary and powerful’. I feel the same adjectives can be applied to The Body Lies, the author’s foray into the psychological thriller genre but a book which still retains a distinctly literary feel.
Perhaps it’s brave (or maybe a sign of confidence in one’s ability) to write a novel in which the main character is leading a creative writing MA course and lecturing on the craft of writing. Our narrator, a debut novelist, certainly wonders about her qualification for the task. ‘I’d been appointed to teach students how to write novels. It felt rather like asking someone who’d once crash-landed a light aircraft to train people as commercial pilots.’ However, I reckon the author must have had fun creating the extracts from the work the students submit for critique as part of their course, ranging in genre as they do from hard-boiled crime to fantasy, short stories and something altogether more disturbing.
The Body Lies starts with a description of the body of a young woman so I gave a little chuckle when the critique the students give on the crime novel one of them, Steven, is writing focuses on that same aspect. “First thought is,” Nick said, one thumbnail still scraping at the other, “does it have to start with a dead woman?” “Well, that’s how these stories work,” Steven said. “That’s the story engine that powers the novel, so yeah, it does really.” Steven is criticised for using the dead girl merely as a device. Interestingly, the reader never learns the name of the protagonist of The Body Lies as if that aspect of her identity is not important. (The main character in A Country Road, A Treewas also unnamed, although in that book was easily identifiable as Samuel Beckett.)
The depiction of women in fiction is just one of the aspects of the position of women explored in The Body Lies. From practical issues, such as the pressure of balancing childcare and work, to, as the narrator sees it, men’s ‘sense of entitlement to a woman’s attention, and her body’, the latter powerfully played out in the opening chapter. And along the way, the book also explores topics such as the need for trigger warnings, safeguarding, student mental health and the pressure of workloads and course retention targets on staff in academic institutions.
It’s not all serious though and I really enjoyed the playful humour I detected. For example, at one point, in response to the narrator’s concern about the work submitted by one of her students, her colleague, Mina, replies, “He’s probably playing some tricksy postmodern game.” Expressing her concern the student might drop out, Patrick, another colleague, asks her, “He’s the real deal then?” She replies, “Yeah, I think he probably is.” Patrick responds, “Well, then he’ll write it anyway, won’t he, MA or no MA.” (I can imagine Will Self nodding in agreement at that point.)
Fans of the genre can rest assured The Body Lies incorporates many of the familiar characteristics of a psychological thriller. There’s a creepy and possibly unbalanced individual with an unhealthy obsession. The narrator and her young son find themselves renting a house in a remote, isolated location which also happens to be in a mobile phone black spot. Initially, she’s not worried and reflects ‘I rather liked being unreachable.’ That’s probably going to change, I’m sure you’re thinking. Too right. There are scenes in the book that will definitely make you want to check you’ve locked your doors. The observant reader may note a passing reference to an event the significance of which will only become apparent towards the end of the book. (No doubt the sort of advice about plot construction you’d expect a creative writing group to give.)
If this review is making you wonder if The Body Lies is just too clever and whether it actually works as a psychological thriller, I can reassure you it definitely does. There is tension, drama and sense of jeopardy aplenty as the book reaches it eventful conclusion. As everything slots into place, I can’t do better than echo the words of our unnamed narrator: ‘That’s how stories work: there’s something instinctively satisfying about circularity.’ This reader was definitely satisfied and can’t wait to see what Jo Baker writes next.
Perhaps it’s brave (or maybe a sign of confidence in one’s ability) to write a novel in which the main character is leading a creative writing MA course and lecturing on the craft of writing. Our narrator, a debut novelist, certainly wonders about her qualification for the task. ‘I’d been appointed to teach students how to write novels. It felt rather like asking someone who’d once crash-landed a light aircraft to train people as commercial pilots.’ However, I reckon the author must have had fun creating the extracts from the work the students submit for critique as part of their course, ranging in genre as they do from hard-boiled crime to fantasy, short stories and something altogether more disturbing.
The Body Lies starts with a description of the body of a young woman so I gave a little chuckle when the critique the students give on the crime novel one of them, Steven, is writing focuses on that same aspect. “First thought is,” Nick said, one thumbnail still scraping at the other, “does it have to start with a dead woman?” “Well, that’s how these stories work,” Steven said. “That’s the story engine that powers the novel, so yeah, it does really.” Steven is criticised for using the dead girl merely as a device. Interestingly, the reader never learns the name of the protagonist of The Body Lies as if that aspect of her identity is not important. (The main character in A Country Road, A Treewas also unnamed, although in that book was easily identifiable as Samuel Beckett.)
