Despite this book being heavily carried by compulsive lying and hard drugs (two things that kind of trigger a panicky uncomfortable feeling in me) I really loved it. I wanted to scream at Kit and I wanted to kiss her forehead and tell her it would all be ok.

This has some of the best prose I have EVER read, and despite having almost nothing in common with the main character I really felt as if I WAS her and understood her and understood the world anew through her eyes.

Just wow.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book at 25% as it really was just a terrible time for me to be reading a book like this. I found the subject matter a little too close to home and would love to re-try reading this another time.

I have perhaps not experienced enough psychedelics to fully appreciate the depth of this book. The story of these two messy sisters and their messy mom dealing with their messy grief was a compelling read, but I wasn’t able to fully connect with the emotional breakthroughs when they came.

This might be a good fit for readers of Meg Mason or Dolly Alderton, but I do think both authors do it a little better than what I experienced here.

Thank you to Knopf for the opportunity to read and review!

It pains me to say I was finding this book insufferable. I had to DNF at about 75%. I’m typically all about the somewhat plotless books with the inner monologues of women, as I find these character studies fascinating. But it seemed it was quite literally about every second of being a mother. I’m not a mother myself but have read many books where this is addressed and still compelling. But between the minutia of motherhood and the drug use told with the edge of a 2012 tumblr post, I found it contrived and trying too hard to be relevant without much actually resonating.

That being said, the book wasn’t “badly” written. The prose was clean and smooth. It could be an issue for me as a reader, that I’ve read one too many books in this similar vein, that any title that does this less than ideally feels like a flop.

Really bummed because I know many are loving this one.

Okay, I loved this book! Not only is it incredibly sharp and well-written, but I thought it very much captured the essence of living both inside and outside of your body. Kit's rambling inner thoughts take us on a journey. Into the past. Into her head. Her dreams and fantasies. It's a weird ride, but that's what makes it amazing!

A beautiful story of grief that crosses multiple time periods of the narrators life. The swapping of time periods was done extremely well. This is something I think I could connect with a bit better if I was a mother or had been more affected by grief in my life, but this was overall very well written and a great debut novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book!

"We Were the Universe" is a novel that delves into the messy realities of life for Kit, a young mother grappling with grief after the loss of her sister, Julie. The story flits between the present, where Kit cares for her demanding toddler and navigates a strained marriage, and flashbacks to her wilder pre-motherhood days with Julie.

If you're looking for a conventional grief narrative, this may not be it. "We Were the Universe" is a more unconventional exploration, filled with dark humor, magical realism, and unflinching honesty. However, if you appreciate raw characters and a unique storytelling style, this novel is a rewarding read.

This is a well written book. It has some fine lines, a few well-conceived set pieces, a fair share of perceptive and insightful observations, and lean dialogue. That said, try as I might I found neither the characters, nor their situations, nor the overall narrative engaging enough to arouse or hold my curiosity and attention. As a consequence, it doesn't seem fair to write much more of a review, apart from encouraging inquisitive readers to give the book a try.

A young mother goes about her ordinary days, covering up her grief over the loss of her sister.
This was enjoyable enough, but, honestly, not very much happened.
Thanks to #netgalley and #knopf for this #arc of #weweretheuniverse in exchange for an honest review.

I was so impressed with Parsons' writing in this one! Her sense of character was impeccable and I found myself immediately drawn in to the story through her characters. It's a compelling read and Kit is such an intricate character that I enjoyed spending time with, even when things were messy.

A suburban mother grappling with middle age, motherhood, a traumatic childhood, and grief of the death of her sister. This wasn’t an easy read in terms of topic and at times it felt a bit rambling. You were really inside Kit’s mind as you went through memories, a stream of consciousness. I haven't read many books where it really feels like you are in someone's head and this is exactly what reading this felt like. Both good and bad. Good in that I could also put this book down and come back to it after taking a break. Unfortunately, some of the topics were raw, i felt myself having to stop and come back to digest it.

Overall, the writing is good as is the story- I just struggled with being that up and close with someone.

Twenty pages in, I thought, "Nothing's happening!" But I continued to read, absorbed by the author's beautiful writing. And soon, it had me. I couldn't put it down. This book won't be for everyone--Kit's struggle is internal; she's deeply flawed; there are long sections describing psychedelic experiences and her sexual desires--but I absolutely loved this novel.

