I put off reading this book, set in both New York and the Catskill mountains, as I felt it would be quite "heavy" and was never quite ready for it. It did take me a couple of attempts to get into it and I was right, the themes in the story are those which should come with trigger warnings (abuse, suicide, rape etc). Whilst reading it, I did enjoy it, it was atmospheric and compelling and certainly kept me reading, however, I didn't really feel that there was particularly any conclusion to the story, it all felt a bit messy and unexplained - but maybe that was the point. I must admit, I haven't really thought about it much since I finished, which given its plot, I really thought I would.

Thanks go to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my copy of this book.

An enjoyable read, well written and entertaining. Hadn't read this author before but would consider reading again.

This is the story of Iris, who we meet as she is fleeing her life. She is leaving the city, her job and her marriage to disappear into the wilderness. Armed with little more than her regrets and pain - from the loss of her father, from the abuse she has suffered at the hands of her wife, from her unrealised dreams - she finds herself trying to survive in an abandoned hikers' cabin. Alone with her thoughts, Iris has to face up to herself. But when the metaphorical becomes physical and she is joined by a seemingly happier, healthier version of herself, Iris has to examine the choices and beliefs that have brought her to this place. Before it is t0o late for both of her selves.

I thought the premise of this book was really good, and it was executed well. Lewis can build a story by revealing things strategically, and I liked the way both the full picture of Iris' past and what was going on at the cabin built. Iris can be funny and likeable, but she's also deeply flawed, so I found myself simultaneously wanting her to escape and survive whilst also wanting her to feel the repercussions of some of her choices.

Intimate partner violence in lesbian relationships is something that is really only starting to have some light shone on it. I have Carmen Maria Machado's memoir In the Dream House on my TBR, which also addresses this topic, but although Iris' story is fiction I did find the escalation of abuse and imbalance of power very authentic. I thought the situation and reactions felt plausible, which I always think is important when portraying such a difficult topic.

What I struggled with was Iris' ultimate response to the abuse, which is revealed at the climax of the story. I suppose I can understand some of what Lewis' reasoning was - that everyone has a breaking point, and that no one is all victim or all abuser. But as I found that Iris wasn't always an easy character to sympathise with, this final reveal really left me cold.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and thought it was pretty unique in terms of concept and subject. But did feel it was let down by Iris' final actions, when there are other ways that could have played out.

3.5 stars

When Iris was a child, she and her father spent a lot of time together exploring nature.
Now married and living in New York, Iris finds herself heading back to the wilderness to escape Claude, her abusive wife.
Iris sets up home in an abandoned cabin and is alone with nature and her thoughts, until she comes across another woman who looks just like her.
Who is this other Iris that has lived another life?
Can the two of them work together to survive the oncoming storm?
Why were they brought together?

As a fan of the author's previous books, I was excited to read this, especially as the blurb really intrigued me.
Iris was a likeable and relatable protagonist who I enjoyed finding out more about. I enjoyed seeing how she reacted in different situations, as well as finding out more about her.
The story is told with chapters alternating between the past and the present and I found them both interesting in different ways - I enjoyed the chapters set in the past as I got to find out what led to Iris leaving the city and her wife, and I liked the chapters set in the present as I got to see how Iris was coping with her past and how she interacted with the other Iris.
The plot was enjoyable and held my attention throughout. It kept me guessing as to how it would end, and I thought difficult themes were handled very well.
The writing style was easy to follow and I'm looking forward to the author's next book.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, unique read that I would recommend.

As a child Iris found comfort in the time she spent with her dad in the wilderness. Years later she is fleeing from her life, including her partner Claude, and returning to nature to find peace, and herself, again.

“A telescope was the only thing of value I took when I walked out of my life. Aged thirty years and fifty-nine days, I boarded a bus and rode it through three states to a small town in the Catskills.”

