Fiction

Assembly

Assembly

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-05-27 09:51:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Natasha Brown
  • ISBN：0241992664
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Summary

SHORTLISTED FOR THE FOLIO PRIZE 2022

SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLDSMITHS PRIZE 2021

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG FICTION AWARD 2021

'Diamond-sharp， timely and urgent' Observer， Best Debuts of 2021

'Subtle， elegant， scorching' Vogue

'Virtuosic， exquisite， achingly unique' Guardian

'I'm full of the hope， on reading it， that this is the kind of book that doesn't just mark the moment things change， but also makes that change possible' Ali Smith

'Exquisite， daring， utterly captivating。 A stunning new writer' Bernardine Evaristo

Come of age in the credit crunch。 Be civil in a hostile environment。 Step out into a world of Go Home vans。 Go to Oxbridge， get an education， start a career。 Do all the right things。 Buy a flat。 Buy art。 Buy a sort of happiness。 But above all， keep your head down。 Keep quiet。 And keep going。

The narrator of Assembly is a Black British woman。 She is preparing to attend a lavish garden party at her boyfriend's family estate， set deep in the English countryside。 At the same time， she is considering the carefully assembled pieces of herself。 As the minutes tick down and the future beckons， she can't escape the question: is it time to take it all apart？

'One of the most talked-about debuts of the year 。 。 。 You'll read it in one sitting' Sunday Times Style

'Expertly crafted， remarkable， astonishing。。。 A literary debut with flavours of Jordan Peele's Get Out' Bookseller， Editor's Choice

'Virginia Woolf's Mrs。 Dalloway meets Citizen by Claudia Rankine。。。 As breathtakingly graceful as it is mercilessly true' Olivia Sudjic

'Bold and original， with a cool intelligence， and so very truthful about the colonialist structure of British society' Diana Evans

'This marvel of a novel manages to say all there is to say about Britain today' Sabrina Mahfouz

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Reviews

Jan-Maat ，

Shown this book I wasinitialy sniffy （ is dismissive with a hint of contempt） after all I reasoned if the fictionalnarrator had asked me I would have advised her against working in financial services。 There I might have said， you will work with people like Nigel Garage who during his school days at the elite Dulwich College doodles National Front slogans on his books。 Though of course a recent biographer has told us that Garage is not a racist， and perhaps we can be different people than we were Shown this book I wasinitialy sniffy （ is dismissive with a hint of contempt） after all I reasoned if the fictionalnarrator had asked me I would have advised her against working in financial services。 There I might have said， you will work with people like Nigel Garage who during his school days at the elite Dulwich College doodles National Front slogans on his books。 Though of course a recent biographer has told us that Garage is not a racist， and perhaps we can be different people than we were at school。 I mention this because the inner city comprehensive I attended was up the road from the preparatory school from Dulwich College where as far as I could tell little boys learnt to wear short trousers all year round。 Our school was born of 1960s optimism。 Meaning it was seemingly mostly constructed out of asbestos。 The majority of pupils were black， the few of us who weren't， weren't exactly English either， maybe there was one boy in my class who was， but he didn't know who his father was。 It was an interesting experience， the cleverest and the most stupid， the most and the least beautiful were all black， the rest of us crowded towards the middle between those extremes。 The smartest boy in our class was called Gregory， his father had been a policeman in the Metropolitan Police but had left ' because he didn't like nicking people' which was how in South London how we said arresting people， then I was eleven of twelve and took his words at face value。 Over time though I got older （as happens I understand to many people） and understood it differently。 A black man working in The Met （later officially described as institutional racist） at the time of the second Brixton riots， he must have been an idealist， or a nutter （sorry for the tautology）。Anyroad， that's what this book is about， and I think about all those people who have to eat a lot of manure when all they wanted to do was an honest days work。The story is quite British specfic though curiously in places the language and the terminology was from the USA。I wondered in story what the narrator thought she could positively achieve by leaving her estate to her sister， when in story there was no logical or plausible escape from the structural racism she describes。 But perhaps the author meant to show how we delude ourselves。 。。。more

zahraa al lawati ，

I feel like I would've absolutely loved this book if it was a hundred pages longer because I really liked the writing and our narrator's voice。 I feel like I would've absolutely loved this book if it was a hundred pages longer because I really liked the writing and our narrator's voice。 。。。more