The depiction of women in fiction is just one of the aspects of the position of women explored in The Body Lies. From practical issues, such as the pressure of balancing childcare and work, to, as the narrator sees it, men’s ‘sense of entitlement to a woman’s attention, and her body’, the latter powerfully played out in the opening chapter. And along the way, the book also explores topics such as the need for trigger warnings, safeguarding, student mental health and the pressure of workloads and course retention targets on staff in academic institutions.
It’s not all serious though and I really enjoyed the playful humour I detected. For example, at one point, in response to the narrator’s concern about the work submitted by one of her students, her colleague, Mina, replies, “He’s probably playing some tricksy postmodern game.” Expressing her concern the student might drop out, Patrick, another colleague, asks her, “He’s the real deal then?” She replies, “Yeah, I think he probably is.” Patrick responds, “Well, then he’ll write it anyway, won’t he, MA or no MA.” (I can imagine Will Self nodding in agreement at that point.)
Fans of the genre can rest assured The Body Lies incorporates many of the familiar characteristics of a psychological thriller. There’s a creepy and possibly unbalanced individual with an unhealthy obsession. The narrator and her young son find themselves renting a house in a remote, isolated location which also happens to be in a mobile phone black spot. Initially, she’s not worried and reflects ‘I rather liked being unreachable.’ That’s probably going to change, I’m sure you’re thinking. Too right. There are scenes in the book that will definitely make you want to check you’ve locked your doors. The observant reader may note a passing reference to an event the significance of which will only become apparent towards the end of the book. (No doubt the sort of advice about plot construction you’d expect a creative writing group to give.)
If this review is making you wonder if The Body Lies is just too clever and whether it actually works as a psychological thriller, I can reassure you it definitely does. There is tension, drama and sense of jeopardy aplenty as the book reaches it eventful conclusion. As everything slots into place, I can’t do better than echo the words of our unnamed narrator: ‘That’s how stories work: there’s something instinctively satisfying about circularity.’ This reader was definitely satisfied and can’t wait to see what Jo Baker writes next.
April 24, 2020
this is going to haunt me for a long time.
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This review can also be found on my blog.
I was first drawn to The Body Lies after reading Rachel’s incredible review of it. I’m glad to have gotten her perspective, because I can see how going into this expecting a thriller would be disappointing. This is not a fast-paced crime novel; this is a quietly terrifying piece of literary fiction. Baker presents an examination of trauma as well as the objectification of women’s bodies that I will not be forgetting anytime soon.
The atmosphere is key here. An undercurrent of tension runs throughout this novel. As a reader I nearly always was on the edge of my seat waiting for things to go south even though, strictly speaking, not much was happening. Baker is masterful at making you truly feel the main character’s anxieties without even telling you what they are. I was incredulous at how certain events impacted me; events that objectively I wouldn’t have felt anything for become absolutely heart-wrenching when placed into context.
This is in part a tongue-in-cheek commentary about how women’s bodies are typically used in thrillers. Baker turns these tropes on their head, criticizing them while also demonstrating how to utilize them effectively. The setting really works here: a creative writing class allows us to see examples firsthand in an organic manner. The excerpts of her students’ writing don’t feel forced, and they add a great deal to the story.
What I found most impactful in this book was its portrayal (and analysis) of trauma. At the outset of the book, the narrator is attacked by a man on the street. The ways this impacts her life are both large and small, and I felt Baker did an incredible job of demonstrating that. Additionally, it quickly becomes clear that those outside a traumatic incident are not necessarily able to understand, or even notice, these impacts. My heart ached reading this; I felt like Baker was able to reach deep down inside me.
I honestly cannot recommend this book highly enough. As I said before, it will do you no good to go into this expecting a true thriller with a twisty plot. But if you’re looking for something dark and quiet that explores the way we treat women, you’re in for quite the treat. I’m certain I’ll be coming back to this again and recommending it left and right. Already my favorite book of the year (although I’ll revisit this in December), The Body Lies is honestly a masterpiece.
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This review can also be found on my blog.
