Bold and original, this is not afraid of talking about issues that women face all the time. Mathilda is a great character and her group of friends cover a wide range and she has many issues to deal with. Great writing, interesting ending.

This book is pretty short and I read it in a day . It deals with grief and loss told by the view of Mathilda, who was a weird central character and I am not sure if I liked her yet! I found the writing very beautiful and intricate. I have this 3.5 stars

Mathilda is left reeling by the death of one loved one and the unexpected departure of another. Her closest friends are worried about her and, realising that she can no longer carry on feeling so crushed, Mathilda reluctantly agrees that, although she's unconvinced that she's 'cursed' she'll undergo a ritual cleansing bath. As well as the bathing ritual (complete with candles and potions), she has a tarot reading and goes to Italy for another life-changing experiment with drugs.
The book has a rich cast of characters, is very believable and you really warm to Mathilda. I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this Advanced Review Copy.

A Fantastic Debut Novel.

"At first there was drama and morbid excitement--all the morose trimmings that come with the early stages of mourning and grief." ... From this opening line, we are propelled into the life of a troubled woman in her twenties, who tries to deal with grief, flat sharing, and building a career.

Told in first person narrative, this book takes us into the very heart of the main character, Mathilda, and shows us her pain and grief in all its rawness. By 6% of the read, I had made so many notations for lines that resonated that I had to calm it down, lols. This novel is so realistic and true to life and addresses some stark societal issues such as male dominance, rape, domestic abuse, and sexual abuse (off-page). As the narrative unfolds, the reader soon comes to see that Tilda is hiding something big from herself, a thing she absolutely must deal with before she can truly heal. Below are just a few of those wonderful lines I mentioned above ...

"There's only so long those who love you can dampen their own happiness out of sensitivity for your misfortunes."

And ...

"You're perfect the way you are. You just need to face your shit. He didn't break up with you because you did something wrong."

And ...

"Her pregnant pause turns into a barren land where no words can propagate."

Okay, okay, I'll cease and desist now before I tell you the whole book! This read will make you cry laughing, and laugh from crying. And any difficult issues are dealt with sensitively, which makes it a much easier read than you might expect. I'm sure it won't come as any surprise when I give this fabulous debut women's f fiction novel a solid 5 stars. For certain, I'll be looking out for more books from Abigail Bergstrom.

***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

A heartwarming novel reflecting Mathilda's feelings as she recovers from a relationship breakup and the grief of loosing her father. A very entertaining and absorbing read, giving inspiration to anyone experiencing grief and learning how to cope with it.

I really enjoyed the beginning, how the author had set the story, Mathilda’s close friendship, her childhood trauma,etc. As the story progressed it became more spiritual and I failed to connect with the character’s journey. The writing was the best part for me.

Took me a little bit to get into this book, I think at the start I felt confused as to who was who. Was she talking about her Dad or her ex-boyfriend when she said You? I was also filled with questions, where was her mum in all this? why did her boyfriend break up with her? What was their relationship like? But the more I read, the more I realised that this wasn't all that relevant to the story.

This story grew on me, the way the author tackled the feelings of shame was really well done. The main character Mathilda's traumatic childhood and how much dysfunction she brought into her other relationships is touched on in a very poignant way. A great ending too.

I read this book in one sitting and wished I was the person who had written it. Part story, part therapy the author brings us on a journey into the pain and emptiness inside with which many women will identify.. The book is beautifully written with language that the reader can sink into. The characters are individually interesting and funny and together they are the group of friends we all wish we had. It's a book about using ancient wisdom and the love of friends to heal the soul in the twenty-first century.

Thank you to Hodder for letting me read What A Shame by Abigail Bergstrom in advance! I'd been dying to read this book since it first got announced in the Bookseller, so obviously I requested it on NetGalley straightaway.

Mathilda is having a pretty awful time. Her dad died recently and her boyfriend left her, suddenly. She's living in a houseshare in London with some friends, trying to get by, trying to figure out how she can move on. This reminded me quite a bit of Olive by Emma Gannon – which is funny as Abigail used to be Emma Gannon's agent – although, thankfully, I enjoyed this a lot more than Olive. It's got the same vibes of a woman coming to a realisation about herself and the same fairly plotless narrative, focusing mainly on friendships and connections – and it has the same subplot of a friendship with an elderly woman, although this is done MILES better than in Olive.

