From the author of The Seed Collectors comes a darkly comic take on power, privilege, and the pressure put on young women to fit in―and be thin―at their all-girls boarding school.
It's not surprising that it's an extremely dark book; it is surprising, however, that it's one of the funniest novels in recent years ... It takes a special kind of audacity to write a comic novel about teenagers with eating disorders, but Thomas executes it brilliantly. She doesn't use the girls as punchlines; it's the adults, clueless and casually cruel, who she sets in her sights ... By contrast, Thomas describes the girls' bruised psyches with a real gentleness that never turns patronizing ... understated, deeply sad moments, contrasted with the novel's bizarre plot and gleefully dark humor, turn the book into something special, multi-faceted; it certainly feels like something that hasn't really been attempted before ... And it's Thomas' boldness, as well as her writing — every sentence seems painstakingly constructed — that make Oligarchy such a remarkable novel. It's brash, bizarre and original, an unflinching look at a group of young women who have become 'hungry ghosts, flickering on the edge of this world.'
... a fast, fizzy read ... Thomas is satirically attuned to the intricate frustration of teen life, the ignoble obsessions of puerile minds and the speed at which hygiene, decorum and false pretences vanish in a single-sex boarding institution. This makes for an entertaining, irreverent and wrong-hilarious read ... The novel is full of brilliant lines and I’m deliberately not quoting the best ones, to save them for buying readers ... [Thomas] is on a red-hot streak of invention right now and these narratives succeed because of the novelist’s deep understanding of the cracks and quirks of such communities ... When Thomas slows down for a moment I am reminded how excellent her dialogue is ... Despite the occasional spangles of darkness, this is hugely enjoyable. It’s about as menacing as a cool girl’s black glitter nail polish – and just as much fun.
As an eating disorder survivor, I feel Thomas has perfected a balance of the hypocrisy associated with the handling of the illness and the ultimate bleakness it can present. The black humour that glues the themes together only makes it more identifiable, and provides vital commentary on diet culture ... beautifully written, with each sentence as bewitching as the last. Although focused on the lives of the privileged and wealthy, Thomas has something important to say about the potential vulnerability of young women in general, no matter your background ... Full of black humour and witty realism, Oligarchy is a dark and shimmering gem.
