Interesting Facts About Space
Author: Emily Austin
Published by: Atlantic Books
Pages: 305
Format: Hardback
My Rating: ★★★★
Author: Emily Austin
Published by: Atlantic Books
Pages: 305
Format: Hardback
My Rating: ★★★★
Enid is many things: serial dater, deaf in one ear, lesbian, space obsessive, true crime fanatic. When she's not listening to grizzly murder podcasts, she's managing her crippling phobia of bald people and trying hard not to think about her mortifying teenage years - which is hard, when she's lost the password to her old YouTube account and the (many) vlogs that her teen self once uploaded. She's worried about herself, her depressive mother, and what the deal is with gender reveal parties.
But as Enid fumbles her way through her first serious relationship and navigates a new family life with her estranged half-sisters, she starts to worry that someone is following her. As her paranoia spirals out of control, Enid must contend with her mounting suspicion that something is seriously wrong with her...
But as Enid fumbles her way through her first serious relationship and navigates a new family life with her estranged half-sisters, she starts to worry that someone is following her. As her paranoia spirals out of control, Enid must contend with her mounting suspicion that something is seriously wrong with her...
My thoughts:
Interesting Facts About Space is a warm, funny and entertaining novel for anyone who has ever worried that they might be a terrible person. a queer young female narrator. I read this one as part of a monthly book club in Bath and it is a brilliant book to discuss with a group.
The novel’s main character, Enid, is an extremely well-written neurodivergent soul, who struggles with a variety of phobias and some issues caused by being born deaf in one ear. Enid also finds true crime podcasts soothing, has a phobia of bald men, and is an expert on space.
Her social interactions are limited to brief hookups from the various dating apps she has installed on her phone, one friend from work who understands her, and her depressed mother whom she communicates with largely through relating facts about space.
This is an emotional read, told with warmth and sensitivity. Emily Austin does a wonderful job at portraying trauma, disability, ways of coping, neurodivergence, PTSD and complicated family dynamics. The writing feels wise, thoughtful and well-balanced, with many themes that readers will undoubtedly be able to relate to, find humour in, and empathise with. Enid is a wonderful central character and the people in her life are portrayed in ways that feel authentic and fully developed. Every character is important and necessary to tell Enid’s unique and quirky life story. I've never read anything that so sensitively explores the strange ways we try to connect with others, and the power of sharing our secret selves with the people we love.
The book starts slow, and admittedly it took me a while to really connect with it, but I am so glad I kept reading. Getting to know Enid and watching her develop relationships with others in the latter part of the novel was so readable. I swept through the last two hundred pages very quickly, desperate to know more about Enid and her life. My only reason for rating four stars instead of five was that I felt the ending was a little underwhelming.
Overall, Interesting Facts About Space ended up being so much better than I had initially expected! This was my first Emily Austin book, and I am now keen to read more by the author.
Overall reaction:
Interesting Facts About Space is a warm, funny and entertaining novel for anyone who has ever worried that they might be a terrible person. a queer young female narrator. I read this one as part of a monthly book club in Bath and it is a brilliant book to discuss with a group.
The novel’s main character, Enid, is an extremely well-written neurodivergent soul, who struggles with a variety of phobias and some issues caused by being born deaf in one ear. Enid also finds true crime podcasts soothing, has a phobia of bald men, and is an expert on space.
Her social interactions are limited to brief hookups from the various dating apps she has installed on her phone, one friend from work who understands her, and her depressed mother whom she communicates with largely through relating facts about space.
This is an emotional read, told with warmth and sensitivity. Emily Austin does a wonderful job at portraying trauma, disability, ways of coping, neurodivergence, PTSD and complicated family dynamics. The writing feels wise, thoughtful and well-balanced, with many themes that readers will undoubtedly be able to relate to, find humour in, and empathise with. Enid is a wonderful central character and the people in her life are portrayed in ways that feel authentic and fully developed. Every character is important and necessary to tell Enid’s unique and quirky life story. I've never read anything that so sensitively explores the strange ways we try to connect with others, and the power of sharing our secret selves with the people we love.
The book starts slow, and admittedly it took me a while to really connect with it, but I am so glad I kept reading. Getting to know Enid and watching her develop relationships with others in the latter part of the novel was so readable. I swept through the last two hundred pages very quickly, desperate to know more about Enid and her life. My only reason for rating four stars instead of five was that I felt the ending was a little underwhelming.
Overall, Interesting Facts About Space ended up being so much better than I had initially expected! This was my first Emily Austin book, and I am now keen to read more by the author.
Overall reaction:
