3.5 ✨

This book was absolute chaos, I thought the messaging of the book itself and the writing style was so so clever and engaging but equally it almost veered on the side of a bit too chaotic for me.

I absolutely love problematic toxic characters but I think at times in this one it almost jumped around so much it impacted my connection with the characters/story. I did like the way it was written like a stream of consciousness, I think it gave us a really unique understanding of Charlotte.

Overall I’d say this book is for sure compelling, it’s very dark and chaotic but in a way that has you completely gripped, I think personally I’d have liked a longer book- I think it would have given more time to really delve deeper and slow down the chaos but then I’m also a long book lover so that’s hardly surprising. I’m really intrigued to see what the author does next as her intelligence is clear

Thanks to the publisher and author for the ARC provided via NetGalley; this is my unbiased review.

Bodies by Christine Anne Foley
John Murray Press, 4th July 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:
Johnny was my first. I was seventeen, and I was only brave enough to talk to him after I'd had three vodkas. He was only brave enough to kiss me when no-one else was around.

Dave was different. We didn't go out or see friends. We were each other's world. Dave was all I needed. We were toxic before it became fashionable.

Kyle was my best friend. And that was the problem. Or at least that's what he said was the problem. Because friends can hook up, but they can't date.

Adam was meant to be some harmless fun. I met him in a hotel and he was wearing an Adidas tracksuit. Casual but cute. He was anything but harmless.

And then I met You.
And things went from bad to worse.

Review:
The vague description of this debut, combined with the eye-catching cover, intrigued me enough to request an ARC. Written in a first person, monologue style, it's the story of Charlotte, a teacher from Dublin, who is reflecting on her early teen years, sexual awakening, and treatment by men.

There's an awful lot of jumping around between different relationships and timeframes, and none of the dialogue is in speech marks, so these combine to make it quite a confusing read overall.

But, if you manage to get to the end without working out the twist, this would make it quite satisfying. I can imagine a TV series of this book working rather well, and it being a popular read upon its summer release.

#Bodies #ChristineAnneFoley #JohnMurrayPress #BookReview

A very real and raw portrayal of irelands culture growing up as a teenage girl into a young woman. Exploring her sexuality, the relationships she had, experimenting with drugs.

It shows how horrible women are treated by men in this culture of drugs and drink and “lad” culture here in Ireland.

It also explores the stigma and shame around promiscuity and having sex for women.

I really enjoyed the stream of consciousness style of writing, I feel it really added to the story being told.

It’s very dark and very triggering but so real and accurate unfortunately. The ending also shocked me!

An interesting book. Told in a series of flashback from the point of view of Charlotte, we see her at points growing up with Saoirse, the older sister she obviously adores, but also her first encounters with men (or teenagers in the case of brothers Johnny and Lar), and then a series of often unpleasant encounters with men as Charlotte grows up and leaves home.

Many of Charlotte’s encounters are clearly self-destructive – there is a lot of misogyny and sexism at play here, but Charlotte also seems to seek out men who will either treat her badly, or treat the other women in their lives badly as well as Charlotte.
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It’s difficult to say more without giving away plot details – having started this knowing there was a ‘twist’ I’d guessed what that twist was going to be.

Love this love this love this! From the blurb I knew I was going to enjoy this but it exceed my expectations. A sad girl novel for all too enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley and John Murray Press for allowing me to read this ARC.

Bodies by Christine Anne Foley narrates some of Charlotte's romantic and sexual experiences throughout her adult life. That's all I can say for now! You'll have to read it to find out the rest...

I read this in about two hours. Truly devoured it. Such an incredibly raw and thrilling piece of literature, which I have no doubt will be one of the next biggest books on chaotic booktok.

Trigger warning : suicide

Just unrelentingly dark. Not insightful or illuminating or constructive in its telling. Grim.

"𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚, 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖."
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This was one of the most unhinged, wild and powerful debuts I've read and I inhaled every bit of it— I'm not surprised it's been considered the 'it girl book of the year'.
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Within the first few pages I was completely hooked on the writing style in this; it read like poetry to me from beginning to end which ultimately made it a fast paced and addictive story. With it being in first person the whole way through, it constantly felt like we were Charlotte herself going through every happy, sad and tragic event along the way which to me added another clever layer that would have been missing had it been written in any other way. The flashbacks and time jumps took a bit of getting used to at the start but it didn't take long before I was deeply immersed into Charlotte's life.
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I didn't fully know what to expect going into this and after finishing it, I'm glad of the fact. Bodies is a dark and shocking story, full of raw, uncomfortable and very real moments surrounding Charlotte's relationships with different men over the course of her teenage and adult life. I still can't figure out how to feel about her but I did find Charlotte intriguing and rightly or wrongly, I sort of understood her by the end. I won't say much else about the plot because I think it's the type of book that is best to go into blind so you can get the full effect. I can say I particularly enjoyed the last few chapters, even after needing to just stare at the wall after finishing the book wondering wtf I'd just read!
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Overall, this will definitely stick with me for a while and I think a lot of women will (sadly) be able to relate to certain things in this book. I also had strong Boy Parts by Eliza Clark vibes by the end so if you're a fan of that I'd highly recommend Bodies.

Thank you Netgalley & John Murrays for the digital ARC!

I cannot think of a better-named book. BODIES will have you looking at your own a bit differently, that's for sure.

Told in a series of vignettes from Charlotte Murphy's past, readers discover the spectrum of boys, men and walking red flags that she's interacted with over the course of her life. Some of it happy, some it of sad, but all of it compelling. At first I was just reassured to find a story about someone with a messier love life then mine and then, as I kept reading, I was reassured to see how much worse it could be.

Filled with 00s reflections on shame, loss and party culture, BODIES is a quick read that I'm very glad I've read.

'Bodies' was an astute observation on the trajectory from girlhood to womanhood. Suicide, abuse, toxic patterns, and relationship issues circumnavigate this novel through episodic glimpses into each man the main character became entangled with. I very much enjoyed the non-chronological timeline as this helped break up any stagnation. I resonated with the vulnerability and rawness of this book; the author thanking the men who helped shape this novel was a great ending to a powerful debut novel. I loved that female friendships and bonds were just as significant as the romantic relationships.

My only criticism of this novel is that the ending felt rushed. Personally, I think a few extra pages would make my review 5 stars instead.

Overall, this novel is an achievement, and I would recommend it to not just body horror/psychological readers, but anyone interested in social relationships.

This was one of my most anticipated books for the year. So I knew I was going to love it. And it did not disappoint. It actually went above and beyond expectations. Truly a brilliant read.

Wow. What a vulnerable, raw and powerful read. Please make sure you check the trigger warnings for this book 💌

Foley’s incredible writing takes us through the journey of life from childhood to adulthood. The protagonist explores her experiences with love, friendships, family, relationships, toxicity and suicide. “Bodies” represents the emotional and physical change of the anatomy by focussing on themes like sex/pregnancy, drugs/alcohol, body image, forms of abuse and death.

“I want you to see the bodies pile up” explores the separation of identity and worth from the protagonist’s own experiences.

I devoured this book and admired how Foley captured the art of humankind by sharing different character interactions that creates real and relatable content for readers.

It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, not just because of the beautiful writing (although there's that) or the clever structure (although there's that too) but because of the author's wisdom and insight. It's a real accomplishment to write so unflinchingly and candidly about sexual abuse within relationships without ever making it feel exploitative. Brilliant.

I thought this book was great. I initially found the timeline confusing as it jumps around quite a bit, but quickly stopped noticing that.

The characters are relatable and well written. I’d recommend going into this completely blind, I was totally taken by surprise by the twist!

Looking forward to seeing what’s next from Christine Anne Foley 😊

“ Johnny Casey was the first, he was tall and handsome, I was young and brave enough, after getting three vodkas inside me, to go and talk to him. At 17, I was on the outskirts looking in at all the cool people, including Johnny’s brother Lar, a gorgeous and dangerous obsession. A bit later, there was Dave, we met at college and we were toxic. We were never alone, someone always interfered, my friends hated him and vice versa, but strangely, I felt safe with him. Then there was Kyle and he broke me, but ultimately I was the one that broke him. One thing was for sure, in that household, things were very messed up and complicated. Next came Adam from the North, casual in his Adidas tracksuit, he seemed cute but that was my mistake. Finally, there’s You and I adored you, but things just went from bad to worse.”