Megha ，

The book writes of a successful racially diverse protagonist in the UK and the dread she feel everyday because of the contradictions that exists in how the societies views her race and success。 Nothing is ever enough for her to be OK。 She explores the biased exploitative system of the imperial empire that created an unjust society on the labours of the commonwealth while delivering a deep self exploration of impact of these systems on inner life。 I loved reading it。 I may not be in the UK but ou The book writes of a successful racially diverse protagonist in the UK and the dread she feel everyday because of the contradictions that exists in how the societies views her race and success。 Nothing is ever enough for her to be OK。 She explores the biased exploitative system of the imperial empire that created an unjust society on the labours of the commonwealth while delivering a deep self exploration of impact of these systems on inner life。 I loved reading it。 I may not be in the UK but our capitalistic systems are not too far apart from the imperials exploitative structures。 Dread dread dread， thump thump thump！ 。。。more

Julio César ，

I had read a review in the newspaper of the recently published Spanish translation and it struck me how cold and unassuming the author was， in the interview。 I went for the original text， then， and what I found struck me as a delicate and promising piece of writing。 The English language is here laid out as a battle field， where the reader is permanently aware of the purity and delicacy of its use while at the same time is being dragged into its ominous history of disenfranchisement。

Lili ，

Don’t let the size of this novella fool you; it packs one heck of a punch！ Written in stream of consciousness vignettes， Brown unravels the inner workings of our narrator and yanks the curtain on Britain’s past and present with race， colonisation， slavery， classism and misogyny。 Reality is laid bare and it’s truly ugly to see; “Born here， parents born here， always lived here - still， never from here。 Their culture becomes parody on my body。”{I received a copy of this book from Penguin Books - th Don’t let the size of this novella fool you; it packs one heck of a punch！ Written in stream of consciousness vignettes， Brown unravels the inner workings of our narrator and yanks the curtain on Britain’s past and present with race， colonisation， slavery， classism and misogyny。 Reality is laid bare and it’s truly ugly to see; “Born here， parents born here， always lived here - still， never from here。 Their culture becomes parody on my body。”{I received a copy of this book from Penguin Books - this is my honest review。} 。。。more

Umma ，

I don't want to be somebody that buys into the hype but it's good。 So， so， so， sooooo good。 It's really simple but。。。 Like hits the spot？！ I don't even know how to describe it。 Really short - I believe its only 100 pages and the text is big， so。。。 It's actually a lot shorter in terms of the amount of words？！ I don't know， I just know that it's one for everyone。 Maybe a good book for those who want to get into reading but can't quite get themselves motivated to read long books？！ I don't want to be somebody that buys into the hype but it's good。 So， so， so， sooooo good。 It's really simple but。。。 Like hits the spot？！ I don't even know how to describe it。 Really short - I believe its only 100 pages and the text is big， so。。。 It's actually a lot shorter in terms of the amount of words？！ I don't know， I just know that it's one for everyone。 Maybe a good book for those who want to get into reading but can't quite get themselves motivated to read long books？！ 。。。more

Ricki ，

Very poetic and powerful， but the plot was hard to follow。

Jennifer ，

I need to go back and look into everyones reviews。 because I am not getting the hype with this one。 it was just meh。 She often uses American terms while this book is set in England and it's really not what it says on the tin。。 winds up becoming some sort of hamfisted rant on racism。I waited 2 yrs for my library to get this book as the £12。99 price tag was obscene for a book that takes 20 mins if that to read。 Now I am wondering why I bothered。more later。。 I need to go back and look into everyones reviews。 because I am not getting the hype with this one。 it was just meh。 She often uses American terms while this book is set in England and it's really not what it says on the tin。。 winds up becoming some sort of hamfisted rant on racism。I waited 2 yrs for my library to get this book as the £12。99 price tag was obscene for a book that takes 20 mins if that to read。 Now I am wondering why I bothered。more later。。 。。。more

olivia ，

2。5/5 I don't think the writing style was for me， but I thought that the story was compelling otherwise。 2。5/5 I don't think the writing style was for me， but I thought that the story was compelling otherwise。 。。。more

