Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! This book released from Fiction2Collective in the US on November 12th, 2024.

Vanessa Saunders’ The Flat Woman is a piercing, experimental novella that explores a speculative world where women are scapegoated for the climate crisis. In this surreal yet unsettlingly familiar dystopia, the unnamed narrator’s life is upended when her mother is imprisoned as a "gull terrorist," leaving her to navigate a hostile world defined by systemic blame, abandonment, and absurdity. Saunders crafts a story that is equal parts poignant and bizarre, merging poetic language with vivid imagery to create a haunting meditation on justice, autonomy, and interdependence.

From the moment the narrator wakes up with bird feathers sprouting from her skin, the novella immerses the reader in a world where nature and humanity are inextricably intertwined yet violently fractured. The symbolism of birds, both as victims and saviors, weaves through the narrative like an unspoken language, amplifying the story's ecological and feminist themes. Saunders’ prose is enigmatic and lyrical, compact yet resonant, balancing stark truths with moments of surreal beauty.

At its heart, The Flat Woman is a searing critique of societal scapegoating and the ways power structures shift blame onto oppressed communities—in this case, women—while shirking accountability for global crises. The story interrogates the impossible burdens placed on women, whether through the narrator’s struggles with financial and emotional survival or her fraught relationship with her abusive boyfriend. Yet, even amid this bleakness, Saunders introduces moments of solidarity and care, often from unexpected places, such as the crows who save the narrator, creating a sense of righteous ferality and liberation.

While the novella’s experimental style and abstract symbolism may not appeal to every reader, fans of feminist speculative fiction will find much to savor. Saunders deftly walks the line between absurdity and sincerity, crafting a world that feels both eerily familiar and achingly strange. The Flat Woman is an evocative, thought-provoking exploration of blame, survival, and the possibility of forging care in a fractured world.

📖 Recommended For: Fans of experimental and feminist literature, readers drawn to surreal and symbolic narratives, and anyone who enjoys exploring ecological and political critique.

🔑 Key Themes: Systemic Blame and Scapegoating, Resilience and Autonomy, Care and Interdependence, Environmental Collapse, Feminism.

Content / Trigger Warnings: Blood (minor), Animal Cruelty (minor), Police Brutality (minor), Vomit (severe), Animal Death (minor), Domestic Abuse (minor), Physical Abuse (minor).

Surreal near future speculative fiction where the US in particular decides to lean in to misogyny and scapegoating as the solution for the climate crisis, and where the actions of someone leading to the death of a bird may cause murder charges. Interesting holiday read.

This was a busy book. It felt like it was taking on a lot more than it should be at times, but that could just be the surrealism that comes with the plot that's throwing me off. I thought that the main magical realism feat of the woman's boundaries was a cool story line, as well as the apocalyptic setting, but the Elvis thing was a little much. Especially given that the woman never seemed dim-witted to me, so I found it hard to believe she went with him to Nevada in the first place. Generally speaking though, I did enjoy this one!

This was such a short book and at the same times it felt so long… ok maybe I wasnt the intended reader for this book, that star of the book dragged and left me wonder how legal would be for a child to be alone… if the house of the aunt was so unfit why didn’t she move with the niece? Basically she had to fend for herself… I wish this book had made more sense for me than it did.

I had to brave through the story to finish, and if you ask me what did I retain from the story? Pretty much nothing… it wasnt for me, for a short novella it felt like the size of war and peace…

Thank you NetGalley and Watkins Publishing, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

Literally have no clue what I just read?

🕊️ An unnamed girl’s mother is accused of « seagull terrorism », taken by the police and thrown in jail. Now a grown woman, the girl goes to university and experiences episodes of « her boundaries leaking » - which I didn’t get until later were episodes depicting mental illness. She visits her mother in an ashy « Pops Cola » jail and declares she is moving out with her boyfriend, who works at the « All Elvis Enclave ». The Flat Woman deals with themes like the climate crisis, mental health, abusive relationships, capitalism and many more.

It is certainly one of a kind. I don’t think ever read or ever will read anything quite like it, so if you’re into refreshing and wtf novels, this might be for you. It’s very much giving unhinged 😮‍💨
I don’t really think it was for me though, I struggled grasping the whole plot and the message behind the woman’s story. Some of it was quite straightforward but I wish the book explored more of the climate change aspect, the whys and hows of the Pops Cola monopoly etc. I was expecting a bit more for such an interesting premise. That said, if you’re into dystopias, magical realism, and wtf novels, this is the one 👇🏻

Thanks to the University Press of Alabama for providing this Advanced Reader Copy through NetGalley. This was released on November 12th in the UK, happy first week of shelf life to The Flat Woman 🥳

#arcreader #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreview #theflatwoman #uoa #bookstagrammer #bookstagramuk #booksbooksbooks #unhingedwomenbooks

1.5⭐️ thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! I was so excited by the premise of this but I was left feeling confused a majority of the time. While I caught some of the messages that the story conveyed, I think there was a lot that I missed or was unable to connect to. For it being a novella, I thought the pacing was also lacking. If interested in reading this, I recommend checking the trigger warnings ahead of time.