I was first drawn to The Body Lies after reading Rachel’s incredible review of it. I’m glad to have gotten her perspective, because I can see how going into this expecting a thriller would be disappointing. This is not a fast-paced crime novel; this is a quietly terrifying piece of literary fiction. Baker presents an examination of trauma as well as the objectification of women’s bodies that I will not be forgetting anytime soon.
The atmosphere is key here. An undercurrent of tension runs throughout this novel. As a reader I nearly always was on the edge of my seat waiting for things to go south even though, strictly speaking, not much was happening. Baker is masterful at making you truly feel the main character’s anxieties without even telling you what they are. I was incredulous at how certain events impacted me; events that objectively I wouldn’t have felt anything for become absolutely heart-wrenching when placed into context.
This is in part a tongue-in-cheek commentary about how women’s bodies are typically used in thrillers. Baker turns these tropes on their head, criticizing them while also demonstrating how to utilize them effectively. The setting really works here: a creative writing class allows us to see examples firsthand in an organic manner. The excerpts of her students’ writing don’t feel forced, and they add a great deal to the story.
What I found most impactful in this book was its portrayal (and analysis) of trauma. At the outset of the book, the narrator is attacked by a man on the street. The ways this impacts her life are both large and small, and I felt Baker did an incredible job of demonstrating that. Additionally, it quickly becomes clear that those outside a traumatic incident are not necessarily able to understand, or even notice, these impacts. My heart ached reading this; I felt like Baker was able to reach deep down inside me.
I honestly cannot recommend this book highly enough. As I said before, it will do you no good to go into this expecting a true thriller with a twisty plot. But if you’re looking for something dark and quiet that explores the way we treat women, you’re in for quite the treat. I’m certain I’ll be coming back to this again and recommending it left and right. Already my favorite book of the year (although I’ll revisit this in December), The Body Lies is honestly a masterpiece.
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June 17, 2019
I'm cranky. Having established that fact, if you're interested I'll tell you why.
This book is being marketed as "psychological suspense". It's really not. I've grown weary of the use of labels that don't fit, simply because it's the latest hot genre. This book is more literary drama, with a spattering of suspense here and there.
I was initially intrigued by this story. The writing has all the hallmarks of literary fiction: introspective characters, social commentary, slower pace, and a lyrical quality to the phrasing. So, yes, the writing is quite good. The story, not so much.
For one thing, the woman at the heart of this story has a three-year-old son who is, apparently, the only toddler on earth to never talk back, misbehave, whine, refuse to eat, get sick, or throw a tantrum. He's absolutely perfect, and that gives the story a feel of dishonesty. Because, really, he's 3!
Then we have a rape scene, or is it rape at all? Because, while, yes, it is absolutely rape, the woman tells us that during the act she was "kind of bored." I mean... yeah, that's when the story totally lost me.
I kept reading, hoping for redemption. I didn't find it.
*I received a review copy from the publisher via Amazon Vine.*
This book is being marketed as "psychological suspense". It's really not. I've grown weary of the use of labels that don't fit, simply because it's the latest hot genre. This book is more literary drama, with a spattering of suspense here and there.
I was initially intrigued by this story. The writing has all the hallmarks of literary fiction: introspective characters, social commentary, slower pace, and a lyrical quality to the phrasing. So, yes, the writing is quite good. The story, not so much.
For one thing, the woman at the heart of this story has a three-year-old son who is, apparently, the only toddler on earth to never talk back, misbehave, whine, refuse to eat, get sick, or throw a tantrum. He's absolutely perfect, and that gives the story a feel of dishonesty. Because, really, he's 3!
Then we have a rape scene, or is it rape at all? Because, while, yes, it is absolutely rape, the woman tells us that during the act she was "kind of bored." I mean... yeah, that's when the story totally lost me.
I kept reading, hoping for redemption. I didn't find it.
*I received a review copy from the publisher via Amazon Vine.*
August 22, 2019
I loved a lot of the writing in THE BODY LIES, but this was just not a book for me. This book has a lot of things going for it, but I found it disjointed.
January 15, 2020
I have to confess, the last third made me so tense and anxious that I kind of had to skim parts. It was so well done, but it was almost too much for me! Aah! Super intense, lots to think about.
