Queenie
Ratings94
Average rating3.7
15
Ratings94
Average rating3.7
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 'A deliciously funny, characterful, topical and thrilling novel for our times' Bernardine Evaristo, winner of the Booker Prize 'Brilliant, timely, funny, heartbreaking' Jojo Moyes 'A must-read novel about sex, selfhood, and the best friendships that get us through it all' Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and the City Queenie is a twenty-five-year-old Black woman living in south London, straddling Jamaican and British culture whilst slotting neatly into neither. She works at a national newspaper where she's constantly forced to compare herself to her white, middle-class peers, and beg to write about Black Lives Matter. After a messy break up from her long-term white boyfriend, Queenie finds herself seeking comfort in all the wrong places. As Queenie veers from one regrettable decision to another, she finds herself wondering, What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Who do you want to be? - the questions that every woman today must face in a world that keeps trying to provide the answers for them. A darkly comic and bitingly subversive take on life, love, race and family, Queenie will have you nodding in recognition, crying in solidarity and rooting for this unforgettable character every step of the way. A disarmingly honest, boldly political and truly inclusive tale that will speak to anyone who has gone looking for love and acceptance and found something very different in its place. ****** LONGLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLISTED FOR FOYLES BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLISTED FOR COMEDY WOMAN IN PRINT PRIZE 2020 BLACKWELL'S DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR NAMED ONE OF THE TIMES, GUARDIAN, SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY MAIL AND EVENING STANDARD'S BEST BOOKS OF 2019
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4.5 Really enjoyed this audio. So honest and of the moment, realistically veering from the truly funny to the very real work of dealing with mental health and trauma, with a main character who grows and learns through the arc of the book. 20s me found much to relate to here! The female friendships were great and relatable but I do wish she had explored more of Darcy's relationship story, because there were always hints it was bad but that thread was left hanging. Kyazike and Cassandra's stories felt more fully realized. Will definitely be looking out for what Carty-Williams' writes next .
I'm going to be lazy by quoting the Goodreads description and agreeing with it: “Americanah meets Bridget Jones Diary” is a super apt description for this book. Queenie is at once so relatable in the mid-late 20s anxieties of work life, dating, and struggling with anxiety and not relatable (but certainly informative) in being a Black woman in London from a different ethnic/cultural background. It was a fun read and the actual text message bubbles and formatted email chains, which could have veered into tacky, worked well here. An enjoyable read overall.