This powerful debut novel set in Dublin and narrated in the first person by Charlotte Murphy, is one of those reads that leaves you somewhat “gobsmacked”. I think this is one that I’ll continue to reel from a few days or more from now. Her reflections, her memories, the encounters, relationships, and her friendships are dark and gets darker and darker. When we first meet her as an older teenager, it seems at this point to be all about games and gameplaying, There’s drink, there’s drugs, there are obsessions, there’s gaslighting, and the writing captures those times to perfection. You have no idea of what is to come and that’s probably a good thing. From the start though, you realise just how perceptive Charlotte is, especially her insights into bodies and control. It becomes increasingly raw, honest and devastating. She’s at times vulnerable, at others you feel and empathise with her uncertainty, she loves and she loses and at times, feels shame. It becomes apparent that Charlotte is very damaged and flawed but the question is what makes her that way? The men who treat her badly or is it something else? That keeps me immersed in the storyline.

The novel is so well written that the author makes me feel as if I’m living this life through Charlotte which is a bit uncomfortable, but it’s undoubtedly clever and powerful writing. As the storyline and the men drift through her life and it reaches the climax of the story I don’t think I’m prepared for what’s to come. It absolutely socks you between the eyes and shocks you to the core as it’s not in the least bit what I expect. However, on reflection, you realise that once you know the situation and about Charlotte‘s past that after the disasters and the tragedies, things are only going to go one way.

Overall, this is a very different and well written novel and it might be a marmite book. I’m not entirely convinced I love it but what I can say with certainty is that it’s gripping, at times it’s extremely tense, almost to the hold your breath stage, the ending is incredible and it’s one heck of a read.

With thanks to NetGalley, and especially to John Murray Press for granting my wish to read this book in return for an honest review.

4.25 stars!!

I went into this not really knowing what it was about and to be honest I was pleasantly surprised! I really enjoyed reading about the different relationships and a lot of things that were said resonated with me. This story is a FUCK YOU to the men that gaslight, abuse, manipulate and use women. I am so on side w that. And the ending knocked me sideways, I don’t know how but I really did not see it coming. Very gripping read - but I am a nosy bitch and love reading about peoples relationships which is essentially what this is (even if it is fictional)

Charlotte is a teacher living in Dublin. She
tells her life story through her relationship with her sister and the men she has sex with, none of whom are particularly pleasant. It's a short book and I wasn't sure where it was going but I enjoyed the twist at the end

Charlotte, is a secondary school teacher in South Dublin and the book is about her history and current relationship. The narrative in written in a stream of consciousness style and jumps about back and forward in time. This takes us into Charlotte's character deeply and creates a sense of intimacy and almost suffocation. We learn about all the traumatic things outside of her control that have happened to Charlotte in the past and the doomed trajectory of her sexual relationships from her teens onwards into adulthood. I can see this will be a great summer page turning read and seems ripe for a screen/TV adaptation. I can't say, given the subject matter, that I enjoyed the tale but it was weirdly gripping.

This was an experience. It was more open door then I was expecting and no speech marks. It was a page turner.

Bodies by Christine Anne Foley is a striking and powerful debut. It is raw, dark and unflinching narrative of the relationships that have shaped our protagonist’s life. There is more than meets the eye to this novel, however, and I would argue that the blinder you go into this one the better. That said, there are significant trigger warnings to consider. 4.5 🌟

Bodies is told from Charlotte’s perspective in stream of consciousness style narrative. The novel is guided by the different relationships Charlotte finds herself in throughout her life, up to the point at which she’s telling her story. Interspersed amongst these more straightforward chronological tales are chapters entitled ‘You’ and ‘Saoirse’, each of which revolve around two significant individuals to Charlotte. I felt that the time jumps worked well and the way Foley peppered them in really helped to build intrigue, but also helped you to better understand Charlotte.

It’s difficult to say much about Charlotte without giving too much away. She is someone who has been significantly impacted and shaped by events far out of her control. She is someone that has been manipulated by those she sought comfort in. She is also someone who makes some pretty destructive choices throughout. I’ll say nothing about the twist but wow!

I found the way Foley bookended her story to be fascinating, exploring the idea that woman are consumed by the men who takes pieces of what make them who they are. Additionally Charlotte’s thoughts on the origins and growth of female shame were very powerful.

This is a dark and powerful read. It’s not for the faint hearted but it’s certainly one I’d recommend.