I struggled through this book. That said, I appreciate the style and way this book unfolded. I had intense and strong reactions to the main character. While it wasn't really the book for me, I also felt really drawn in. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the ebook copy in exchange for my honest review.

To say I was a fan of I'm A Fan by Sheena Patel's first solo effort would be an understatement of feelings I have for the book. This neurotic tale of love, stalking, racism, sexism, and how the dating world is stupid struck a massive cord with me.

Now, you are probably wondering why a book like this made me feel so good and that might be harder to explain, but I will do my best. This book might be the most neurotic book I have ever read in my life and for some that maybe the downfall of the book, but for me after the third chapter I embraced this crazy and zany book about dating in the modern age. The writing was so funny and nuts, that I often forgot who the narrator of the story was. For most, that would be a problem and that might be why some people may take some time to warm up to the style of this kind of book.

What I really liked is that the writer was so clever and easy to follow, thus making it an instant page turner for me. I found myself laughing a lot while reading this book at work, on the bus, on the subway, or at home alone because it was so raw and in your face. This is what made it feel so fresh and new for me. This style of writing was so in your face I found myself rooting for somebody who wastes their time stalking people on social media, which in real life I never would.

What this will do is hopefully open up a bigger discussion on how different cultures interact with and date each other. Why do we always make things difficult by not talking about it and letting our white privilege just carry on. Well, Sheena Patel does a brilliant job at making fun of, and bringing that into discussion. Hopefully she starts the revolution on it being okay to do those two things and more. I sincerely hope everyone enjoys this cleverly written satire but not really satire on dating in the modern age as much as I did. Hell, if you don't believe me on how good this book is, just read the free chapter on Amazon and if you are not hooked by it, then you can yell at me, online only, and only after you have thoroughly cyber stalked me, in silence.

Keep on reading, but remember to stay out of trouble!

Love Always, Chris Humphrey!

Not A Fan of I'm a fan. Could not feel empathy for the characters at all. Found it to hard to follow and did not like the style at all.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in response for my honest review of this book.
Oh boy, I did not like this book. I don't even think I can call it a book. I *think* it's supposed to be written by a poet?
Not sure.
It's short. Thank goodness because it didn't need to be one page longer.
This is essentially what happens: a woman has an affair with a man. She is nasty to her boyfriend. The man who she wants to be with (that's what he's called) is abhorrent and a cad. He is not nice to her at all but guess what? He's all she wants. It's so pathetic it's painful to read about. He apparently is such a catch he has MULTIPLE ladies on the go -- oh! and he has a wife. And "the woman (the protagonist) is obsessed with," actually seems like a nice lady. I'm more interested in hearing from her point of view.
So, we have a lot of crying and moaning about this loser she apparently likes so much and graphic sex. Really, it just leaps out at you all over the place.
The one star is for the insights into colonialism/racism and other insights the author provides like random goodies.
Pass this one. You'll thank me.

DNF. Read a third into this book and couldn’t do anymore, it was not for me. Miserable, self absorbed, nameless obsessive characters.

While I enjoyed this book it definitely was not what I was expecting. This is a story of one young woman who desperately wants to be with a certain man and let’s just say she wants it regardless of how it happens. It is a coming of age story and a bit of a stalkerish story.
It was not to my tastes but that does not mean it’s not a good story. It definitely is and will appeal to many readers. So give it a try. It is well written and the characters are very defined.

Sheena Patel has penned a blistering cultural commentary that delves into male entitlement, social media obsession and imbalanced relationships.. The storyline is reminiscent of several novels that feature aimless millennial protagonists grappling with a system that deprives them of the privileges that previous generations took for granted. However, Patel distinguishes herself from similar works by focusing on a systemic critique rather than personal struggles. The protagonist is aware of and well-versed in the challenges she faces from the onset. Even in the course of engaging in acts that could be deemed self-destructive under a different paradigm, she does not lose sight of the underlying systemic issues. The changes she advocates are not about personal growth, but rather about dismantling a toxic online and real-life culture. The most profound sections of the book eschew the traditional narrative format to candidly and directly address the reader. Patel pushes literary boundaries in significant ways to produce a text that is all the more radical. I just finished this book and foresee it doing well!

absolutely loved this one! however i did think it was dragging for a bit, i think because of the unique format. i also loveee the cover. thank you so much for the arc!!

I really enjoy discovering new authors and reading something new. Sheena Patel's debut novel, I'm a Fan, has won numerous prizes already. This sentence in the publisher's description caught my eye. "I stalk a woman on the internet who is sleeping with the same man as I am."

