I really wasn't sure what I would think of this one. I had quite mixed feelings about Jessie Tu's first novel - A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing - and this one certainly had a similar vibe initially, with a mother-daughter relationship and that same style of writing that made me feel a little bit removed from the main character. But as with Lonely Girl, Honeyeater grew on me. I felt myself getting fully drawn into the story and wanting to figure out Fay and her motivations.

In this story Fay is a literary translator, (which I loved reading about in Women In Translation month), and she works for a Professor, whilst carrying out an affair with the Professors husband who's also a translator. It gives a really interesting peek into the world of book translation, and even the processes involved in translating a novel. I'm always a bit iffy about affair stories, but I thought this one was handled well and like I said, it was fun trying to work out Fay's motivations, and others involved in the story.

Jessie Tu has an interesting tone to her writing. It's not airy if you get what I mean - it's almost a little harsh or blunt at times, and her leading female characters are a bit that way too. I think I'm now a fan. I wouldn't say I loved this, but I did enjoy reading it and I feel like I'm going to be thinking about it for a little while. I'm off to read other's reviews now too. This one would be great as a #buddyread or #readalong as there is lots to discuss.

This is the kind of ‘sad girl novel’ I can enjoy.
I love Jessie’s writing and prose and the way she explores the different relationship dynamics. Mother and daughter. Mentor and mentee. Married cheater and mistress.
Jessie weaves themes of identity, belonging and power in relationships, seamlessly with interesting, flawed characters whose emotions simmer underneath the surface.
I loved chatting to Jessie about the ending of the book and I thought it was the perfect length for this type of story.
Suffice to say, I’ll read anything Jessie writes.
4.5 stars

"The Honeyeater" by Jessie Tu really surprised me. I was keen to hear of Fay and her mother's travels to France....I imagined it would be as differcult as my own such trip would be. And Fay being distracted by James was annoying to me.....little did I know, he is pivotal to the greater story.

Unlike a book I have read before....inventive and intriguing. The interplay of a mother daughter relationship, the history of an affair and a employee and employer bond all twisting and turning crossing over each other. But when one of these characters die, paranoia sets in and secets abound.

How much does do people know and is Fay's mum crazy or are the Taiwanese ghosts and bad spirits really following Fay?

The novel also centres on Fays occupation as a translator. And just as she translates books, we also translate a range of emotions in this tensely layered story of love, ambition and ultimate betrayal as power plays stun the reader.

Thanks to NetGalley, Allen & Unwin and Jessie Tu for my copy.

// the honeyeater

this was so good.

‘translation is longing. you never get it right’

translation is an art of nuance and intention. this exploration of the work of translation was so fitting for the story. it had a murder mystery aspect. it explored complex relationships and power dynamics.

once i understood the link and the subtlety of the language used this really came together for me as something special. worth the read

thankyou to Allen & Unwin, Jessie Tu and NetGalley for the eARC

I was a huge fan of A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing. Jessie Tu's debut was clever, fresh and bursting with energy. So I was very excited to receive access to an early copy of her follow up novel The Honeyeater via @netgalley. Even more excited when the lovely @anopenbookshelf shared an extra hard copy with me. Thanks Camella!

So it absolutely pains me to say that I didn't love this book. I am very sure I will be in the minority here. Tu is an incredible writer and this was an engaging read in many ways however through the whole experience I felt like I was being hit over the head with a message that I wasn't getting. That sounds so weird I know but the whole plot just didn't seem to have any point for me.

The book is centred on Fay who is a literary translator, translating English books into Taiwanese. She lives with her mother. She has recently ended a dubious relationship with a colleague. She has a close relationship with her female professor turned employer. The book examines the power dynamics in all of these different relationships.

At the start Fay takes a trip to Paris with her mother which neither seems to enjoy much and I couldn't see the point of it except to take her away from Australia when her former lover dies unexpectedly. The book ends with a trip to a translation conference in Taipei where more relationships are uncovered.

The art of translation is a so fascinating and there were definitely some interesting themes at play with Fay's work but while I had moments of understanding mostly I felt like I couldn't get a handle on what this book was trying to say. I really wish The Honeyeater had done it for me but sadly this was a miss for me.

Thank you to @netgalley and @allenandunwin for my #gifted copy.

I was intrigued by Jessie Tu’s new release The Honeyeater after reading her debut novel last year. I don’t know what I expected, but Jessie Tu manages to write books that are totally unexpected in style. Like A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing, I was taken with the strong writing style - blunt, unique, a little unnerving with a dose of realism.

I really loved the story’s protagonist Fay being a translator, and the relationships that were explored between mother and daughter, teacher and student, man and woman. Set over three continents, the book took turns I didn’t expect and I loved the nuances of translation that Tu got across.

I particularly enjoyed the exploration of mother daughter relationships and the power, control, ambiguity, and disconnection as well as the protection and love.

I will definitely be looking forward to Tu’s next book, her style is one of a kind and very contemporary.

This review (with some pretty pictures) will be posted to @minky__books on the publication date.

'I wanted to be a truth-teller. Someone whose job it is to tell someone's truth'.

'The Honeyeater' dives into the world of literary translation and Fay's quest for personal acclaim within it. Having assisted her professor for a number of years as well as teaching her own students, surely she can finally take her place at the annual conference in Taipei. But the matter of her ex-lover unexpectedly dying and the subsequent short investigation into his untimely death really does seem to complicate her simple ambition.

Literary fiction is a funny genre - as it's not explicitly about anything, it could be about anything. For me, 'The Honeyeater' is about power dynamics within relationships and the ability to translate exemplifies this: mother/ daughter, teacher/student, employer/employee, man/woman. To articulate someone's words, their intention, to in a sense become them, is to have power over them. Translation is more than the literal, it is contextual and nuanced. In some languages, only a slight incorrect inflection can utterly misinform. In 'The Honeyeater', it is as much about what is said as what is not, 'Deception was easy. It merely required the omission of fact'.

I found this story to be a unique read that I enjoyed. Not only from exploring relationships but also a bit of a murder mystery that has a few twists.

I was a huge fan of A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing so I was keen to see where Jessie Tu’s second novel THE HONEYEATER would take me. !

Basically divided into three sections, we follow Sydney-based emerging translator and academic, Fay, who travels to France for a holiday with her mother. While travelling she learns that her former lover has unexpectedly died before she returns to Sydney and seeks solace from her mentor who promptly sends her off to a prestigious translation conference in Taiwan. Massive oversimplification of the plot but hopefully this gives you a taste!

Jessie Tu has such a distinctive way of packing so many biting, unflinching observations about identity and power into an otherwise relatively straightforward plot involving a small cast of characters. The often prickly sometimes gentle relationship between a mother and daughter, intersectional power plays and dynamics, the ick of white male privilege, the complexity of grief and desire, to name a few.

It also had some of the most fascinating writing on the world of translators and the art and mechanics of translating - a topic that I’ve been particularly interested in of late. Make sure you read the acknowledgements section if it interest you too!

Fierce and smart, I absolutely devoured this and it has firmly placed Jessie Tu has one of my favourite contemporary authors in Aus. Thanks @allenandunwin and @netgalley for sharing a copy with me.

This review will be posted to @bookworm_woth_a_brew closer to publication date.