Please read with caution as this book contains descriptions of sexual abuse and assault.
When I bought A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing (at Hobart’s iconic Fullers Bookshop), the man behind the counter smiled and said, “Oh! This is a really interesting reading experience.”
And he wasn’t wrong.
Eimear McBride’s novel is a maelstrom of family dysfunction and trauma, told with poetic language in an experimental form.
Dogged by an overbearing, strongly religious mother, sexual abuse, and an ailing younger brother, our unnamed central female narrator struggles in a confusing and harsh world.
I feel as though it’s the kind of book that almost requires this unusual way of writing to adequately communicate our narrator’s heartrending adolescence and early adulthood.
McBride’s prose is without quotation marks, but like all great writers who disdain quote marks, the reader is never confused about who is speaking, or what’s dialogue and what’s internal monologue.
Her writing is so skilled and unusual, you can practically feel the pain seeping through the pages as the central character endures assault, confusion, and grief. As her life veers from uncertainty to complete distress, the structure of the sentences follows suit, taking the reader on a truly intimate journey.
My next task is to read anything I can find about McBride and her writing process, as I desperately want to learn more about how this remarkable work of art came about.
Cherie lives, works, and reads in beautiful Tasmania – the green island gem below Australia known for its gorgeous landscape and beautiful wildlife. She holds multiple academic qualifications in English, journalism, and fine art theory, and has worked in writing, editing, and communications roles for more than a decade. Most importantly, she has a deep love for books that began as soon as she learned how to read.
Old, new, any genre – for Cherie, reading is about as vital as breathing. She is interested in sharing books that move, excite, and compel, so others can share the joy of a truly great read. While she reads across most genres, her favourite is literary fiction. Particularly anything by Margaret Atwood, Ottessa Moshfegh, Kate Atkinson, Elizabeth Berg, Ann Patchett, and Anne Tyler.
Cherie frequents Tasmania’s beautiful boutique book shops as well as scouring secondhand shops for books to add to her extensive home library. Catch up with her on LinkedIn and on Instagram.