These are the opening lines of Beth Lewis’ latest novel, a remarkable and original piece of writing which will draw you in and linger in the recesses of your mind. It’s a simple story of a woman who flees from an abusive relationship, realising that she not only needs to leave for her own safety, but also has to find the person she lost along the way.

Full review: https://westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2021/11/27/the-origins-of-iris-beth-lewis/

Well this one was a rollercoaster! The author dragged me into the story right from the beginning and refused to let go until the very end. Beautiful, relatable characters. And lovely, atmospheric setting!

An intense book about choices, guilt, shame, abuse and how one woman faces up to these issues. Unusual in its portrayal of sensitive topics where the abuser is not merely a monster but a fully rounded human capable of tenderness and vulnerability.

The story is told in the first person by the eponymous narrator in a dual timeline of 'before' and 'after'. She covers the areas where her guilt and betrayal stems from, how she feels she let down both her father and partner. She decides to run away from her problems into the deep wilderness of a forest only to find that she cannot run away from herself - literally. Here she comes face to face with another version of herself only to find that guilt and secrets still exist.

Sometimes confusing, always engaging, this is an uncomfortable journey that touches on the most intimate and human detail as well as the cosmos and the possibility of a parallel universe . The misogynistic attitudes towards violent women and dismissive control are expressed in such a way that I needed to break away to process what I had read. Beautifully written, Lewis questions what love actually is and what it means to be a victim.

I had another Beth Lewis book, Bitter Sun, in my to-be-read pile and it wasn't one I was keen to read thinking that it may be a shallow romance. It wasn't. I won't make that mistake again. Beth Lewis is a seriously good writer.

The Origins of Iris has a little something for everyone: drama, science, romance, and animal husbandry (lookin’ at you, Monty the Raccoon). It’s a unique and difficult story where, much like real life, none of the characters are 100% the good person and all but maybe one of them are not all bad. Beth Lewis writes human complexity with a stark realness that illustrates just how much the world isn’t black and white

My only complaint is that the characters are American, living in America, but the novel is written full of things a British person would do or say. There were several times I thought to myself “an American would never say that”, then had to remind myself they were in New York instead of picturing Britain. It stalled the flow a bit, but overall it was still an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This book had fully captured my attention by page two, that is highly unusual for me. It has a raw intensity from the start, the compelling narrative will take you to the darkest of corners and leave you utterly spent. The writing is stunning, the subject matter at times is highly disturbing and there are trigger warnings aplenty but what marks this novel as special is the captivating message of hope, of self discovery and of survival.

'The forest, the trees, the stars, the isolation, they might not fix me, but distance, perspective,
remembering where I came from, who I was, they would. They had to.'

Iris has run away, escaped an abusive marriage and travelled to the Catskill Mountains to clear her
head and come to terms with the mistakes that have led her here.

This is a story of a woman who is on the brink of an abyss; the unresolved guilt that comes with a
tragic loss early in life, layered with a passionate but utterly destructive marriage. Iris is in danger of
losing herself and most crucially, losing her will to live.

Her father believed that there were infinite worlds, with infinite versions of ourselves; all taking a
unique path according to the choices that were made. He spent hours looking up at the stars and
wondering about the alternate versions of himself and his family.

Not a new idea, and something that I have often day dreamed about, but Beth Lewis takes this Sliding Doors premise and uses it with the most amazing results. Whether the appearance of an alternate Iris is a manifestation of her inner demons and potential psychosis, a nod to the 16th century monk Giordano Bruno (he was shunned for his unfashionable beliefs of the cosmos), or a sweet dollop of magical realism, doesn't matter. What we witness is a woman pushed to the brink, take stock, face her truth, take responsibility for her decisions and make preparations to choose a path.

'I could never look at a decision the same way again. It mattered now what I did, if affected the world, it affected me. All of me. It should have always mattered, but I had been too destructive, too absorbed in myself, too sad and guilty to realise. No more rush now, no more ill-prepared, idiotic, impulsive Iris. It was time to grow up. It was time to forgive myself.'

