My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC of this one - and apologies for it falling through the cracks of my review schedule!

This book is one for lovers of queer, messy fiction. It's autofiction, Edith is a trans writer coming to terms with various kinds of grief - for her best friend now dead, her ex-girlfriend, now marrying a man, and her past life and relationships as she transitions a little later on in life than we usually see in trans fiction. It's well written (though I am with the naysayers on the decision to italicise the dialogue) in that its true to form with life's messiness. Edith and her friends make questionable decisions, don't communicate, feel deeply, and all of that rings true through Burke's writing. But a few months after reading it, I'm not left with the strongest impression. Perhaps one I'd revisit in the future, and I'll definitely be on the alert for more books from this author in the future.

A great debut novel! Powerful themes, multifaceted characters, and I do enjoy a dual timeline. Thank you NetGalley and W.W Norton & Company for this e-arc!

I'm not a fan of highly stylised writing and the decision to put all speech in italics instead of quotation marks just seems like an attempt to be quirky, but I can't get past it despite the book sounding very good.

I couldn’t get into this coming of age story at all. The timeline jumps between Edith’s life at university and then slightly later as a graduate student and writer weren’t the easiest to keep a grasp on and I also hate the use of italics for speech - just be brave when not using quotation marks and don’t signify it at all. A did not finish for me sadly.

STILL LIFE by Katherine Packert Burke is one of my favorite reads of the last few months. It took me a few chapters to fully sink into Edith’s story and, once I did, I could not put it down. Edith is, as the book jacket says, teetering on disaster. She knows it and doesn’t want it, but she seems incapable of stopping it. Edith makes several cringe-worthy decisions and a few cringe-inducing non-decisions early in the novel, before she travels to Boston, which was an excellent way to have me feeling the same frustration as Edith’s friends who felt they knew what would help her. The “recent past” timeline is so well written: it gorgeously captures the intensity of college life, the fierce friendships and fallouts, and the way loving friends can unintentionally trap us in an outgrown identity. The relationship between Edith, Tessa, and Val feels so real; the variations of that friendship and how they continue to relate to each other (or not) is full of heartbreak. The love and longing Edith has for Val is exquisite and painful. The exploration of gender, transness, and sexuality in STILL LIFE feels very original and entirely relatable.

this had everything it needed to be a great read but unfortunately it wasn't doing the job for me. there were moments i felt bored and uninterested in what was happening with the story where i should've been invested. maybe this wasn't the read for me and would work perfectly with other readers, but it just didn't catch my eye while reading.

Every once in a while, a novel comes your way that that pierces you in the heart, so specifically that you have to marvel at how it fell into your lap. This is one of those for me. I’m a writer, I have a very deep love of Sondheim, and I also went to college in the city of Boston; three things that I have in common with the main character. They are funny coincidences but they anchored me in the story in a beautifully nostalgic way.

To me this is the kind of coming of age novel that should be on the same lists as "The Idiot." (I wrote that down as a note before I even got to the Elif Batuman shout out.) It was so exciting to read this kind of story from the perspective of a trans woman. It is stunningly written with rich characters who have complex inner lives and relationships with one another. It is extremely raw, which I appreciated and interpreted as honest although I can see how some may see it as unpolished. To me, the rough edges contributed to how messy life is as the characters try to figure out adulthood. I absolutely loved the use of Sondheim lyrics to explore the feelings and thoughts about life that Edith had throughout the novel, and to me the addition was meaningful, especially the section on life's moments. The pacing does slow in places, some ideas are dropped, and I felt that it was building to a different ending than the one given-- one that would deal directly with the events that are danced around. However I do think the ending is a satisfying one.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It was an excellent debut and deeply authentic. I think Katherine Packert Burke's voice is one that is sorely needed in the world of literary fiction. I can't wait to see what else she does.

Thank you to NetGalley and the W. W. Norton & Company for the ARC.

Change freaks me out, but I do like reading about it.

This story was compelling and paced well and so gay, what more could a girl want?

I want more queer stories like this!

Still Life by Katherine Packert Burke is a captivating story that draws you in with its seamless writing and compelling plot. From the very beginning, the prose flows beautifully, making it easy to get lost in the narrative. The author’s style feels effortless, each scene blending into the next in a way that keeps the reader engaged without feeling rushed or disjointed.

Without giving too much away, the book centers around a character who finds themselves at a turning point in life, grappling with themes of identity and self-discovery. The way Burke handles these universal themes is both thought-provoking and relatable, offering plenty of moments that make you reflect on your own experiences. The plot unfolds in a way that keeps you intrigued from start to finish, with well-placed twists and turns that maintain the tension and emotional depth throughout.