As it's me, I did have a few quibbles! I'm not sure if some of the artistic decisions worked, and I wanted to know more about her ex-boyfriend and their life together. I would have liked more context about some of Mathilda's friendships and her life (for example: it's never once mentioned where she's from, I have no idea of how her friendship groups integrated, and there was a LOT about her dad, but I don't think her mum was mentioned once?). The voice notes from her friend Eden were also pretty tedious, and there were some scenes I thought could have been cut out. Also, spirituality and witchy stuff is quite a big feature of this book and, personally, I find that stuff quite boring – but that's an entirely personal preference and not a criticism of the book!

To be honest, I could read limitless books about millennial women living in London, so obviously I enjoyed this. The writing is solid, if not striking, and I liked the characters and I liked reading about Mathilda's life. My favourite part was probably the friendships, and reading about life in their big jumbled Hackney house. I read it in a day, thanks to long train journeys, which is a compliment for a book that doesn't really have much of a driving plot. 4 🌟

The first time I started this I was not keen but I tried again a couple of weeks later and I was drawn in to Mathilde's life. She is clever and funny and has a delightful group of supportive friends. She also visits Constance, an old lady with whom she has formed a special bond. I could not relate at all to the crazy therapies, especially ones involving drugs, but it was interesting to get a glimpse of how millennials live their lives and I loved the humour in it.

A surprisingly funny and relatable spin through on grief and the effect it has on suppressed trauma. I loved this.

We meet the protagonist, Mathilde, at a low point in her life - her dad has just died and her partner has abruptly left her with no explanation - so she is back sharing a house in London owned by one of her best friends Georgina. She has been unhappy and hard to live with for quite some time and she is very aware that her friends are at the limits of their patience. She starts to believe she is cursed and her friends encourage her when she starts to explore ways to banish the darkness that surrounds her. I loved the first two thirds of this book - it is a perfectly observed tale of being a young professional in your 20s in London; house sharing with strangers, keeping up friendships from uni, trying your hardest in your career and comparing your situation in life with others. I loved the detail and rawness and truth in Mathilde’s friendships. Her friendship with Constance is beautiful and heartfelt and one of the highlights of the novel. The last third focuses on her trying to banish her ‘curse’ and I did not enjoy this as much and felt it came together all a bit too neatly at the end. Overall this is a very accomplished debut!

3.5 stars.

Enjoyable book with a host of likeable and relatable characters.
Just the right amount of quirkiness and humour to make you feel you know these people,could be one of them,or just wish they were your friends.

If you are looking for a feminist read, this is the book for you. So relatable, so powerful. Shocking scenes that really do pull you in to the narrative and stun. There's one particular section where I just found myself screaming YES as it put so articulately exactly how I feel and what I want to say to society.
Really went through all the emotions with this.

Mathilde has hit a bump in the road in her life, her dad has recently passed away (who she wasn’t on the best terms with) and unexpectedly her boyfriend has decided he doesn’t want to be with her anymore. Everything seems to be piling up and the weight of the world feels like it is on Mathilde’s shoulders. Trying to get through each day from the sexism At her corporate workplace, trying to deal with the loss of her father and relationship also trying to become at peace with the fact that life throws us challenges where we can either try and get through or we can just not move forward and stay in the dark for the rest of our lives which is mainly spurred on by her 3 friends/housemates (plus a lovely elderly woman called Constance) who even at times when Mathilde thinks she can handle everything herself is welcomed with open arms the support and help they have been for her (even at times when some of the suggestions they put out are probably not the best)

There is a character we meet in this novel Constance (Who our MC goes to visit regularly) and I would have to say those moments between Mathilde and Constance in the book were my favourite, the bond they had together was so lovely to read and just made you feel warm and happy.

I would say this is a book about moving forward, letting go of things we keep as baggage from our pasts, trying to navigate life in hard times how we can overcome these obstacles and finally Friendships which plays a big role in this book.

a character driven story following Mathilde Day to day and as a roundup For the whole book i would have to say it was a good book but there were some parts in here I did have issues with but like i said for the most part it was a good little read.

I really enjoyed this book and as someone who found themselves living with strangers at university I can really relate. It was well written and had really understandable and relatable characters that I loved instantly. I loved the tarot elements an laughed out loud on several occasions as well as feeling like I could shed tears at other times. I really enjoyed it.

What a Shame by Abigail Bergstorm

Bold, funny and heartbreaking debut about grief, the power of female friendship and whether or not tarot can accurately predict your future and you can banish shame through some bath salts .

Reading this , it takes you back to flat sharing with a bunch of strangers which quickly become as close as family and now friends for life.
A fab debut book.