My thoughts on the end of this perfectly balanced tale summed up in a quote from the beginning of the book:

'I lingered a moment, hoping and fearing she both would and wouldn't message back, before realising this was the path to madness and pocketing my phone'

I am not sure why I haven't seen this book everywhere, it certainly deserves the attention.

The Origins of Iris is a truly unique book that tackles some sensitive topics head on. The novel is told as ‘before’ and ‘after’ Iris leaving her abusive wife in New York, and trekking to a remote cabin in the wilderness. Issues from Iris’s childhood are also raised, along with her father’s mental health problems and the impact this had on her. There is also a slightly supernatural element where Iris meets another version of herself. The other Iris reveals she has made some fundamentally different choices throughout her life, but has this made her any happier?
This is an incredibly thought provoking book that challenges our ideas on domestic violence, and the consequences of decisions and choices we make throughout our lives.

Iris is lost. After a series of decisions she loses people she loves and ends up with a wife who abuses her. Things come to a head and she heads to the forest which she hiked as a child with her father, trying to find herself....and she does, literally. The world shifts and Iris finds herself in a cabin in the woods with another version of herself who made different decisions and ended up with a different life. What can they learn from eachother? Can they trust eachother? Can they survive the storm that is heading their way?

Beth Lewis is a new author to me, and if the rest of her books are like "The Origins of Iris" then I am adding them all to my TBR pile immediately. I really enjoyed her writing style which was engaging and enabled me to easily to sink into the plot. Her descriptions of the forest and the affect it has on Iris and her father was both betwitching and relatable. Iris is an interesting character and I rooted her for throughout. As much as this book made me feel it make me think. I thought about what I would do in Iris' shoes. I thought about what it would like to escape into the forest. I thought about what would happened if I met an alternative version of myself and whether we would inspire or hurt eachother. I thought about the bias and homophobia and mysogyny experienced by Iris because her abuser was a woman and how her experience was belittled. And boy did I think about the ending.

"The Origins of Iris" is a book I would highly recommend to my fellow readers, and it will stay with me for a long time. Thank you so much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

The Origins of Iris is a captivating novel set against the backdrop of atmospheric, haunting and remote scenery. It is while staying in an isolated cabin in the wilderness, Iris confronts her past in this thought-provoking, evocative thriller. Startlingly, Iris comes face to face with an alternate version of herself in this tale replete with resilience, hope and the variety of different narratives we tell ourselves. As a child, Iris and her father found solace in the beauty and wilderness of the forest, and now Iris needs time to come to terms with the mistakes that have led her here. What Iris doesn’t expect in this journey of survival and self-discovery is to find herself—quite literally. Trapped in a neglected cabin deep in the Catskill mountains and with rapidly dwindling supplies, Iris is forced to come face-to-face with a seemingly happier, prettier, better version of herself. She feels this way even after uprooting from her enviable life back in New York and her Manhattan penthouse. But is this other Iris all she seems? Can the doppelgänger be trusted? What is she hiding? And why did she end up here if her life went down such a different path?

This is a captivating and powerful read that touches on notions of self-discovery and survival as well as hope and optimism and explores serious themes bravely and sympathetically. It also addresses the very real, very serious, but largely overlooked issue of domestic violence within same-sex relationships, an issue close to Lewis’ heart. The author’s imagination is thrilling, employing different literary devices and genres to tell an incredibly human story and the contrast between the glamourous Hollywood aspects of the tale and the brutal survivalist side is incredibly effective at showing Iris from two different perspectives; you could say it combines the usual white-knuckle, survivalist perils with a dose of Hollywood woo and weaves a thoroughly original book in the process. The fact that Iris comes face to face with herself leaves her examining her very essence in a beguilingly unique and thought-provoking fashion. Intricately spun yet so wonderfully simple and understated, this is such an emotionally resonant novel that has you feeling every emotion encountered by Iris who is a beautifully painted character with great depth and complexities. Highly recommended.