This novella was not an easy read because of the way it was written. It was hard to follow all the train of thoughts. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free e-arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

what an interesting premise! after having studied a unit on perspectives of the future for my english class, a future in which the government pretends that the climate crisis is the fault of women doesn't seem too unrealistic to me. i really enjoyed the unique writing style of this novel - each chapter/section felt like a new scene in a script for a tv show (if you know what i mean). the language used by the author was vivid and conjured very strong imagery. it's a style of writing that one of my teachers would refer to as "economical" - the author doesn't have to say much to convey meaning.

that being said, i think the ultimate message of the novel went over my head. i understood the themes, but what saunders was trying to say was ultimately lost on me. i also missed the significance of the title.

overall though, a fantastic read! what a great pick for my first advanced reader copy of a book!

This is a really short book but it took me ages to finish.

It had a stream of consciousness vibe (complete with no speech marks) that I didn’t particularly enjoy.
The first half was easily stronger than the second - once the Elvis guy was introduced I lost interest tbh and everything this was trying to say dissolved.

THE FLAT WOMAN is a creative, compelling read perfect for fans of literary fiction, especially readers who gravitate toward somewhat experimental fiction. I realize this book is not going to appeal to everyone, and that's okay. We need books like this, and I'm grateful to the publisher for taking a chance on it and for recognizing that not every reader wants the same old story. THE FLAT WOMAN deftly explores climate change, and the author does a great job at conveying the absurd and surreal. I flew through this one, impressed with the originality, and I will look forward to more from this author.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

Aahhh I give this one 3 stars with a very heavy heart. I wanted to love this so much. In fact, I went in with the pre conceived notion that I'll love it - I mean just look at the cover & the blurb!

The Flat Woman balances 3 primary themes of environmental disruption, feminism & mental health simultaneously, but it is certainly not limited to these. Heavy symbolism written with a surreal narrative immediately sucked me in.
Pink jumpsuits in prisons?! Hell yeah! (but also no because women blaming bad)

P.S. only 128 pages of pure fever dream! YESSS!

As much as I wanted to read more about seagull terrorism, the book moves on quickly in the second half to a (weird?) man who I absolutely did not like (that's the point, I know) but I also thought they plot might've been better without him at all.

I actually loved references to therapy, anxiety, leaking & the Woman's generally worst case scenario approach to life. I was looking forward to more of it as to me, the 'self fulfilling prophecy' climax might've have made more sense then.

Despite it's shortfalls (me losing interest after Elvis shows up), this book is EXACTLY the kind of weird, unique, creepy PINK experience that I crave in books (think Metamorphosis x Bunny x Eleanor Oliphant and you've barely scratched the surface).
To me, this author has a lot of potential. Looking forward to more from her.

The Flat Woman is a novella with a compelling premise, exploring themes of climate change and polarization. These are subjects I typically find engaging, so I was excited to read this novella. However, despite its intriguing concept, the story did not fully resonate with me.

The story’s weirdness and surrealism were notable and provided a unique reading experience. Yet, I felt that the novella fell short in terms of depth and development. The potential of its themes seemed underutilized, leaving me wanting more substance and exploration. While the novel’s originality was appreciated, I was left with a sense of unfulfilled promise. Overall, while The Flat Woman has its merits, it didn't quite hit the mark for me.

Thank you Xpresso Book Tours and NetGalley for the ARC!

Uh okay thank you NetGalley for the arc
I think this was just maybe not meant for me? I found the writing style to be extremely rough and choppy and the lack of quotations and clear markings of who was talking and when was really confusing and odd. I unfortunately don’t feel like this was what I expected to read based off the description.
Just know this won’t be for everyone.
The formatting was really off putting as well

Really interesting.. I find it hard to put in words this reading experience. I was drawn to the story line, definitely an unusual writing style. I am really glad I read it, not sure if this style is quite for me. Try it. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

“When I rewrote this piece, I tried to create a text that demanded a new kind of reading experience. One that expresses our absurd, fast, and unpredictable modern world filled with screens, disasters, and polarization.” —Vanessa Saunders

Reading this short novel feels like entering a surreal dream. It's the weirdest you can get before starting to be pretentious. The characters feel distant, the story fragmented, and the symbolism blunt but bizarre - yet somehow it all works together and it is gripping from the first line.

It reminded me a bit of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis and Philip K Dick's Ubik. You won't find any answers here, but quite a few conversation starters - would definitely recommend for a more experimental book club and anyone interested in surreal cli-fi.

Content Warning for domestic abuse and violence against animals.

Thank you to Vanessa Saunders, University of Alabama Press/Fiction Collective 2, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I would like to thank Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a hard one to give review for.

Did I like this book? Yes.
Did I understand ALL the underlying messages? Probably not.
Would I recommend that you read this book? Absolutely.
Could I tell you what it's about? Not without giving spoilers.

I would love to re-read this as a bookclub pick once it is published to discuss it with others though.