There are flashes of humour but ultimately this is an intimate and brutal novella exploring a woman’s identity through her childhood with an abusive, alcoholic father, her abandonment by her adulterous husband, swiftly followed by a breast cancer diagnosis. The short, poetic sentences make everything immediate, so it is both easy to read and yet gruelling as we watch her endure the endless, traumatic treatment. Devastating but compelling.
Somewhere deep, deep inside you is calm. You stand upright. Your body swaps slightly. You don’t hear the din, the clamour that wants to drive you to panic. You’re not afraid. Your eyes are wide open. You don’t look away from the mirror. You want to delve into what you see inside. Is this death, this dark circle that refuses to give way before your gaze? The watery pupil devouring your eye.