My first Beth Lewis, and it won’t be my last. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this in advance of publication, and now to find a copy of The Wolf Road.
The Origins of Iris is like Sliding Doors for adults, where the focus is on the choices we make and how they affect us and those around us. Through the device of ‘before’ and ‘after’ narratives we learn about the character of Iris and how she gets to the point she is now.
Iris is a young girl, obsessed by space and loving the time she spends outdoors with her father. Iris is a teenager, finding the body of her father hanging in the woods. Iris is the slightly disappointed wife, sticking with someone she doesn’t really love because of their shared history. Iris is the snarky best friend who is always up for a different experience. Iris is also the scared abused wife who hides the reality of her existence because she feels she deserves what is happening to her.
Though the subject was not an easy one to read about, and the sense of pessimism pervading the lives of those who feel they've made bad choices was hard to take, there was so much to love about this book.
When we see Iris has taken it upon herself to run away and lose herself in the Catskill Mountains it would be all too easy to see this as a disaster waiting to happen. When she first starts walking and camping in the shelter there were some hysterical moments - Monty the racoon made me snort laugh - but it soon became clear that this was going to be a journey like no other. A journey that was very necessary, but one which she might not survive.

I honestly dont remember why I requested this particular book on NG. But, I am glad I did. Also, I am glad I went into it totally blind. This is an lgbtq+ domestic drama/thriller with some sliding doors and adventure elements. Its a weird mix but it actually functions pretty well. I really enjoyed reading about dynamics in the same sex marriage, and it makes me happy that more and more stories about unconventional families get published and talked about.

The Origins of Iris is the story about love. Love for another person, love for yourself. About finding the boundary between love and possession. It deals with domestic abuse and suicide and it isnt what one would consider a light read, but it makes you think about your own life choices and that is something I really enjoy in my reads The only thing I actually minded was that it felt a bit repetitive at parts.

Thought-provoking material that fell short for me, and I haven’t given it any thought whatsoever since finishing. While entertaining overall, it was too repetitive, and it also falls into the trope of people not talking to one another about something that could change the outcome and they both know it but are too arrogant or stupid. I will never understand that. It does have an ambiguous ending that is just perfect.

I'm a huge fan of Beth Lewis's work having loved both The Wolf Road and Bitter Sun. Her latest novel, The Origins of Iris, is very different to both of those novels, but it's another one that I loved and I'm certain that it will make an appearance in my books of the year list come December.

The novel is told in alternating 'Before' and 'After' chapters. The pivotal point is Iris's decision to leave Claude, her wife of six years. The before chapters show Iris’s relationship with Claude and what drives her to leave the woman she loves. We see how they first met – a clear case of lust at first sight – and despite neither of them acting on those desires when they first spot each other across a crowded room, they begin a relationship when Iris – quite literally – runs into Claude some weeks later. They marry and are initially happy, but Iris’s narrative soon shows a darker side to the relationship as we witness the truth about Claude as she becomes physically violent after a work party gone wrong. We then see Iris increasingly walking on eggshells, wondering if – and eventually when – Claude might strike her again.

I think that it’s difficult to portray domestic abuse and abusive relationships sensitively, but Lewis manages this successfully. What is perhaps is even more difficult to convey is why the victim seems to put up with it and chooses to stay rather than leaving their abuser. I think that Lewis addresses this point particularly well throughout the novel and while it’s hard to read about at times – Lewis so successfully evokes Iris’s fear when she spots the warning signs of Claude’s anger – I did understand why she stayed to a point, although it’s fair to say that I was happier knowing that she would leave eventually.

"I've been asked that before, and really… I don't have a good answer except I was afraid."