This was weird and raw and I loved every page. I read a lot of books that deal with grief, but this one is a real stand out. You could feel it on the page in the most strange way and I absolutely devoured this.

Can your child be your dead sister's replacement? Can you replace the responsibilities that come with being big sister with the responsibilities of being a mother? How can you make sure you are not repeating mistakes your parents made raising you and your sister? How can you take the time back to to stop your sister from dying, your mother from becoming a hoarder?

Kit was struggling big time: with motherhood, with depression, with loss of her sister, with fear of losing everything that made her who she was in the first place. Her weekend trip with a friend was supposed to be bounce back trip for her friend from his recent breakup, but it turned out to be an intervention for her. She meant to feel all better, but she ended up being wrapped into images from the past. She was the wild child just like her sister. However, she managed to control herself better than Julie. Now that Julie was gone and her daughter in her arms, Kit needed to figure out how to push through.

Recently few books around sisterhood had been published. I felt little bit more connected to this book than the others. While there were different versions of addiction in this story, it wasn't portraying extreme cases. This was more "normal" (not sure how to explain it better, or maybe more predictable/understandable).

We Were The Universe by Kimberly King Parsons is a very heavy read, filled with many intense emotions. This book deals with death (at a young age), grief, and many difficult/controversial topics. Parsons did an incredible job in making this story feel very true to life & I feel that many readers will identify with many of the underlying themes. Although I did not feel an immediate connection to the main character, I did feel as though I grew to love her by the end of the book. While this book wouldn’t necessarily appeal to everyone, I did enjoy it & I am glad I read it.

Thank you NetGalley & Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was beautiful and just viscerally claustrophobic in the best way possible.

Kit is a young mother trying to live her life while caught in the maw of grief over her sister, Julie dying a few years before. Whether she’s at the playground, on a trip with her best friend, with her therapist, or at home, she seems sort of stuck. Stuck in motherhood, stuck in Texas, stuck in a world without Julie.

Our author captures grief so well. There are the mundane parts that are ridiculous and the infinite parts that can barely be touched. Even choosing whether to use the past or present tense is a struggle.

I’ve also gotta say, I usually ignore the quotes at the beginning of a book because I’m trash. But, when I saw the Of Montreal lyrics at the beginning, it put me in a great headspace to love this little book. They are such a phenomenal and trippy band!

I think that mothers would definitely connect with this book. Our author writes in such a way that you feel like you could relate to so much of motherhood, but in my personal case (since we don’t have kids) also a bit relieved that you don’t. There are so many similarities between motherhood and grief and this book does a great job of finding those connections.

The last chapter was the perfect way to end this. This book was absolutely solid from beginning to the end.

Wow! I loved this novel. I read along with the audio, I liked the narrator a lot.
This was a great exploration of grief and how it can manifest in more than the expected sadness. It also was a raw and oftentimes funny portrayal of motherhood and the less than sparkly sides of it. It’s a novel of complicated family dynamics and a little bit supernatural.

Kimberly King Parsons’ debut novel follows a young new mom, Kit, as she deals with the day-to-day with her toddler Gilda. She has not mourned her sister’s death — apparently a car accident, although her sister was an addict who was stunted on her mother’s porch drinking and drugging with her hoarder mother. In addition, Kit has not unpacked the trauma of being not raised by her single mother who really had no time (or inclination) to parent as she was trying to make ends meet.

Kit’s best friend, recently dumped by her boyfriend, and her husband conspire to have Paul take Kit to Montana for some R&R. But, Kit’s mind keeps going back to the psychedelic trips of her youth (with her sister and friends) and the days that they spent as a band WE ARE THE UNIVERSE. There is a lot of psychedelic trip imagery in this book that I could not relate to and blurring of reality vs. fantasy/hallucinations(?). Was Celadon at the park a real person? Unclear to me.

Interestingly, Kit tells us that doing psychedelics was the best preparation for natural child birth. 3.5 stars rounded up.

This is heavy but enlightening book. The family issues hit close to homes but it’s always therapeutic to relate to issues in stories and not feel alone with the grief and sadness of life. I really enjoyed this book and am thankful I have received an arc copy!

RIYL Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
good read about grief and familial bonds, obligation, and love
not sure if I would recommend it to everyone just because it was very slice of life in a way that not much happened and was a little bit of a bummer so if that is not your schtick I would skip
found it to be very real