June 19, 2019
One of my GoodReads friend's major complaint about this book is that the protagonist comes across as weak. Things just happen to her and she accepts them. Extra work is piled on her. Her husband takes a lover and wants to leave the marriage. She never has much to say in defense of herself. She never seems to take ownership over her life and her destiny. One instance in particular that raised their hackles is the scene where she attends a party hosted by one of her students. At this party, she ends up drinking and allows the student to walk her home. When he tries to engage in sexual acts with her she says no. He does not heed her protest but persists. Eventually she gives in and does not fight. Her thought process was that it was going to happen anyway so why bother fighting. Where we went wrong -- where I went wrong was in my judgment of her in this scenario. Now understand that rape is ANYTHING that transpires after the utterance of the word NO. More precisely rape is what happens if the woman has not given her explicit consent.
Our unnamed protagonist is a middle-aged professor with a husband and young child, but she could be any woman in any place and I think this is what Jo Baker is trying to get across. It isn't until the end of the novel that our protagonist finds her voice and decides what she will and will not accept. This new inner strength becomes palpable when she confronts her colleague /potential love interest about his conception of the rape. How can he feel better knowing that she raped? Why is he relieved that the sex was not consensual? How appalling. Unfortunately, I believe that this is a sentiment held by many a man. It is hard for them to deal with the fact that their partners may have had a sexual past. To admit that they might have enjoyed in the union of some other man's body is just too much for their fragile egos. There is a double standard for women in our society when it comes to sex. If a woman has had multiple partners over her lifetime she is a whore and a slut, but boys will be boys even when they violate their partners.
The Body Lies does not read like your typical thriller. It is not fast-paced with lots of twists and turns. I was not driven by the suspense of the plot, but instead taken in by the discourse on violence against women.
Special thanks to Penguin's First to Read program and Jo Baker for access to this book.
Our unnamed protagonist is a middle-aged professor with a husband and young child, but she could be any woman in any place and I think this is what Jo Baker is trying to get across. It isn't until the end of the novel that our protagonist finds her voice and decides what she will and will not accept. This new inner strength becomes palpable when she confronts her colleague /potential love interest about his conception of the rape. How can he feel better knowing that she raped? Why is he relieved that the sex was not consensual? How appalling. Unfortunately, I believe that this is a sentiment held by many a man. It is hard for them to deal with the fact that their partners may have had a sexual past. To admit that they might have enjoyed in the union of some other man's body is just too much for their fragile egos. There is a double standard for women in our society when it comes to sex. If a woman has had multiple partners over her lifetime she is a whore and a slut, but boys will be boys even when they violate their partners.
The Body Lies does not read like your typical thriller. It is not fast-paced with lots of twists and turns. I was not driven by the suspense of the plot, but instead taken in by the discourse on violence against women.
Special thanks to Penguin's First to Read program and Jo Baker for access to this book.
August 23, 2019
Thought-provoking literary thriller with a real sense of menace and crisp writing.
Three years after an unprovoked violent assault by a predatory male on a South London street during pregnancy, our thirty-three-year-old unnamed narrator (basically any interchangeable woman), hasn’t fully recovered in any sense of the word. Her husband doesn’t seem to have grasped the sense of peril she fears in the city and having given up her bookshop job due to the prohibitive expense of childcare she has become a virtual recluse. Having had a first novel published, albeit to meagre sales and lukewarm reviews, she accepts a lectureship at a rural North Lancashire university where she quickly finds herself the sole creative writing staff member as well as single-handedly responsible for domestic duties. Overwhelmed and put upon with no teaching experience the last thing she needs is a troubled student with swagger from a wealthy background about to provoke debate.
Mid-twenties Nicholas Palmer immediately imposes his presence on the group claiming to write experimental fiction and only writing the truth, meaning his material has strong autobiographical implications. Gifted as he soon shows himself to be, his manuscript tells of a ‘lost girl’ he loved having taken her life and our tutor protagonist fears he may be processing a trauma through his writing. But it is not just his own work that is the focus of the class and he divides the group by taking issuing with a male student using a naked young woman’s death as an initiating incident for his crime fiction novel.
When his attentions begin to fixate on our narrator and she starts to feel increasingly uncomfortable an incident much like the one that caused her run from London in the first place sends her on another trajectory in which she feels herself a bystander... When Nicholas goes AWOL and the extracts of his work-in-progress, “Chemistry” keep popping into his tutors inbox, it starts to be a case of blurring the boundaries between fiction and actual reality by foretelling an ominous fate for our protagonist... Can she intervene before fiction becomes fact especially when the gender politics at the university contrive to leave her out of her depth and flailing to keep her head above water?
