i struggled so badly to get into this book but once i was about 1/3 rd in i really ended up enjoying what i was reading

This was an interesting if slightly disjointed book about the common lives led between two women artists where their only connection is that one discovers a box of letters sent many years ago from the other one that’s now stored in the archives of a small feminist collective. While the narrative is perhaps a little tentative about where the plot is going, I thought that the discussions of the apathy and difficulty in creating once you feel as thought you’ve fallen out of the creative world is an interesting angle and compellingly written, There was lots to like here it just could have been slightly more narratively driven,

i love this title and concept, but the execution fell apart for me. i felt confused and disengaged from much of this book — maybe because of the similarity between the two voices or the lack of events.

I thoroughly enjoyed this split-timeline novel about a struggling young potter who becomes obsessed with the author of a series of letters she finds in a local archive. The novel deftly deals with themes of womanhood, failure and the art world, painting a nuanced portrayal of three women each trying to find the ‘right’ way to live. A welcome and subtle addition to the currently- trending, and long-overdue, discussion about nepotism in the art world.

This was... alright. Unmemorable, but a fine read- it sounds harsh, and I'm sad to give it such a review since the synopsis is brilliant, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped I would. The jumps in narrative can be quite confusing and at times, jarring. Others who enjoy such a non linear style will enjoy it more than I did.

Thank you to NG and the publisher for the arc.

The Last Sane Woman follows Nicola Long who is searching for a purpose when she comes across letters that have been written by a mildly successful potter to her friend.

And yes it is as boring as it sounds. Maybe that’s a little harsh… but it simply wasn’t for me. There was a lot of meandering and the narrative jumped around and you couldn’t work out who you were actually reading about until a name was dropped that helped you place the story. Too much hard work for me and absolutely zero pay off. Struggling to think of anything positive to note - I guess the writing was beautiful at points?? That’s all I got. 2 stars.

This book really surprised me. I found it difficult to read - and that's a compliment! I think I would prefer a paper copy of this title, having the desire to flip back to check where I was in the narrative. (I find this irritating to do on an e-reader) That being said I did feel immersed in the worlds of these characters. There is a particular feminine depth that I picked up in this book, a quality in the writing that is hard for me to put my finger on. I am always interested in a woman's struggle to make art and survive in the world - adding the ghostly multi-generational aspect and ceramics as the output and I'm sold.

This dual timeline book centered around two women in art trying to figure shit out, was just what I needed. It was easy to feel bonded with the two women’s timelines that were both tumultuous and emotional. I enjoyed how voyeuristic it felt to be reading about a character through letters to her best friend. The book grew eerie through the similarities the two women were having as the story progress. When Nicola, the present day narrator, gets so intertwined/obsessive with the artist from the past I began to fly through the novel to see what she was going to do when the letters ended. I am leaving the book anxious but hopeful on how Nicola will cope with all she has ingested from these letters.

The last Sane Woman was a very interesting read. I loved the exploration of mental health and treatment for those. Well written.

Thank you to Verso Fiction, Net Galley and Hannah Regal for the opportunity to read this eARC.

I initially requested this book as the idea of two women, spanning between two different times, both with similar passions and experiences in the artistic world, letters of truth, life and heartache, was enticing!
The writing was beautiful, and knowing that the author is a poet, this is immediately obvious, the way she crafts her sentences, her descriptions and her control with the written word is obvious. The storylines are woven, delicate, intimate and intricate.

I found the dual POV a hard one to find rhythm in, especially in the beginning where there was a difficulty in ascertain who I was reading about with so many similarities between two of our three main women (Nicola + Donna). This may have every part to do with how it can be read via the Net Galley app, which is simplistic at best and makes it very hard to have a fluid read when there is no way to resize text, or easily transition between pages when you are having to zoom in on a phone. This wouldn’t transfer to my Kobo, and in the end, I had to borrow an iPad to find it easier to complete the read.

I feel like I have left the book with more questions than I would normally hope for, as someone who does love an open ended read, or to analyse an art work to take my own understanding from it, this left me wanting and I feel like I may need to read it again in the future with a different set of eyes to see what I have missed or to see what answers I can find for myself.
I sometimes get frustrated with the ‘genres’ of books and where authors (or publishers) place them, but this is with every ounce a ‘literary fiction’ and the author will have more to give us in the future, I am sure.

This was just okay for me and not as memorable as I wanted it to be. I can see its appeal and am sure others will enjoy it. I do love the cover though.

I really wanted to enjoy this book since it's right up my alley and I love nonlinear storylines. But it just didn’t work for me this time. The transitions felt too convoluted, which made the narrative harder to follow. I’m holding off on rating it for now on social sites, as I plan to re-read it later to give it a fair evaluation.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Verso for providing the ARC.

there were parts of this i enjoyed. the female friendship, nicola spiraling into obsession over a hyperfixation that resonates a little too much, etc. but i unfortunately had to DNF this one. the shifts in perspective were not very straightforward, and now that i’ve learned regel is a poet, the flowery language makes a little more sense. nevertheless, i found it took away from some of the narrative clarity. thank you for the opportunity to review!

