My goodness, what a book!

I loved Arsén’s debut, but when I tell you this was still a step up, I mean it. The gorgeous prose is the same—juicy and poetic without being overly heavy or dense. And the setting is wonderful as well. For some reason, Arsén is really good at describing deserts and dingy rooms, and that’s incredibly evident here.

The standouts, though, are the characters. Margaret is wonderfully compelling as a protagonist, as she has the slightest little bit of insane-wife energy coupled with “dear god someone give this woman a hug” and it works so well. The other characters are excellent too, even the ones that are only on the page for a short while. I simply adored the strange nature of the romance—toxic for sure, but interesting nonetheless.

And the plot? I love how vaguely (and sometimes obviously) Shakespearean it is. It all feels very intentional and there’s never a dull moment. The momentum carries through to the end. It’s a quick read, but maybe that’s because I literally didn’t stop reading until I was done. Truly, a marvel.

Overall, this book shines. I’m so excited to be able to hold a finished copy in my hands. I’m going to be recommending it to as many people as I can. Thank you for the review copy!

This book was surprisingly a quick read despite it being over 350 pages. The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf was written in such a beautiful and poetic manner and welcomed the reader into the world of acting quickly. I enjoyed being in both New York and in the desert and believe the author did an excellent job setting the scene in both geographical locations. My only feedback is a tiny one- there were two supporting characters with 4 lettered E names, Edie and Ezra, and it took me far longer than I care to admit to be able to remember who Edie was to Margaret and who Ezra was to Margaret. I kept getting them confused. Otherwise, witnessing the downfall and rise of Margaret was phenomenal. I also appreciated the subtle queer tones depicted throughout the novel.