Although the novel is literary it is also extraordinary accessible and the fragmented narrative (including student’s own stories, university correspondence) alongside the first-person commentary of an unnamed vulnerable narrator. The mix of styles makes for an original and cleverly-crafted read with a real sense of menace about it from pretty much the off. So many themes and issues are raised throughout the novel and admittedly not all of them are exploited to their full potential. However The Body Lies power is that it proves immensely thought-provoking. Indeed, I doubt on a single reading alone I managed to gain the full import of Jo Baker’s timely commentary of how women can find themselves boxed in on all sides, are expected to fit into the narrative that men foist upon them and primarily men’s sense of entitlement towards a woman’s attention and her body. There are lighter moments of humour throughout, notably the interdepartmental carry-on at the campus but aspects of the plot, specifically our unnamed narrator who finds herself living in a remote cottage with no landline or mobile signal, feel hackneyed.
The denouement is perhaps a little unnecessary and over the top for what is a subtle novel but I doubt readers could ask for a more sinister or unsettling exploration of some very timely themes. Compelling and original.
Three years after an unprovoked violent assault by a predatory male on a South London street during pregnancy, our thirty-three-year-old unnamed narrator (basically any interchangeable woman), hasn’t fully recovered in any sense of the word. Her husband doesn’t seem to have grasped the sense of peril she fears in the city and having given up her bookshop job due to the prohibitive expense of childcare she has become a virtual recluse. Having had a first novel published, albeit to meagre sales and lukewarm reviews, she accepts a lectureship at a rural North Lancashire university where she quickly finds herself the sole creative writing staff member as well as single-handedly responsible for domestic duties. Overwhelmed and put upon with no teaching experience the last thing she needs is a troubled student with swagger from a wealthy background about to provoke debate.
Mid-twenties Nicholas Palmer immediately imposes his presence on the group claiming to write experimental fiction and only writing the truth, meaning his material has strong autobiographical implications. Gifted as he soon shows himself to be, his manuscript tells of a ‘lost girl’ he loved having taken her life and our tutor protagonist fears he may be processing a trauma through his writing. But it is not just his own work that is the focus of the class and he divides the group by taking issuing with a male student using a naked young woman’s death as an initiating incident for his crime fiction novel.
When his attentions begin to fixate on our narrator and she starts to feel increasingly uncomfortable an incident much like the one that caused her run from London in the first place sends her on another trajectory in which she feels herself a bystander... When Nicholas goes AWOL and the extracts of his work-in-progress, “Chemistry” keep popping into his tutors inbox, it starts to be a case of blurring the boundaries between fiction and actual reality by foretelling an ominous fate for our protagonist... Can she intervene before fiction becomes fact especially when the gender politics at the university contrive to leave her out of her depth and flailing to keep her head above water?
Although the novel is literary it is also extraordinary accessible and the fragmented narrative (including student’s own stories, university correspondence) alongside the first-person commentary of an unnamed vulnerable narrator. The mix of styles makes for an original and cleverly-crafted read with a real sense of menace about it from pretty much the off. So many themes and issues are raised throughout the novel and admittedly not all of them are exploited to their full potential. However The Body Lies power is that it proves immensely thought-provoking. Indeed, I doubt on a single reading alone I managed to gain the full import of Jo Baker’s timely commentary of how women can find themselves boxed in on all sides, are expected to fit into the narrative that men foist upon them and primarily men’s sense of entitlement towards a woman’s attention and her body. There are lighter moments of humour throughout, notably the interdepartmental carry-on at the campus but aspects of the plot, specifically our unnamed narrator who finds herself living in a remote cottage with no landline or mobile signal, feel hackneyed.
The denouement is perhaps a little unnecessary and over the top for what is a subtle novel but I doubt readers could ask for a more sinister or unsettling exploration of some very timely themes. Compelling and original.
February 24, 2023
It's unclear which genre this would fit into. It's not a thriller in the typical sense that it doesn't have any mind-blowing twists. It's not a mystery either, though there is suspense. It is certainly thriller-adjacent, as it includes some brutal content, and literary-adjacent in that it has something to say outside of the story itself.
