thank u netgalley & grove for the digital arc !!

i found this to be a v sweet, quick read. i rly like veronica's voice but found that i occasionally lost interest in the stories she recounted. either way, there was nothing to really dislike about it - it was funny, sentimental, crude and sweet. i liked the european settings, the kooky family dynamics & the way it's all written with equal parts innocence & corruption. would recommend !

I love a good bildungsroman, I do. This, however, did not feel entirely purposeful. I enjoyed chunks of this read, but often wondered what the point was and where the author was going next.

Maybe it was due to the translation, but this was just lackluster to me.

This book felt like a collection of memories from the writers life. The memories are connected together throughout the novel and gives the reader an idea of how the writers life was influenced by her early childhood. Near the end of the book, she tells how her writing was once described as “frosty”. I think this is a good description of how the authors recollections of her life are. The most difficult parts of her life are described honestly and the author does not try to sugarcoat anything. There were some moments in the book that I had to pause and reread because the author revealed the most intimate details of her life without any hesitation. Personally, I feel like that takes a lot of bravery. There are some people in the world that can connect with books like these as they have shared similar experiences but they are not comfortable to share it. Those who are comfortable to share these details of their lives are often the ones who help these people realize that they are not alone. This is how I felt reading this book. The author did not make herself out to be perfect. She admits to her mistakes and her unusual ways of processing the traumatic events in her life. It is why I enjoyed reading this book as it was a comforting read for me as someone who grew up in a dysfunctional household. If you are looking for a book that examines family life and venturing out on your own in the adult world, this is a good book to pick up.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with a copy of this book.

I need more stars.
Seriously glorious and hilarious.

I know this is fiction but I've never wanted a novel to be true so badly in my life. Okay so there is a brother called Christian who is also a writer but I've no clue which other bits (if any) have any basis in truth. I can't even look up a proper biography because the only version I can get is in Italian. Frustrated.

Anyway, back to this brilliant little book. It is a memoir-esque tale of the life of a young woman - Veronica who makes up most of her life - stealing paintings she has not done because her mother thinks she's artistic, writing a false diary for her mother's benefit, swapping writing with her brother when the other can't be bothered to finish an essay/novel/article.

She has parents who are also completely deranged - a mother who constantly thinks the worst has happened when her children ignore texts and a father who seems intent on making more and more rooms out of a small home this rendering Veronica's bedroom the size of her bed and no larger.

If I keep going I'll just regurgitate the entire novel. I want to because it was brilliant and I loved it.

I need to say thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for approving me for this book and I also need Grove Atlantic to get her other untranslated books translated. There's only one other I know of and that is a much darker tale.

Either way, this translation is out in August 2023 but I'd seriously urge you all to put it on your wish list now so you don't forget.

Well…. The book ended too soon!
Expect a bit of Sally Rooney’s Normal People, a pinch of Jhumpa Lahiri’s solitude vibes and a good dash of short chapters with easy to read slice of life feel as the writing.

I would suggest you not to expect a proper story plot or look to know a character in depth. Do pick up this boom for the uncertainty of the next moment. Do pick up this book when you feel like reading a book but do not know which book to pick up. Read this book when you feel like you’re the one who wants to be understood but could not be understood.

This is the story of a young woman who has a family with a mother like all our mothers, a father who’s seemingly a fatherly kind, a sibling who’s to do what siblings do and relationships just as imperfect as they are.

Thank you, Grove Atlantic, for the advance reading copy.

This is my first book by the Italian award winning writer.
I found her description and personal accounts of her growing up in neurotic family, dysfunctional relationships amongst them quite relatable where I was saying "OH YES I FEEL YOU VERO" and it made me feel quite bittersweet where I felt as if she is a just as awfully bored and is discovering bits in her mundane life in quite an amusing and yet poignant ways to retain her sanity. IT HIT CLOSE TO HOME for me. But then here were also parts where this book was "LOST ON ME" quite literally and I was not really paying attention to her story or the ending, it made me wonder what really happened and where did I lose the interest but I couldn't really put a finger on it.

Maybe I will read some other book by her and that will be one of those good books I eagerly want to rave about.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers and also to Veronica Raimo for being so YOU and penning this book so that I could read it.