The after chapters show Iris in the days and weeks after she leaves Claude. There’s her initial mad dash to the Catskill Mountains and her fear that she’ll be caught by either Claude and / or the authorities once her disappearance has been discovered. Finding an abandoned hut, she starts trying to turn it into something resembling a home, despite the state of dilapidation and her lack of skills, equipment, and supplies. It seems like a futile exercise, and yet I couldn’t help but be pleased for Iris in making her escape, particularly as the alternating chapters show the truth of what she leaves behind. It doesn’t seem like a long term plan, and yet she begins to shape this little hut into something of her own, and there’s a sense of pride in achieving something away from the controlling Claude.

After taking a fall in bad weather, Iris meets a woman who is hiking. A woman who is almost identical to Iris, who is called Iris, and who has more in common with Iris than should be possible. As the two women find that they can’t leave, they must work together to understand what has brought them together and how they get out of the unusual situation that they find themselves in. It’s through this mechanism that we see what Iris’s life might have been like had she made other choices – not just in terms of her relationship with Claude, but other, earlier decisions that she has come to regret. It’s something of a Sliding Doors moment as we see what might have been, but it's not simply a case of the grass being greener and there’s a sense that their two lives have been different since a key point of divergence in Iris’s teens, but that the alternative Iris has still experienced difficulties of her own.

"A different me, but unmistakably me.
I'd gone into the woods to find myself.
I found her. Literally."

Iris is such a wonderful character – one who is most definitely flawed and yet easy to sympathise with, particularly as we learn more about her and her circumstances. I love her enthusiasm for all things space related and found it to be infectious – I have a sudden urge to buy a telescope after reading this novel. Through the alternating before and after chapters, the reader gets a sense for how much her relationship with Claude has affected Iris – not just from being a victim of domestic abuse, but the way in which Claude has taken control over so many decisions on Iris’s behalf, shaping her into her ideal rather than letting Iris be herself. It’s wonderful to see her character evolve away from that control and to begin making those choices for herself, however daunting a process that is for her.

The Origins of Iris doesn’t fit neatly into any one genre. There’s a speculative fiction element, but it’s also a novel that explores relationships – of all kinds – and the way in which our past mistakes and regrets stay with us and affect our lives in ways we might not expect. It’s a fantastic novel that will sweep you away to New York and the Catskill Mountains, and one that I highly recommend.

A heartbreaking novel about finding yourself when all seems lost. It’s a journey of discovery, of exploration, and ultimately, about forgiving yourself.

I enjoyed the “before” and “after” format – it clearly showed character development and growth which was intense and filled with depth.

The novel poignantly explores how identity is slowly lost when in an abusive relationship and how we punish ourselves for events beyond our control.

It became easier throughout the novel to empathise with Iris – as you follow her journey from her traumatic adolescence, through her abusive marriage and finally to her breakdown and resurgence, you walk away feeling empowered and filled with strength.

The writing style is beautifully poetic, and I enjoyed Ms. Lewis’s captivating and endearing descriptions.

#netgalley #theoriginsofiris #bethlewis #hodder&stoughton

One of the best books I have read this year. Iris flees an abusive marriage to "find herself" and retreats to the forests she explored with her father as a child. She has experienced so much trauma in her life and her marriage has left her a shadow of her former self. Forest life is not easy and a pesky (but loveable) raccoon does not help matters. Iris feels she is being watched and after a violent storm and an attempt on her life she comes face to face with...herself!! Not who she is now but a different Iris who has walked a different path and made alternative choices.

I loved the Sliding Doors element to this story and although it has moments of abuse and fear there is beauty and magic as well.

Highly recommend.

I seem to be picking some cracking books at the moment and this one did not disappoint at all. Emotional and gripping I really enjoyed this book

This is a raw, emotionally charged story that will grip you from start to finish. Iris flees New York and her abusive wife Claude to find solace in the wilderness of the Catskill Mountains. She finds herself trapped in a cabin and she comes face to face with a better version of herself. This other Iris made different choices but what is she hiding.

The synopsis for this book had me intrigued and I wasn't left disappointed. There are twists and turns and the gripping storyline explores the world of domestic violence and how one can lose their own identity. The writing is beautiful and the story emotional.

A definite must-read.