What I appreciated most about Still Life is how the story never felt forced. The pacing was just right, and the transitions between the more introspective moments and the unfolding events were handled smoothly. Every element of the book felt like it belonged, contributing to the overall narrative in a meaningful way. Burke’s ability to create characters that feel real and multi-dimensional adds even more to the reading experience, making you genuinely care about what happens next.

If you’re looking for a book that combines strong writing with an interesting and emotionally resonant story, Still Life is well worth picking up. It’s a beautifully crafted novel that leaves you thinking long after you’ve finished the last page.

I loved following protagonist Edith as she returned to her university town post-transition for the first time. A compelling character, once caught up in a messy Queer love triangle and now grieving the loss of one of the people closest to her, I was rooting for her all the way. Burke’s characters and dialogue were totally believable, and the pacing of the story kept me hooked.

Oh sweet Edith. This book made me ache on so many levels. Her gender dysphoria, loneliness, and grief all mingle together into a tangled story more bitter than sweet, but the writer's journey (the writer being Edith, in this instance) and the other literary references kept moving the narrative along. The cast of characters were a bit messy in the way that lines can often blur between lovers, friends and found family in the queer community, but that was certainly not a drawback. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more exploration of some aspects of Edith's world; her relationship with her parents felt fairly two-dimensional, as did some of the less central friendships.

I think this book might be a good fit for readers of Bellies, by Nicola Dinan.

Thank you to WW Norton for the opportunity to read and review!

Still Life was a very solid debut novel and I loved the idea of it. Contemporary adult fiction work with trans characters is such a rarity, and it was incredibly refreshing to see such a raw and honest depiction of the confusing mess that gender and sexual exploration can become. It was really valuable to read a novel that reflected much of my own experience, particularly from a trans author who is doing justice to our collective experience.

Something that Packert Burke hit on quite successfully, in my opinion, is the way that gender and sexuality act as pillars for our own sense of self. It's an incredibly common queer and trans experience to feel completely fractured or fragmented in who you are as you struggle through that questioning, and those feelings in both Edith and Tessa felt very genuine. Additionally, these feelings are also happening in the context of a much larger collective existential meaninglessness among the current young adult generation (millennials through gen Z) and the endless pursuit of some sliver of meaning in friendships, love, and self-actualization. Packert Burke describes these experiences with prose that feels as intimate as a journal entry, but simultaneously as profound as the classics in many respects.

All that being said, Still Life fell short for me in a few different ways. The narration focuses predominantly on Edith, but also heavily features Tessa and Valerie, the other two women in their queer femme triad. I didn't feel like all three characters were fully fleshed out enough, and I think they got in the way of each other at times and felt hollow. I can understand Packert Burke's intention to have the characters overlap with each other, indicating how they reflect each other's queerness and femininity in the context of their constructed womanhood, but it got to the point of confusion at times and I didn't feel I had a solid grasp of each character as a separate person. I felt similarly regarding the timeline of the novel, along with some of the motifs that were introduced but then disappeared (Edith's toothache?) and the continual references to external media that seemed to obfuscate the characters' development.

Ultimately, this is a novel that makes me excited about Packert Burke's future as a writer. With more experience and heavy editing, I can see the successor to Still Life as truly great.

A trans take on the 20 something wafting through life and misery novel. Edith is stunned when she learns that Tessa is engaged to a man. This news makes her reflect on her relationship not only with Tessa but also with Val, who is dead. The novel moves around in time, alternating between Edith's college years and the present. AS is typical of the genre, it's melancholy and at times you might find yourself annoyed with Edith. That said, it is thought provoking and the writing is good. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. One for fans of literary fiction that I admired more than enjoyed.

Katherine Packert Burke's Still Life is a poignant exploration of queer identity, friendship, and loss. Set against the backdrop of Boston and infused with pop culture references, it navigates the complexities of trans existence, touching on themes of love, guilt, and the search for self. Burke's debut captures the haunting beauty of life's transitions, making it a resonant read for anyone who's ever felt caught between past and future.

There is definitely a lot to like about this book. It centers on Edith, and her returning to Boston, where she went to college pre-transition. We weave through a few timelines, and I really liked how quotes and plot points from Into the Woods are linked to the narrative.

But it felt a bit jarring and unfinished. The jumps between narratives aren’t always immediately obvious and I kept losing where in the timeline I was meant to be. I also just felt that I didn’t really properly connect with Edith as a character - we know that she doesn’t really know what she wants or who she is, and I didn’t feel like I really deeply knew her at the end of it. Which, considering this is very character led and nothing really happens left me feeling like I missed the point.

