What a strange book OLIGARCHY is. Unexpected, daring, and full of life; this book is certainly unlike anything I have read before. Scarlett Thomas paints an amazing portrait of a British girls boarding school full of hierarchies, social media obsessions, and worst of all, brutal eating disorders. But nothing is what it seems -- throw in some surprising deaths from side characters, and you have a fully-formed but extremely weird novel.

To say this book is a dark comedy may be a bit of an understatement. It is heartbreakingly heavy with humor sprinkled throughout. It is tongue in cheek, but I certainly would not recommend this book if you have ever had an eating disorder. The characters, and therefore the book, become obsessed with body image, calorie counting, and anorexia hashtags on social media. It's upsetting, but it is also glaringly obvious that the author wants us to be upset. This took me out of the book a bit, I have to say. It's certainly a smart book, but not a masterpiece and one that should definitely be handled delicately However, it is unusual and a strange journey that could also totally be your cup of tea. It's modern, slightly twisty, and certainly cutting edge too.

Scarlet Thomas can certainly write! Years ago, I read her books PopCo and the End of Mr. Y. Such different books--but each wonderful in their own way. Each of Thomas' books are unique; she doesn't repeat herself and Oligarchy is no exception. Quirky and fascinating, the story centers on Natasha, a Russian high school student just beginning (a week late) in an English boarding school.

The major focus at this school seems to be food--and eating disorders. Thomas looks at how adolescent girls look to find security in an unpredictable world in which adults seem to have abandoned their role as caregivers and guides. Tasha has recently been contacted by her long unknown father, a wealthy Russian "oligarch"--a member of a small group of people running a country. He is mysterious and powerful.

In its own way, Tasha's school is also an oligarchy, run by a small group of the most popular girls of her school. The girls are ruthless in the pursuit of a perfect body and the closer a girl approaches this idea, the more popular she becomes, at least envied by the others.

Thomas gives an astute analysis of a culture run by false values, consumerism, and superficial goals. These girls are searching for meaning in their lives and finding it in restricting calories.

Despite these serious concerns, the book is also very funny. Tasha's baffled but thoughtful reactions are both poignant and amusing; in fact, the whole focus on food becomes absurdly hilarious. But underneath the laughter is a real punch and message.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and Counterpoint Press for providing me with a copy of Oligarchy. My review reflects my honest reactions. I am very happy to have been given the chance to read and enjoy this excellent book.

A little weird, a little like Mean Girls and I liked it a lot. Oligarchy is what I can only imagine teen/high school life is currently like, and, oh God, how glad am I that I'm old? Lots of dark moments, maybe a little bit satire, but fresh. I've not read a book quite like this one before and I really enjoyed it. Thomas' writing style is imaginative and also had me laughing at points that I'm *hoping* were supposed to be funny. Otherwise I might be a weirdo.

Oligarchy comes out 1.14.20.

4/5 Stars

This book had potential based on the blurb, but it just didn't come together for me. The characters were flat and out of central casting for Mean Girls and the eating disorders/thinness theme wasn't enough to hold this together.

So I have been trying to get my hand on this book for months. Mostly because it sounded like it might touch on eating disorders. And it does I felt it did it well too, but I felt I wasn't thrilled with the rest of the story. I just felt frustrated with the girls. I don't mind unlikable characters but honestly it was almost to much. I had sympathy for them but also I just wanted to shake them. The school favoring skinny girls was interesting but not enough so to carry the book. All in all I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it.