Naomi Wilson ，

1/2 enjoyment， 1/2 influenced worldview， 0/1 would read again

Ksenia ，

in the first verse was my favourite lines throughout the whole book， it's a really strong start！ overall super strong， i eould definitely recommend。 i'm glad i got to experience the character's frustration through this book。 this story will definitely stick with me for a long time in the first verse was my favourite lines throughout the whole book， it's a really strong start！ overall super strong， i eould definitely recommend。 i'm glad i got to experience the character's frustration through this book。 this story will definitely stick with me for a long time 。。。more

Claire Wright ，

This novella is like a stream of consciousness which left me entirely baffled。 The story jumps forward & back in time; not always clear who is talking。 Characters are randomly included with no explanation as to who they are。 Mercifully it’s only 100 pages else I wouldn’t have finished it。

Siyun ，

Possibly one of the best books about otherness， marginalization， unjust and suppressions against immigrants I have ever read。 And it all happened， in under 100 pages。 My heart was pounding when I was reading it， and re-reading it， 3 am in the morning。 The microaggression， the unbearable， internalized emotional weight the narrator - a successful banker， a black female and the child of immigrants experiencing， was so dread and excruciating; shame， anger， agony， all swirled into an emotional blackh Possibly one of the best books about otherness， marginalization， unjust and suppressions against immigrants I have ever read。 And it all happened， in under 100 pages。 My heart was pounding when I was reading it， and re-reading it， 3 am in the morning。 The microaggression， the unbearable， internalized emotional weight the narrator - a successful banker， a black female and the child of immigrants experiencing， was so dread and excruciating; shame， anger， agony， all swirled into an emotional blackhole that is impossible to escape。 Makes me want to scream。 I particularly drawn to Brown's writing style - elegant and rhythmic， powerful and enlightening， stream of thoughts and violent emotions。 I am eager to seek out other publication from the author。 "Be the best。 Work harder， work smarter。 Exceed every expectation。 But also， be invisible， imperceptible。 Don’t make anyone uncomfortable。 Don’t inconvenience。 Exist in the negative only， the space around。 Do not insert yourself into the main narrative。 Go unnoticed。 Become the air"。"The answer: assimilation。 Always， the pressure is there。 Assimilate， assimilate… Dissolve yourself into the melting pot。 And then flow out， pour into the mould。 Bend your bones until they splinter and crack and you fit。 Force yourself into their form。 Assimilate， they say it， encouraging。 Then frowning。 Then again and again。 And always there， quiet， beneath the urging language of tolerance and cohesion – disappear"！ 。。。more

Featherbooks ，

Can’t review this exceptional little book any better than Ali Smith in The GuardianLast week I read a debut novel called Assembly by Natasha Brown。 It’s a quiet， measured call to revolution。 It’s about everything that has changed and still needs to change， socially， historically， politically， personally。 It’s slim in the hand， but its impact is massive; it strikes me as the kind of book that sits on the faultline between a before and an after。 I could use words like elegant and brilliantly judge Can’t review this exceptional little book any better than Ali Smith in The GuardianLast week I read a debut novel called Assembly by Natasha Brown。 It’s a quiet， measured call to revolution。 It’s about everything that has changed and still needs to change， socially， historically， politically， personally。 It’s slim in the hand， but its impact is massive; it strikes me as the kind of book that sits on the faultline between a before and an after。 I could use words like elegant and brilliantly judged and literary antecedents such as Katherine Mansfield/Toni Morrison/Claudia Rankine。 But it’s simpler than that。 I’m full of the hope， on reading it， that this is the kind of book that doesn’t just mark the moment things change， but also makes that change possible。• Ali Smith， the author of Summer （Penguin），https://www。theguardian。com/books/202。。。 。。。more