It's also told in a brilliant way. For readers who like to read about writers, you might enjoy this. The bulk of the story is told through the first-person, past-tense narrative of our protagonist who has moved away from her husband in London, with her toddler son, to teach creative writing at a University in a quiet town. The students in her class submit chapters from the novels they are writing, and those are interwoven between the chapters told by our protagonist. As the reader, it makes you feel like you are in the classroom with them, critiquing their work along side of them as a co-ed.
The writing style was fantastic, and the plot surrounded a discussion about women and women's bodies in fiction, and in life:
"Karen may not have liked grit, but she did like acid. Her stuff was vinegar sharp. I felt a bit overwhelmed by it to tell the truth, all the female flesh. All the darkness too, from this and all the other stories. All these female bodies in flux, dying and decaying, awakening and transforming, washed by floods, ballooning, returning to the womb. And I was struggling with my own question of whether there was a way to write female without writing body, and whether there was a way to BE female without being reduced to body."
The ending could have done a better job at underlining the theme of the story, it felt a little lackluster. But overall I really enjoyed this novel. It was refreshing compared to what I've been reading lately.
The audiobook was also great, narrated by Imogen Church, as well as a full cast who recited the stories submitted by the students.
Check trigger warnings if you need them. There are some very dark themes.
It's also told in a brilliant way. For readers who like to read about writers, you might enjoy this. The bulk of the story is told through the first-person, past-tense narrative of our protagonist who has moved away from her husband in London, with her toddler son, to teach creative writing at a University in a quiet town. The students in her class submit chapters from the novels they are writing, and those are interwoven between the chapters told by our protagonist. As the reader, it makes you feel like you are in the classroom with them, critiquing their work along side of them as a co-ed.
The writing style was fantastic, and the plot surrounded a discussion about women and women's bodies in fiction, and in life:
"Karen may not have liked grit, but she did like acid. Her stuff was vinegar sharp. I felt a bit overwhelmed by it to tell the truth, all the female flesh. All the darkness too, from this and all the other stories. All these female bodies in flux, dying and decaying, awakening and transforming, washed by floods, ballooning, returning to the womb. And I was struggling with my own question of whether there was a way to write female without writing body, and whether there was a way to BE female without being reduced to body."
The ending could have done a better job at underlining the theme of the story, it felt a little lackluster. But overall I really enjoyed this novel. It was refreshing compared to what I've been reading lately.
The audiobook was also great, narrated by Imogen Church, as well as a full cast who recited the stories submitted by the students.
Check trigger warnings if you need them. There are some very dark themes.
July 28, 2019
While pregnant, a young woman is mugged by a stranger as she walks home from work late one winter afternoon. While the physical damage is minimal, she no longer feels safe. When her child is a toddler and it's time for her to return to work, she applies and gets a job teaching at a university in the north of England. Her husband is unwilling to follow her and so they begin a sort of half-relationship where he drives up on weekends and holidays, while she and her son settle in to an isolated cottage. She's quickly in over her head at the college, as the head of the department keeps adding to her workload. Her main class is a graduate course on creative writing, where she is shepherding a small group of aspiring writers, one of whom quickly begins to behave inappropriately.
This novel has such a sense of menace and foreboding about it that I often had to set it aside when reading it late at night. Yet, that sense of menace is so subtly created that I questioned, along with the main character, whether there was any reason for my sense of dread. Jo Baker does a fantastic job of writing a thriller. But there's more to it than the usual "woman in peril" trope. Baker examines misogyny from several directions, from the way women are written about, to how women are conditioned to downplay harassment and to not make a fuss. Her scenes set during the creative writing seminars were brilliant, as was her depiction of a woman growing ever more exhausted as she attempts to cope with all the challenges of an overloaded work schedule and the demands of raising a toddler.
This novel has such a sense of menace and foreboding about it that I often had to set it aside when reading it late at night. Yet, that sense of menace is so subtly created that I questioned, along with the main character, whether there was any reason for my sense of dread. Jo Baker does a fantastic job of writing a thriller. But there's more to it than the usual "woman in peril" trope. Baker examines misogyny from several directions, from the way women are written about, to how women are conditioned to downplay harassment and to not make a fuss. Her scenes set during the creative writing seminars were brilliant, as was her depiction of a woman growing ever more exhausted as she attempts to cope with all the challenges of an overloaded work schedule and the demands of raising a toddler.
