Similar to Brown's debut novel Assembly, Universality explores morality, politics, race, class, and the meaning of success.

The story opens with a hilarious depiction of a small anarchist collective during quarantine, with our journalist learning about this group and its characters after an evicted member bludgeons another with a gold bar. They had been squatting on a billionaire's abandoned farm property, courtesy of the now-evicted guy's mother sleeping with said billionaire and asking if her son could stay somewhere. This mother is a controversial figure herself, having created a name for herself with a book titled "Woke No Mo", a screed against identity politics in defense of working class whites.

Each section of this book presents a different piece of a story - the journalist's take on the gold bar incident, the journalist latter ruminating on this experience while with her friends, the billionaire banker's own experiences of upward class mobility and strained relationship with his wife, the mother's attempts to publish a second book and her remarks at a book festival. In this aspect, the book reminded me of Hernan Diaz's Trust, which also used various perspectives on a single experience in order to tell a story in its plurality.

What always impresses me about Natasha Brown is how her books are so short, yet pack so much punch. 4.5 stars, rounded up.

I really enjoyed the first part of the story quite a bit. The storytelling of the gold bar and all the characters associated with it kept me flying through the book. The ending and last bit of the story seemed to drag a little bit. I was still engaged with the story but didn't find the characters and storytelling voice as interesting as in the previous part of the story. The book is heavy with social commentary and unlikeable characters which I usually enjoy reading from. I think this book would have benefitted from a longer story and fleshing out the characters and their relationships just a little bit more. I would definitely read more from Natasha Brown in the future because the conversations that the author engages with in the book were very interesting.

I need to read Assembly but I have only heard great things about Natasha and this cover was too attention grabbing for me to pass. I did really enjoy this! its very readable and the initial plot set up was so interesting and made me laugh. Touches on socio-economic, class, being a writer in the contemporary digital space and more. Multiple flips in POV which I did enjoy but I think the women at the end was my least favorite and I know she was created to be that way but the ending didn't land as strong as I wanted it to.

Lots of depth in this novella. Brown packs a lot of social commentary in Universality, and I admit some of it went over my head. I was really hooked in the first segment, which takes the form of an investigate journalism article, but I feel like the remaining sections lost some momentum. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.

This one started so strong for me and I was so interested in where it would go. I can see what Brown was doing here and I think she managed to make her points. But something about the execution after the first part just didn't work for me.

A short and somewhat peculiar novel about the increasingly uncrossable chasm of rhetoric and political divide, Universality splits its time between an article about the heist of a gold bar from a hippie squatters' commune and the people who revolve around it. The cast of characters include: Hannah, the author of the article, a millennial freelancer desperate to make a living; Lenny, an tired and aging culture writer trying to make herself relevant by channeling right-wing rage; her son Jake, the drifter who steals the gold bar; Richard Spencer, the gold bar's owner, who is a typical middle-class white straight dude who can't figure out why everybody (deservedly) dislikes him; and Pegasus, the leader of the commune, an Occupy-inspired radical freegan dumpster diver who takes over Spencer's farm in the name of the people.

Natasha Brown gets inside each character's head to speak their voice and is largely successful - more so, interestingly and painfully, in the right-wing characters' heads than the left-wing ones. The hippies look to be caricatures, while the cynics like Lenny seem more sympathetic as they spout the racism that will lead to clickbait and Today Show interviews. I don't know whether that speaks to Brown's ability to inhabit their worldview, or that the author agrees. That's probably not the point. What the book does highlight is how we are all increasingly living in incommensurable thought-worlds, and how that is driven by the agenda of billionaires and their media conglomerates. Pegasus may be misguided, Hannah may be poor, Jake may be a loser. But I'd rather squat with them than with Lenny's "Britain for white people" or Spencer's womanizing and profligacy any second of any day.

Natasha Brown’s Universality, due in 2025, is poised to surpass even the brilliance of her debut, Assembly. While more stylistically conventional, this novel boldly interrogates the stories we tell—about others, ourselves, and the systems we inhabit. It’s a work of layered ambition, wielding narrative multiplicity to challenge both the literary and political status quo.