Arifa ，

Amazing！ A book I can definitely recommend to others。

George Neville-Neil ，

A great， quick and insightful read。

Ophelia ，

Absolutely on point！ Sadly。 Great book。 Brilliant writing。 Wish it was longer。

Scott Cumming ，

It's quite something for a novel to explore the past， present and potential future for what it means to be a young black woman in Britain， but to do so in merely 100 pages is phenomenal。Brown uses literary devices to great effect especially during a chapter that takes place during a train journey and mimics a mind wandering between deep thoughts， remembering minor life events and regrets and musing on things to come。It captures the casual cruelty and divide that still exists upon which Brexit wa It's quite something for a novel to explore the past， present and potential future for what it means to be a young black woman in Britain， but to do so in merely 100 pages is phenomenal。Brown uses literary devices to great effect especially during a chapter that takes place during a train journey and mimics a mind wandering between deep thoughts， remembering minor life events and regrets and musing on things to come。It captures the casual cruelty and divide that still exists upon which Brexit was built， but burrows deeper looking back to slavery and the National Front。I could not put this down and I could feel my adrenaline flowing， the blood rushing in my ears once I'd finished， such is the stirring experience of this one。 。。。more

Olivia Morgan ，

2。5

Ilse ，

Generations of sacrifice; hard work and harder living。 So much suffered， so much forfeited， so much–for this opportunity。 For my life。 And I’ve tried， tried living up to it。 But after years of struggling， fighting against the current， I’m ready to slow my arms。 Stop kicking。 Breathe the water in。 I’m exhausted。 Perhaps it’s time to end this story。I reject this life。 The pain is transformational， transdescent - the undoing of construction。 A return， mercifully， to dust。

lisamargar3ta ，

Liten bok med mycket innehåll。

Ben Taylor ，

Short， clever， different， absorbing。 Would recommend， especially as it only takes an hour or so to read。 Perhaps not quite worthy of the superlatives it's received - I will only know for sure in a few months if I'm still thinking about it。。。 Short， clever， different， absorbing。 Would recommend， especially as it only takes an hour or so to read。 Perhaps not quite worthy of the superlatives it's received - I will only know for sure in a few months if I'm still thinking about it。。。 。。。more

Edokeijzer ，

A slim book with a big story and creative prose。 It shines a multifaceted light on the struggle to succeed in the banking sector as a minority。 Told to be （extra）hardworking， persistent， smart， friendly， collaborative etc。。。 a consistent fight for approval and worthiness moulded by racist， sexsist and capitalist norms。 Yes there's financial independance， but she remains a powerless prisoner of the systemic forces that judge and bellitle her。 A slim book with a big story and creative prose。 It shines a multifaceted light on the struggle to succeed in the banking sector as a minority。 Told to be （extra）hardworking， persistent， smart， friendly， collaborative etc。。。 a consistent fight for approval and worthiness moulded by racist， sexsist and capitalist norms。 Yes there's financial independance， but she remains a powerless prisoner of the systemic forces that judge and bellitle her。 。。。more

Liz ，

Why do I understand so much of what this book highlights， it hurts a little to。 Brilliant book shedding light of the experiences of Black women from working class backgrounds who manage to attain ‘success’ and the challenges they face in navigating white middle class society。

Debby ，

This novella provides a taut， contemporary look at racism and misogyny。 Read my full review here。 This novella provides a taut， contemporary look at racism and misogyny。 Read my full review here。 。。。more

Sandy Morley ，

An artful insight into the otherness experienced by a successful black woman。 It's fiction， but it has a rare sense of tangibility and is grounded in the reality of which the windrush scandal is just the tip of the iceberg。 An artful insight into the otherness experienced by a successful black woman。 It's fiction， but it has a rare sense of tangibility and is grounded in the reality of which the windrush scandal is just the tip of the iceberg。 。。。more

Lulufrances ，

A bit too smart and thus disengaging， distant。 The writing flow reminded me of Jenny Offill and Patricia Lockwood。 However it did make some very good points （that were a bit lost due to the fragmentary style） and I did like the reading process in of itself。

Emilie ，

This „thinky woman“ writing style is probably just not for me。 Why do they always think in such short sentences？

Chloe ，

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this book。 I appreciate the ambition， and its difference， but at times it felt a bit like a creative writing exercise。 I wanted more， more insight， more closeness， more detail。 Perhaps that’s intended - that distance and obscurity - but it didn’t really work for me。 It felt too intentionally literary， something I do not like AT ALL。

Naomi ，

Not bad writing， but I’m kind of bored of the hyper stylised stream of consciousness alienated protagonist thing。 Felt like a good idea for a novel but not quite a full novel

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Assembly

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Assembly&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Assembly&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0