I'm a Fan is told in a first person stream of consciousness format. The protagonist's thoughts started to build my image of the 'speaker'. Her insecurities, past, wants, needs, anger, desires and more. The man she wants is also sleeping with other women. And so she begins her surveillance. I was caught up in the beginning - but...

Yes, there were buts for me. I was saddened by the fact that she was willing to debase herself in order to have a man who is an ugly, cruel, misogynist. And I was already tired of reading the phrases - 'The man that I am obsessed with' and 'the woman I am obsessed with. That was about page 50 and I realized I wasn't the right reader for this book. I used to 'power through' finishing a book when I wasn't enjoying it. No longer.

Instead, I encourage you to check out the many five star reviews on Netgalley and Goodreads.

I really enjoyed this book - creative and modern, told in an interesting and new way. The format was very impressive to me and I thought the character was so flawed and interesting, captivating and despicable all at once.

Sometimes it takes a little while to be really drawn into a book however from the very first line of this story I had to see where it was going to end up. This book was very different from most books that I've read or even heard about however that doesn't change the fact that it was amazing. This book focuses on our mystery narrator who is fixated on the married man that she is sleeping with. She stalks him and his social media as well as the new woman that he is seeing. It was sad to see this woman putting so much effort into a man who didn't want the same thing she did. My favourite part about this book was we never get the name of the main character. This was great because it makes her even more intense and puts more of the focus on her ex relationship with her married partner and the shifting focus onto his new lover. This book was really different because it didn't seem to have a solid plot besides what our main character is focusing on with her ex lover to it was almost like watching a scene play out through a window instead of watching a full movie. While this is one book that I feel will get mixed reviews and for sure won't be for everyone I really enjoyed the uniqueness of this story, and am very glad that I got to check it out I loved the secrecy of this book it really let the reader
feel like they were watching something terrible take place but unable to do anything. This is one to read for sure if you are up for something a little different but still good.

I honestly couldn’t stand this book. In a year of female empowerment through other pop culture offerings, this was a step back. The book is an exploration of a rather unlikeable protagonist who, despite a caring boyfriend, engages in an affair with a married man, of many mistresses, who shows no care or compassion for the women in his life. Despite the male toxicity, the unnamed narrator pines for the man she wants to be with (yes, annoyingly, the main characters are pretty nameless and are given names such as « The Woman i am obsessed with ») and wastes her life waiting for his next appearance.

It is an infuriating read. The low self-esteem of the protagonist and the careless way she treats those in her life who do care for her is maddening - it was not an enjoyable read.

It's a debut unlike any other book out right now, a divisive new favourite that is perfectly crafted for the chronically online.

Through a series of short and gripping chapters, ‘I’m A Fan’ by Sheena Patel follows an unnamed narrator down a spiralling obsession with the married man she is sleeping with and his other mistress, a social media influencer.

On the surface, this book is a witty and voyeuristic look into messy relationships, desire, and the self-destructiveness of social media. But it is also a brilliant critique of dynamics within different institutionalized systems like the patriarchy and white supremacy.

We can call this narrator crazy and delusional all we want, but at the end of the day, she is incredibly self-aware of the power dynamics and politics that take place around her. She is trapped in a mental cage that comes with being able to recognize the systemic privileges that have gotten them where she wants to be and the reality of the world she lives in.

While the detached tone and nameless characters initially made me feel a little disconnected, it became clear that these characters do not matter on an individual level, and they act as the systems they represent. The change in perspective really helped me engage with the text better.

Through these characters, our narrator grapples with who she is to them, how she perceives herself, her desires, and the boxes she is put into as a BIPOC woman and what it all represents on a larger scale.

I’m very intrigued to see how this one will be received because it will definitely be a huge hit or miss for readers, but I thought it was brilliant, and if you enjoy literary fiction that takes a transgressive approach, then I suggest maybe checking this one out.

Thank you, Penguin Random House, for an arc in exchange for an honest review

I'm a Fan has an intriguing premise, and the writing style certainly makes it a quick read. This just wasn't for me, though. There are no redeeming qualities for any of the characters, including the main narrator. I'm not sure if we're supposed to feel anything positive for her or even sorrow or sympathy for her situation. I just got stuck in this messy back and forth of trying to figure out who she was and what she was doing.

Reading the book was messy. I think it was supposed to be to suit the narrator's mind, but I often found myself having to reread chapters to figure out what the narrator was on about. Having a lack of names made it all the more confusing. It just wasn't for me.

I'm sure there are some people who will connect to it. I just kept reading it in hope that there would be something better, and by the end, it felt like I was more hate reading it than anything else.