The novel opens with “A Fool’s Gold,” a sharply crafted, New Journalism-style essay exploring an illegal rave gone awry when a gold bar—worth nearly £800,000—renders someone unconscious. This incident spirals outward, connecting a journalist, a banker, and an anarchist collective in a collision of privilege, identity, and power. Each narrative thread complicates the central question: whose story is it to tell, and at what cost?

Hannah, the journalist, gains acclaim and opportunity, but at the expense of the truth’s integrity. Richard, the banker, wrestles with the fallout of public villainy, his professional life reframed into an archetype of late-capitalist greed. And Lenny, the iconoclastic columnist, weaponizes outrage to shape-shift into a crusader against “woke capitalism,” her interview a chilling masterclass in manipulating narratives.

Where Assembly offered a singular, razor-sharp perspective, Universality revels in its kaleidoscopic approach, daring readers to confront their biases. Brown’s brilliance lies in her refusal to moralize; instead, she places us within the contradictions of modern life, where victimhood and privilege coexist in uneasy tension.

A provocative, genre-defying achievement that cements Brown’s place among contemporary fiction’s brightest minds. A must-read.

Universality contains themes and thoughts on classism, elitism, racism, and sexism from characters varying in age and gender. The novel is short, character-driven, and structured in multiple parts. Admittedly, I enjoyed the first section, A Fool's Gold, more than the others and quickly lost interest in the characters and plot/mystery in the later sections. The author provides robust backgrounds and spins curious interrelationships among the cast; but it just didn't pique my interest enough to keep me focused. Thanks to the publisher, Random House, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the ebook. A fascinating novel that starts with a reporter investigating a farmhouse that’s been taken over with a small radical group that get busted during a rave, at the heart of the pandemic. The rest of the novel pulls back the layers to show that the young reporter may have been manipulated to write the story by a woman who is looking to boost her own profile in the crowded media world.

2.5 rounded to 3. Natasha brown is an incredible writer and knows how to write a lot in a short book. I really enjoyed her debut novel Assembly a lot and it stuck with me for a while after I read it. Unfortunately Universality was not really for me, or at least not right now. I think a lot of folks are going to enjoy this one, as there is something there and I appreciate the message. Sometimes I read things and it's just not the right time for me to read that book and I think that was the case for this one. More detailed review to come. Thanks very much to the publisher for an advanced copy!

I recently read “Assembly” by Natasha Brown. (her debut, shortlisted for the Goldsmith Prize and a finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction).
The endless cruelties were up in our face… (suffering, loss of identity) … etc. . . .
….examining race, diversity, class, capitalism, colonialism, slavery, misogyny, and British history.
At the center, was a Black woman struggling for her identity… her independence…
The book was powerful…affecting… and gorgeously written!
So….
I was pretty sure I knew what I was getting myself into by choosing to read “Universality” . . .
I wasn’t entirely wrong …. many of the same themes are examined
But …
….in Natasha’s sophomore book … we get more than one woman’s perspective…
we get the entire enchilada: multiple perspectives.
“Everyone sees themselves, and those like them, as a victim”.
“And the reader’s sympathy is naturally drawn to those who they identify — “ …. (grew up privileged? poor? racially or sexually victimized?)….Readers have the opportunity to reflect on our own upbringing….our beliefs, our prejudices, our egos—while at the same time imagine yourself living on an intentional communal community. This is (at least), the third book I’ve read this year with commune-themes …. and it’s the best of them all.

At the start….
….we are presented with a fictional news article about a crime years ago on country farm.
“A Fool’s Gold”
“A missing gold bar was a connecting node—between an amoral banker, an iconoclastic columnist, and a radical anarchist movement”.
An illegal rave took place during the Covid-lockdown.

We meet/follow interesting characters ….
Hannah Nicholson . . . The author/reporter.
Richard Spencer . . . The banker.
Lenny Leonard . . . (or Miriam is her proper first name) . . . the architect controller genius.

