Skip to main content

Everyone In This Room will Someday be Dead - Emily Austin

 


Description

Meet Gilda. She cannot stop thinking about death. Desperate for relief from her anxious mind and alienated from her repressive family, she responds to a flyer for free therapy at a local church and finds herself abruptly hired to replace the deceased receptionist Grace. It's not the most obvious job - she's queer and an atheist for starters - and so in between trying to learn mass, hiding her new maybe-girlfriend and conducting an amateur investigation into Grace's death, Gilda must avoid revealing the truth of her mortifying existence.

A blend of warmth, deadpan humour, and pitch-perfect observations about the human condition, Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead is a crackling exploration of what it takes to stay afloat in a world where your expiration - and the expiration of those you love - is the only certainty.


Review

This novel deals with a character who has extreme anxiety/depression - it may not be for someone who can sometimes feel like this themselves.

Took me a while to get used to the depressing outpouring onto the page, skipping from one time line to another, one subject to another. Without warning hurtle into the unknown. Gradually I began to read it at speed and that seemed to help with the randomness of the story.

Dead pan comedy it does have and I did laugh out loud a couple of times. But in the main it is a bit depressing to be honest. I did get to quite like Gilda especially when she went on a few dates with a man she was set up with out of kindness. Gilda being a lesbian meant it was never really going to work out for her especially as she was already seeing someone. Most of the comedy does come from Gilda being too nice or inept most of the time to actually say what she means, or tell the truth, leading her to be out of her depth in most situations. 

I was hoping for more of a detective slant to the book from the book blurb.

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

No One Would Do What The Lamberts Have Done - Sophie Hannah

  Description The twistiest murder mystery you are ever likely to read? A story about a family that does the unthinkable in order to save the life of one of its beloved members? Both? Or something else altogether? You'll have to read until the very last word in order to find out… You think it will never happen to you: the ring of the bell, the policeman on the doorstep. What he says traps you in a nightmare that starts with the words, 'I'm afraid…' Sally Lambert is also afraid, and desperate enough to consider the unthinkable. Is it really, definitely, impossible to escape from this horror? Maybe not. There's always something you can do, right? Of course, no one would ever do this particular something – except the Lamberts, who might have to. No one has ever gone this far. Until Sally decides that the Lamberts will… 'An incident involving a dog in a small village escalates to an all-out conflict, turning neighbour against neighbour, and culminating in murder. Bu...

The Dilemmas of Work Women - Fumio Yamamoto

  Description The classic Japanese bestseller published in English for the very first time -  a darkly funny and relatable book portraying the lives of five women 'Witty, wise and thought-provoking' Cecelia Ahern 'Crackles and pops with humour, empathy and intelligence' Lisa Owens, author of  Not Working 'So brilliantly written that I kept trying to memorise sentences in order to repeat them to people later' Roxy Dunn, author of  As Young as This Izumi  needs to get a job. Haruka  needs to stop talking about how she once had cancer. Katō  needs to get through a shift at the convenience store without being harassed. Mito  needs to break up with her boyfriend - or marry him. Sumie  just needs somewhere to live. In this classic Japanese bestseller, published in English twenty-five years after it took Japan by storm, the lives of five ordinary women are depicted with irresistible humour and searing emotional insight. Review A collection of short ...

A Neighbour’s Guide to Murder - Louise Candlish

  Description A gripping new thriller from the author of  Our House,  packed full of stunning twists! ‘Louise Candlish has a gift for examining hotly topical issues with intelligence, wit, and a keen eye for observational detail.  A Neighbour’s Guide to Murder  is a smartly constructed psychological thriller with a wicked twist in the tale. Flawless!’  Lucy Clarke ‘A terrific story, witty, engaging and a total page-turner.’  Liz Nugent 'A whip-smart, razor-sharp domestic thriller… a fiendishly twisty plot. Gwen is my new obsession!'  Isabelle Broom ‘A brilliant mess-with-your-mind slow burn thriller. Louise is a master manipulator and this is not to be missed’  Nikki Smith 'Louise Candlish excels at issue-led plots. A clever “through the keyhole” take on neighbours.'  Jane Corry 'Meticulously plotted with twists and turns aplenty. It's a truly addictive read.'  Hannah Beckerman Her secrets will be the death of you. It’s rare for a r...