A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing - Book Review

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I got through 28 pages of Eimear McBride's A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, and I just couldn't do it anymore. It felt like I was reading a bunch of words that had no meaning. The premise of the book sounds interesting: it's the story of a young woman's relationship with her brother, who almost died of a brain tumor as a child. The back cover blurb says the book "isn't always comfortable". Well, it's also not always readable. It sort of reminds me of Finnegan's Wake or Ulysses, two books I also gave up on reading. I just had no idea what was going on in this book!

I sort of got the gist of things in the first few chapters, but then the protagonist started talking to people or they were talking to her or she was listening in on a conversation. I really had no idea who was supposed to be talking and what the heck was going on.

Apparently, it took the author nine years to get this book published, and I understand why. It's kind of a hard sell! Some people like it, apparently, because it's won or been longlisted for a few awards. If you're willing to take the time and have the patience for this book, by all means, give it a whirl. But there are too many books on my to-read list to waste time on this.

A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing is published by Coffee House Press and is available to purchase now. I received a free advance review copy at Book Expo America with no obligation to review.