2/5 ⭐

I loved the idea of this book, writing about a part, but didn't love the execution. The poetry parts I didn't love. I thought the prose sections were stronger.

I think it could have been better if something happened that wasn't ordinary at this ordinary party. If there were different characters and perspectives on this one shared event.

This is an ambitious piece of work that didn't land for me. There were a few great lines from the poetry but these were few and far in between.

An absolutely special book. This was unlike any book of poetry I've read and one that I will think about for a long time. I appreciated the way photos were incorporated to make the reader feel more immersed in the world of the story. This is a perfect companion read for Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson.

I thoroughly enjoyed Caleb Femi's examination of a group of party goers who we follow over the course of one night at a long-running house party called The Wickedest.

Through a collage of poetry, photos, prose, text messages and even a Notes app list, Femi gives us a glimpse into the experiences and inner thoughts of a varied cast of characters. The collection shifts rapidly between styles and formats which was, at times, disorientating particularly in such a short book. Femi handles all the formats he tackles with unmistakable skill but the collection loses a sense of coherence without a consistent voice for readers to anchor themselves to.

I grew up in South East London where house parties were very much part of the culture and I think this helped ground me in the book. While I didn't always fully understand what I was reading, I appreciated the nostalgia The Wickedest stirred in me and I know I will gain even more from a reread.

If you find yourself feeling slightly unmoored when reading The Wickedest, my advice would be to immerse yourself in the atmosphere rather than attempting to construct a linear narrative. The photos interspersed throughout the book are particularly effective in conveying a sense of place and the collection greatly benefits from their inclusion. The audiobook is read by Caleb Femi and, while I haven't listened to it in its entirety, the sample I heard helped me tap into the rhythm of the pieces and may help other readers too.

Whether this collection immediately resonates, or you have to work a little harder to understand what is happening, you will be rewarded with Femi's originality, creativity and talent. Amidst the experimentation with form and language there are plenty of beautiful lines that I highlighted just so I can revisit them in the future. I loved Femi's previous book 'Poor' and, having enjoyed this work as well, I look forward to what Caleb Femi will write next.

My thanks to the publisher for sending me an advance copy of this book for free for the purposes of review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrah, Straus, Giroux Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

It took me a bit to get into the writing style in this book. I wasn’t really sure what The Wickedest was an underground scene or an upper class club? Maybe it’s a bit of both? Still, plenty of highlight worthy writing and flow in this book. I could this as being incredible read out loud as the writers thoughts and feelings really come through in this read. You can tell the author was passionate about the scene that The Wickedest invoked in themselves and others around them. This was an enjoyable read, and I like how the book was formatted.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴 – 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴."

On paper, this is exactly what I should like as a club kid myself, but I found the collection to remain as surfaced-level as house parties go. At times, the prose lifts from the page to make me appreciate the sweet nights of kisses and gatherings and midnight antics, but just as fleeting. Form and function with the inclusion of photographs in here are what make the collection sing and string together a bit better.

Gorgeous poetry about a long running house party in London, the longing for a very specific time of your life that's gone now, and some astounding pictures to go with it. Definitely pick it up.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠, 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬. 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧! 𝐈𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒞𝒶𝓁𝑒𝒷 𝐹𝑒𝓂𝒾, 𝐹𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒶𝓇, 𝒮𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓊𝓈, & 𝒢𝒾𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓍, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Caleb Femi's composition of The Wickedest is superb with time stamps marking the progression of the event this collection celebrates. Described as a 'modern epic', Femi explores the 'institution' of house parties through stunning lyricism married with hazy, kaleidoscopic photographs. We are transported to the vibrancy, heady and breathing walls of the house in which people are dancing, falling in love, and drowning their sorrows.

The Wickedest is a masterful follow up to Poor, particularly in regards to how it positively embraces culture. This collection is palpably free and wholly symbolic of what it portrays.

I'm thinking about the "long poem" in relation to what Stephanie Burt has written about the form, namely questions of: "What holds a book of poems together? What makes it feel like something more than, something other than, a gathering, a stack, a heap, a mere collocation?"

Caleb Femi’s The Wickedest provides an easy and effortless answer: a nightclub, an epic party, a dance that never ends. The Wickedest is a sweaty & intoxicating poem, glowing luminescent darkness all the way through. The only comp that comes to mind might be Tommy Pico's IRL, or Luke Kennard's Sonnets (a collection of poems set in a sad house party). Where Kennard is more formalistic and philosophical, Femi is nimble and playful with language and form; this is language that dances on the page. There's a shutter-like quality to the speaker's eye as they move through the space of the club, weaving in and out of moments that range from existential (03.51am, "Max glances at Shelly") to diabolically comical ("Should you have fear or respect for the person who takes a shit at a house party?"). I love the way Femi describes DJs as weaving sound into "sonic Matryoshka dolls / (inside a song / is another song singing)"; so much of his language lingers in the hot glow of remembering that what makes a good party experience are those ineffable moments on the dance floor, moments where you lock eyes with a stranger and music pours back and forth between people who don't even know each other's names.

I already know a few friends who I will gift this book to once it comes out, friends who don't usually read poetry, yet who will understand when they see a thing they love being written about with such quick and sharp care.

A note on the digital edition: a lot of the photographs appear pixelated or low-res, not sure if this was an intentional choice on Femi's part (it does fit with the book's overall aesthetic) but I found myself squinting to read photos that contained text, like in "Jevon catches the fever" and the "Promotion Event Risk Assessment Form" (p. 34 of ebook). I haven't checked yet but I do hope there is alt text for the photographs, as they feel like an essential part of the book's vocabulary and flow.

I didn't like it. Felt lacking in substance, A lot of noise, but the poetry is weak on satisfaction, not sure what the point of the work is, what the writer is trying to say. Feels like a desire to be cool, wouldn't recomend. The vibes are just off.

I loved the journey this book took me on, it was a quick read with a lot to say from party antics to political stances. The addition of photos created an almost immersive experience while reading.