A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride

A Girl is a Half-formed Thing

Eimear McBride

An extremely difficult book to read both in subject matter and writing style, but if you take it on, it will shake your world. You will get right inside the narrator’s life through her conscious stream of thoughts and actions. A combination of an absent father, a religious mother and a dying brother leads her to the only thing she feels accepted for – sex. Original, powerful – it will challenge you in a way you won’t forget.

Extract
I open my eyes. Do you know how to fuck? What? His red face. So it's like this this is what it's like. What? Easiest do I ever did. He run scarlet. What? Spit settle on his lip I say let's go for a walk. No risk for what will he answer ahhh and never no for sure.
She's turned and looking though she didn't hear but she knows something's. Not like me to walk away with some lad and I know I'll tell later to wipe the smile off her face when she say soooo what were you at? Go on give her one shouts one of the lada. Little does he know.
I tell her I took him farther to the trees and pulled my skirt up. Opened my knees said come on. He was almost died of fright. Tried to kiss me, press against me. Saying something sweet and nice. Like you're ssssh. Take your trousers down. I'll only touch his tremble cock.
Parallels
  • A Kind of Intimacy by Jenn Ashworth
  • Filthy English by Jonathan Meades
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Violence
Explicit sexual content