A young journalist’s searing feature about a near-death attack at a rave on a Yorkshire farm at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic exposes the sociopolitical undercurrents of contemporary Britain.
A fabulous fable about the politics of storytelling ... A terrific second novel from the British author of Assembly examines what it means to be truthful – and who really benefits when facts come to light ... Brown is a talented satirist, for sure, and her commitment to contemporary detail is impressive ... An incisive exploration of the power dynamics of storytelling.
By design, none of these characters is worth rooting for. Were the novel longer than 176 pages, that void would become tiresome ... With Universality, Brown has cemented herself as a writer who separates text from subtext with devastating clarity.
Engaging but...at times, somewhat basic .... Brown’s novel is strongest and most compelling in its sharp analysis of social relationships, of the ways in which we understand and fail to understand one another ... At times, Brown’s political analysis is acute, although her characters are in danger of presenting as caricatures ... A clever, though at times predictable, analysis of modern-day British politics.