Sheena Patel's novel, I'm a Fan, has one of the most interesting structures I've ever encountered. We do not know the name of our protagonist, nor do we know the name of almost all of the characters in the book. We know them as "the man I want to be with" and "the woman I'm obsessed with". While I think all of us can relate on some level to a bit of internet stalking, this character just takes everything to a whole new level. All of the relationships in this story are toxic and destructive. It was disturbing and uncomfortable to read.

Acerbic, biting, sharp novel. On occasion paragraphs made from single sentences. Slightly repetitive. As a white woman, not sure if I should stand up and say me too or feel fully chastised for the colour of my skin. The novel was well written but I was unable to find the slightest sympathy for the main character, even when I could identify with her experience. In all, perhaps that was the point of the novel.

I'm A Fan was an incredibly interesting read about an uncompromising and ruthless study of a toxic relationship and its emotional unhealthy-ness. The way this book went about depicting obsession, love and craze was incredibly opaque. The story was filled with unlikeable characters but it was quickly determined that liking the characters was not the point. I thoroughly enjoyed this!

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book.
The story follows a young protagonist who becomes engrossed in the world of fandom. They explore the ups and downs of being a dedicated fan and they grapple with questions about their identity. The novel delves into the emotional connections fans develop with their idols and how they can shape their sense of self. All-in-all, this is a thought-provoking exploration of the world of fandom. While the narrative is engaging, there are moments when the pacing slows, especially during introspective passages. Also, some of the resolutions can be a bit predictable.

I was a fan of I’m a Fan by Sheena Patel.

Our unnamed narrator is infatuated with the man she wants to be with who is sleeping with the woman she is obsessed with.

This novel is short with brief chapters and humorous titles like “The math ain’t mathing” and “When you miss your man that’s not your man but can’t trip cos he ain’t your man, but he is your man.” The timeline is not completely linear. It jumps around a bit.

It covers an array of themes but manages to integrate them well. It examines white feminism, white privilege, generational wealth, performative activism, and a lot more.

The woman who the narrator is obsessed with is the archetypal white feminist with all the accompanying privilege, including her exclusive lifestyle shared on social media, her luxury business, culturally appropriated decor and organic and locally sourced food.

I highly recommend this novel. I will definitely read whatever this author publishes next.

Thank you to Random House Canada for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Aug. 22, 2023
“I’m A Fan” is a debut novel by author Sheena Patel. Its single-voice narration highlights relevant topics of race, politics, and gender equality under the guise of an unrequited love.
The narrator, who does not have a name, begins the story by talking about the “woman she’s obsessed with” (who also is not named). The “woman she’s obsessed with” becomes such because this woman is sleeping with the man that the narrator is also sleeping with (who, yes, is also not named). This man is also married to yet another not-named woman and the narrator spends the entirety of the novel struggling to make herself relevant to the man she claims to love.
The narrator comes off as desperate and pathetic, the kind of woman that you want to hate but you can’t, because she reminds you of another version of you, when your self-hatred led you into the arms of someone you shouldn’t be with. You hate her because she makes you hate that version of yourself. Throughout the novel, I wanted to slap her, make her wake up and see reason, encourage her to find the love she deserves instead of clinging to a narcissistic sociopath who will never love her in return.
The language is thick and poetic, and Patel has definitely pulled out all of the long, flowing words in the English vocabulary. Patel, also, intentionally does not use any punctuation (with the exception of periods). Sentences will ramble on with no quotation marks, no commas, no breaks of any kind and although this seems to be what authors are doing these days to be relevant and “fresh”, this style just irritated me. When the main character is dreaming or fantasizing, she even goes so far as to eliminate the use of capitals, even when using “I”. This may be modern and trendy, but it just served to make me roll my eyes. Although “Fan” does not have chapters, per se, the story is broken down into segments, which each segment being given a fancy name or title that is mostly irrelevant to the story.
“Fan” is more than a Taylor Swift-esque story of unrequited love. Patel’s story exhibits relevant social commentary, such as race, politics and gender equality. As a non-White narrator, the protagonist discusses her feelings of exclusion, not only from her love interest but also from the rest of society and she blames misogynistic attitudes for the reason her love interest rejects her. Realistic and modern, “Fan” generates thought-provoking examinations of our society and attitudes, and it is obvious through her writing that Patel knows of what she speaks, but the storyline was disjointed as Patel uses the unrequired love storyline to speak out against injustice (not that I blame her, as I am not a fan of the particular society we live in however I chose to read this thinking it was a novel, not a sociological examination or essay).
I finished the story, only to see how it would play out and was, unsurprisingly, disappointed by the ending. “I’m A Fan” is one of those stories where readers will immediately fall in love with it and sing its praises, or will feel let down and confused. Sadly, the (purposely) incorrect grammar, incohesive thought and long verbiage of Patel’s “I’m A Fan” missed the mark, and left me in the latter category.