Thank you NetGalley and Verso Fiction for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review can also be found on Goodreads.

The premise was very enticing to me. Nicola is desperate to find her spark again, which results in her reading a plethora of letters written by a woman 30 years earlier at the Feminist Archives. Although Nicola knows how the "story" ends, in the letter author's suicide, she starts to find interesting parallels between her life and the author's. It turns into an interesting character study, but ultimately, this wasn't the book for me.

The book is written in an interesting poetic style, which is fitting as Regel is a poet. However, the construction of the first half of the book left me thoroughly confused. So much so that I was getting frustrated and did not want to finish reading. I stuck it out and gave it a shot, but I was left unsatisfied.

I'd also like to note that the ARC format on kindle was so hard to read. There were no paragraph breaks, no indication we had switched characters, no proper formatting. I switched to the NetGalley app, and it was a little better. That also put me off a bit while reading.

in the opening line of the first chapter, one of the novel’s protagonists, nicola, says: “i want to read about women that can’t make things.” that’s an appropriate description of the book—everything that goes into women making art and everything that pushes back. why they may not be able to, what inhibits them?

the book isn’t an essay, however, broken down in a fictional context. it weaves an engaging story, painting a portrait of the artist around whom the story is built, donna. nicola is a struggling artist herself, discovering donna through the letters she wrote her friend susan throughout her life, many years after donna’s death. the letters resonate so deeply with nicola reading them becomes an obsession, and deeper parallels form between the life of donna, in the past, and nicola, now.

while all three of the central women—donna, nicola, and susan—are followed in third person, the book also includes the letters themselves that donna wrote to susan. the letters are messy and unsure, but written with such a distinct voice it strikes you with its complete sincerity. chronicling maybe a decade of donna’s struggling as an artist, it presents the reader, in unflinching detail, what goes in to the vague sentiment of being an artist, what someone might put up with in pursuit of it.

this book is for anyone who has ever felt unsure of themselves, who has doubted if they have been truly and irreversibly wrong when it comes to the choices they’ve made—related to art. Or otherwise. and of course, it’s also about the strength (stubbornness?) that means you can never stop, never give it up entirely. i know i’ll find myself retuning to the last sane woman time and time again in the future.

thank you so much to verso books and netgalley for the arc!

If you like reading about friendships and the sweetness of sharing your thoughts and anxieties with your besties, you’ll enjoy this.

Artist Nicola stumbles across a collection of letters written many years ago by a woman named Donna to her best friend Susan. These letters span their many relationships, aspirations, anxieties, and letdowns of their lives only to be thankful to have each other at the end of the day. Nicola finds comfort in these letters as she learns Donna is also an artist and seemed to be going through the same struggles as she‘a currently navigating.

Beautifully written and comforting to read about the similarities we all have as women trying to make it through life. I enjoyed this but unfortunately the mix of different POVs and slow pace of the book made it harder for me to get through. I do think this is going to be a popular book for many, and I will be recommending, but ultimately I struggled with continuing to pick this up. Maybe I’ll give it a reread in the future.

3 stars! Thank you to Netgalley and Verso for the ARC :)

I requested this for consideration for Book Riot's All the Books podcast for its release date. After sampling several books out this week, I decided to go with a different book for my review.

This book had such an interesting concept and incredibly gorgeous writing. I just got a bit lost in the timeline in parts as it was confusing to who was narrating but apart from that I did really enjoy the abstract poetical writing and storyline

The Last Sane Woman is about a struggling artist discovering a box of letters written by a famous potter. As she reads the letters, she attempts to understand her meaning and purpose in life.
This novel forced me to pay attention and reread it to ensure I comprehended every chapter. I believe a reader will need to be in the right mood to pick this one up. With that said, I wouldn't recommend it as a beach read. However, literary fiction fans looking for a challenge will enjoy this one.

As so many others have said, it’s clear this book was written by a poet. It made me feel many things; but also, it feels like it delighted more in language than meaning. (Which, of course, is perfectly valid.) I wanted to know more: how did the potter die? It feels like the book advances multiple possibilities—which is … ok, but not satisfying. I think Nicola’s frustration after she finished reading the letters is my frustration too.

The good? The story carried me along. Donna was a really interesting character, and Nicola a pretty good anti-hero. I also quite liked the form of the novel; I first tried to read the DRC on my Kindle, which worked not at all as there was no way to distinguish between POVs. Switching to NetGalley’s app fixed that, and *The Last Sane Woman* became a much more legible read. I was also very much on board with the feminist message: the Feminist Assembly, archives for female artists, disappearing women artists, and all of that. I just feel it wasn’t the main point of the book—but am still somewhat bewildered about what that would have been. (PS. I did read a review that clarifies that in connection with the title, and I will go down that rabbit hole. I’m just a little frustrated that meanings like that were not more accessible for this reader.)

Thank you to Verso and to NetGalley. I will no doubt be pondering for a while, trying to work out just what I read, and what I was supposed to get from it.