I have to first acknowledge how fun but severely disorienting it was to read a novel set in my old neighborhood - I was a frequent visitor of many of the locations cited in this book, among them the Boston Bouldering Project. This added a level of surreality to the narrative that was certainly not otherwise meant to be present, and made it hard for me to decontextualize the story from my own experiences. Nonetheless, I found this to be a beautiful, profound story of finding love and direction in your 20s, narrated with great nostalgia by a trans woman returning to a place where she was once someone else.

This book was quite an experience. I loved reading about the experiences of Edith, but I found the formatting a bit difficult to parse if I didn't have complete focus on what I was reading. I think this book is genuinely an incredible story, and I hope people will put in the effort to read it even if the formatting is a little harder to crack sometimes.

Thank you to W W Norton, Netgalley, and the author for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for this ARC. I really enjoyed the characters in Still Life! Quotes from this book will stick with me for a long time and I know I’ll return to them. Packert Burke’s writing is absolutely gorgeous, honest, and human.

I loved the descriptions of Cambridge/Somerville and Edith’s complicated relationship with living there (frankly because I can personally relate to this very specifically). I enjoyed the complicated dynamics between Edith, Tessa, and Val.

The structure of the book is what gave me trouble. At points I wasn’t sure which perspective I was reading (past v present). And sometimes, the stories of the past weren’t entirely clear as to why they were being shared—particularly with Val. Also, the ending for me was not totally satisfactory, and if you’re not someone who is cool with a character-driven story (not much plot), this might not be for you.

Overall I enjoyed Still Life but I wish I had clarity on Edith’s future to feel more satisfied.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc of this upcoming title.

I wanted to read this so bad. Based off the premise and the cover(I know, I know), this shot right up my TBR list. So, you can imagine the joy I had once I realized I had been approved for this. I did one of those excited shrieks. Downloaded and sat in my reading chair with some tea. Only to realize the formatting was so off it made it hard for me to read.

I will buy this when it comes out, Im sure its great

Thanks to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for the ARC!

Katherine Packert Burke’s "Still Life" is a solid debut novel with ambitions that occasionally feel lost amidst other narrative distractions.

"Still Life" is the story of a trans woman—Edith—trying to unify her life’s “before” and “after”—the years pre- and post-transition. Her pre-transition life is filled with friendships, romances, and formative moments, but how does one honor what was intentionally left behind? How do those feelings, relationships, and events change when they’ve been re-mediated through a changed body?

There are incredible moments where the instability of identity compounds the already-difficult realities of relationship—scenes in which we see the impossibility of tidy emotional categorization. Thematically this suggests an interesting exploration of the latent ambiguities of found-family intimacy, especially the permeable borders between platonic and romantic love. One can’t help but applaud Burke’s ability and willingness to sustain this tension across the entirety of the book.

The question, however, is whether this tension can sustain the entirety of a book.

I’m not so sure.

All the shared histories and inside jokes feel real, but unfortunately so—they ring as factual but untrue, the kind of anecdotes that would be met with blank, disinterested stares if you told them to acquaintances. They seem excised from an actual life and clumsily grafted in here, and it leads to many uncomfortable moments in which the reader wonders if Burke is simply including details from her own life to fill out the story.

Similarly, "Still Life" isn’t a long book, but it overstays its welcome by a good hundred pages, largely due to how often Burke diverts her attention from emotional complexity and devotes it to the self-absorbed petulance of academia. Much of the book waxes intellectual in a way that would feel meaningful in a graduate seminar, but it’s absurd, esoteric, and self-indulgent in any other medium. I suspect that readers’ enjoyment will depend on whether academia is a shared experience—it’s so estranging otherwise, and I say that as someone who loved my graduate seminars. Each time I found myself excited by mention of, say, a literary theorist, it also felt like an obvious detriment to the narrative.

Ultimately, I’m not sure how much these critiques matter because Burke’s prose is excellent. Even when the story seems to be fraying at its seams, it’s held together by her truly remarkable descriptive language. There are moments that are so emotionally specific or visually singular that I found myself re-reading them—flirtations with poetry. This is an author who knows the strengths of her voice; she just might need a little more time refining them.

"Still Life" never quite works on its own merits, but it does feel like a preview of an exciting literary career. Katherine Packert Burke’s meticulous attention to every word is magnetic, and I look forward to seeing what she does next.