Everything Under



Name of the book:        Everything Under
Name of the author:      Daisy Johnson
Name of the publisher: Jonathan Cape
No. of pages:                264

In her debut novel, Everything Under, Daisy Johnson, leaves an indelible mark on the readers with all the things that make her novel unique. Though dark and gory, the novel is nothing trite! Therefore, it is not surprising that the book was nominated for the Man Booker Prize, 2018. It is a psychological thriller; full of suspense and mystery but not befitting for the faint-hearts.

The story is primarily based on Gretel’s life whose motive has become to hunt for her mother: Sarah after sixteen years of separation. What brings Gretel back to the river is: ‘The places we are born come back. They disguise themselves as migraines, stomach ache, insomnia.’ However, this is not the only plot; there are a handful of sub-plots that become inter-twined at some points. Though the complexity is discernible, the narration has been laid out very dexterously so that one flows with it smoothly.

One of the aspects that make the novel unique, is the style of narration. It is also as complex as the plotting. The scenes and dialogues are imbibed within the summaries so that they are not distinct from one another.  As far as the language is concerned: it lingers between poetry and prose. Admittedly, sometimes it becomes difficult to know what or who is being talked about. Overall, the language is elevated and quirky with some profound dialogues.

Memory plays a very crucial role in the novel. Memory is not an entity that is visited willfully only; the clues in surroundings or people keep taking the characters back and forth the memory-lane. The novel is not written in chronological order; most of it is in flashbacks and stories narrated by the characters.

 The book is divided into seven parts that are further divided into chapters and each chapter recounts one of the plots spread over the course of the bigger parts. This constant skip from one story to another could have been tiring, but Daisy Johnson makes it interesting enough to keep the reader on the hook throughout.

All the characters are refreshing; none of the archetypical ones.

The final verdict: If you are not made grumpy by grimy and grim tales, you are sure going to relish the perks of this book; you will enjoy being swallowed up by all that is dark and ends dark.
                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        -Kriti Malhotra

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