May 20, 2019
I really loved the writing. It was a pleasure to read a thriller (if that's what it was) that was beautifully written. The beginning really pulled me in, as well as the university life - which I believe (knowing lots of university lecturers, including some teaching creative writing) was very true to life. I also loved all the narrator's students and how they all interacted in class. In fact the whole of the main story I really enjoyed and raced to finish. It was the peripheral elements that let it down for me. The unnamed narrator has a three year old boy - Sammy. The trouble was that Sammy never threw a tantrum, never refused to get in his buggy, never chucked his food around or wouldn't go to sleep, he was never sick. Instead at all the moments that the author needs the child out of the way for the plot to work, Sammy happily plays in the garden with other children, sleeps in strange beds, sits in his buggy and looks at the world without complaint. I had another niggle with how easily a relationship ends, but I don't want to give spoilers.
I would recommend this though, it was a fun, thrilling read. 3.5 stars.
I would recommend this though, it was a fun, thrilling read. 3.5 stars.
May 30, 2019
Do women have agency over their lives, when threatened by men? How can this topic be grappled with without platitudes and clichés so that the story is bracing, believable (and imaginative) as it shakes us up and drops us in? Jo Baker convinced me that I was living in the house with our unnamed narrator, a London writer who was assaulted while pregnant by a large man in a blue anorak, and three years later is still traumatized and wants to leave the city. That’s the point of entry, and the story proves subsequently more layered, subtle, and prismatic. She even pulls off the absence of humor, which is a feat few authors can do with alacrity. Unfortunately, this stellar and nuanced narrative devolved into a pedestrian and clunky denouement, but the antecedent journey made it worth the ride.
Our writer accepts a lectureship in the Lake District, teaching Creative Writing to MA students working on their novels. Mark, her husband, is too preoccupied with his own teaching career to consider moving with her and their son, Sammy, so he arranges to drive up and visit them on weekends and school breaks. Our female protagonist is unnamed throughout the novel, potentially symbolizing the inequities of sexual politics at home and in the workplace, and the demoralizing, devaluing effects of violence against women, especially when trying to move forward without adequate support.
Is the female protagonist unnamed because her circumstances debased her, or as an invitation for readers to identify with her? You decide, or it could be both. As soon as she starts her new job, her boss dumps excess work on her and gives himself permission to touch her with his slimy fingers whenever he pleases. He pretends to be innocent and avuncular. She is too new and too meek to voice her concerns. But the real fallout begins in the classroom.
Baker’s narrative is written in third person, with multiple points of view emerging through the students’ work. “Unnamed” has a handful of students, all writing in various genres. Baker’s ability to examine personal agency through these diverse student stories is sharp and deep. And this is when the snarl of darkness begins to descend. One enigmatic and troubled student, Nicholas, attempts to usurp the protagonist’s authority in the classroom with his harsh criticism of other students’ work as “not telling the truth” through their fiction, and his air of righteousness toward the teacher. He even blames her for not providing a “trigger warning” for stories that may be violent or upsetting to others. The trigger warning issue provides the one nugget of approaching humor in the novel, as the unnamed protagonist tries to accommodate Nicholas’ request and stumbles down a rabbit hole of red tape.
As the weeks and months pass, the accumulation of daily degradations pile up, and the imbalance of power at work and in the protagonist’s life reflects the theme of personal agency, specifically for women. Nicholas’ story is increasingly disturbing to our protagonist. He seems to be writing about her--or, rather, his idea of her-- and her only meaning is what she means to him. The teacher comprehends that Nicholas’ idea of the truth is one where she would be powerless-- “the prospect of being caught up in someone else’s story, of being written by someone else; the fear of having no say in who I was at all.”
Baker nailed the theme with her artistry and intelligence, threading her thesis through multiple voices and stories within stories. But she thwarted her measured delicacy with a clumsy and derivative denouement. Early on, our protagonist tells her students ‘”you could decide not to think in arcs and lines…think it as a pool in which narrative pebbles are dropped and we watch the ripples roll outwards. Or a spiral, where a key event is returned to, and seen slightly different each time.”’ Her character taught creative writing, and then hoisted it on her own petard. Baker’s theme was vividly realized, but the finale foiled her plot and partially dimmed her vision.
Our writer accepts a lectureship in the Lake District, teaching Creative Writing to MA students working on their novels. Mark, her husband, is too preoccupied with his own teaching career to consider moving with her and their son, Sammy, so he arranges to drive up and visit them on weekends and school breaks. Our female protagonist is unnamed throughout the novel, potentially symbolizing the inequities of sexual politics at home and in the workplace, and the demoralizing, devaluing effects of violence against women, especially when trying to move forward without adequate support.
Is the female protagonist unnamed because her circumstances debased her, or as an invitation for readers to identify with her? You decide, or it could be both. As soon as she starts her new job, her boss dumps excess work on her and gives himself permission to touch her with his slimy fingers whenever he pleases. He pretends to be innocent and avuncular. She is too new and too meek to voice her concerns. But the real fallout begins in the classroom.
Baker’s narrative is written in third person, with multiple points of view emerging through the students’ work. “Unnamed” has a handful of students, all writing in various genres. Baker’s ability to examine personal agency through these diverse student stories is sharp and deep. And this is when the snarl of darkness begins to descend. One enigmatic and troubled student, Nicholas, attempts to usurp the protagonist’s authority in the classroom with his harsh criticism of other students’ work as “not telling the truth” through their fiction, and his air of righteousness toward the teacher. He even blames her for not providing a “trigger warning” for stories that may be violent or upsetting to others. The trigger warning issue provides the one nugget of approaching humor in the novel, as the unnamed protagonist tries to accommodate Nicholas’ request and stumbles down a rabbit hole of red tape.
As the weeks and months pass, the accumulation of daily degradations pile up, and the imbalance of power at work and in the protagonist’s life reflects the theme of personal agency, specifically for women. Nicholas’ story is increasingly disturbing to our protagonist. He seems to be writing about her--or, rather, his idea of her-- and her only meaning is what she means to him. The teacher comprehends that Nicholas’ idea of the truth is one where she would be powerless-- “the prospect of being caught up in someone else’s story, of being written by someone else; the fear of having no say in who I was at all.”
Baker nailed the theme with her artistry and intelligence, threading her thesis through multiple voices and stories within stories. But she thwarted her measured delicacy with a clumsy and derivative denouement. Early on, our protagonist tells her students ‘”you could decide not to think in arcs and lines…think it as a pool in which narrative pebbles are dropped and we watch the ripples roll outwards. Or a spiral, where a key event is returned to, and seen slightly different each time.”’ Her character taught creative writing, and then hoisted it on her own petard. Baker’s theme was vividly realized, but the finale foiled her plot and partially dimmed her vision.
April 25, 2019
I’d not be doing anyone any favours by rehashing the publisher’s blurb on the plot of this novel. Enough to say that a young university lecturer in creative writing finds one of her male students submitting pages of his work describing his relationship with a woman bearing a striking resemblance to his relationship with her. Except that his take on things is skewed and threatening.
Jo Baker’s skills at characterisation and insights into motivations are to the fore in this novel. Central to the story is the way women can be viewed by men and how they misunderstand this or, even when understanding, often tolerate bad behaviour through embarrassment or fear of not being believed. The most striking example comes from one of her colleagues towards the end. Our (unnamed) female character has the strength to call him out on it and his reaction is priceless - sheer bafflement.
Along with feeling intrigued as to how this story would play out and entertained by the college departmental dynamics, I was also much taken with the excerpts of students’ work - written in voices entirely in keeping with the characters - and I’d have welcomed more of them.
A novel that says more than it seems at first. I have enjoyed a couple of Jo Baker’s earlier books and, though this one is very different, I was delighted to read more of her quality writing here. Highly recommended.
Review copy courtesy of Random House, Doubleday via NetGalley - many thanks.
Jo Baker’s skills at characterisation and insights into motivations are to the fore in this novel. Central to the story is the way women can be viewed by men and how they misunderstand this or, even when understanding, often tolerate bad behaviour through embarrassment or fear of not being believed. The most striking example comes from one of her colleagues towards the end. Our (unnamed) female character has the strength to call him out on it and his reaction is priceless - sheer bafflement.
Along with feeling intrigued as to how this story would play out and entertained by the college departmental dynamics, I was also much taken with the excerpts of students’ work - written in voices entirely in keeping with the characters - and I’d have welcomed more of them.
A novel that says more than it seems at first. I have enjoyed a couple of Jo Baker’s earlier books and, though this one is very different, I was delighted to read more of her quality writing here. Highly recommended.
Review copy courtesy of Random House, Doubleday via NetGalley - many thanks.
November 19, 2019
It’s unfair to rate this book when I couldn’t pass 30%. Anyways... the writing was too weak and the story not well developed.
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