The writing is superb…insightful…relating across social economic and cultural backgrounds.
There is seriousness. There is laughter. (often mixed together at the same time).
Terrific characterization….
Fun razor-sharp dialogue…
Straight up ….its one heck of an enjoyable (shake your head a few times), relevant book for our times today.

“In recent years, differences and wealth became insurmountable challenges, unavoidably affecting Hannah’s friendships. What had once been a kind of bohemian brokenness, indulged by her friends now seemed an unattractive, immature trait in this new phase of adulthood. It made things awkward”.
She couldn’t afford to join in on many of the things her friends were doing and eventually she stopped getting invitations.

“Pay attention to the people around you. Notice who they are, what they say and do. Take that woman over there, on my left, shoveling porridge into her mouth. Do you see it? I’ll tell you what that is: ugliness. People are ugly. And stupid. Motivated only by fear or jealousy or, I don’t know, occasional petty hatred. The Internet simply offered a medium for all this crapola. It’s the sad, inevitable consequence of semi-educating the masses. Granting every idiot, the dizzying power of a spray can and wall”.

“Since the pandemic swept across the globe in 2020, many people have suffered badly, losing their lives and loved ones. Spencer is alive and well. His loved ones are safe—though possibly not reciprocally loving at this moment. But Spencer has lost some thing significant: his status. Back in 2019, all the excessive fruits of late capitalism were his. He owned multiple homes, farming land, investments, and cars; he had a household staff; a pretty wife, plus a much younger girlfriend. As a high-powered stockbroker at a major investment bank, he enjoyed immense power, influence, and wealth. He had everything. Now, stripped of all that, he has become the man across from me: a grounded giant, cut off from his castle in the sky”.

Absolutely OUTSTANDING…..
…..exasperating….infuriating….uncomfortable…..
Controversial issues….political issues….economic issues….policy issues…. EVERYTHING WORTH LOOKING AT TODAY!
Kudos to Natasha Brown. This book should win awards!!!

Natasha Brown has written something truly brilliant, nuanced but approachable.

Universality is a clever story about the ego, stories and how we wish them to be told and interpreted. The common theme of diversity and class are examined from many angles and points of view all including the common thread of “universality” of wanting to be truly seen in all it and how we become the victims of our own making.

This is a quick statement read, no words wasted and the wit is brimming over, Brown has an uncanny knack for making characters relatable across social, economic and cultural backgrounds while also exposing them. Like how? There is a level of poke fun and then the hard truths we live with and I believe this book forces us to look at ourselves and the way we interpret our part in the current times, is this a lot, yes, but is it something we should be demanding, absolutely.

I am rambling but I can’t quite formulate the right words for a book this layered in commentary, just read it.

Loved this. Author was great with Assembly. This is a fine follow up, perhaps even better than the last.

A strange, formally inventive novel that only Natasha Brown could have written. It feels like a departure from ASSEMBLY in that sense, but Brown's critical eye towards our dated social structures remain. I gobbled this up.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from this book; it’s equal parts “wow, this is smart but accessible” and “wait, actually, am I intelligent enough to be reading this?”

What a complex web of characters and narrative Natasha Brown expertly weaves; it’s difficult to succinctly describe this novel, which initially takes the form of a long-form magazine article. When the book begins, Pegasus, the de facto leader of a commute, rests in a semi-conscious state after being attacked by Jake, another member of the commune. Jake’s weapon of choice was a gold bar worth a half-million dollars, belonging to an avid capitalist named Richard Spencer. We also meet Jake’s mother, Lenny: a journalist on a crusade against being “woke” and who believes her son is a casualty of a society that prioritizes diversity. The magazine article addresses a broad range of topics, including, among others, capitalism, anarchism, racism, classism, communal living, Occupy Wall Street, and Covid-19.

The second part of the novel shifts to the third-person perspective of Hannah, the author of the aforementioned magazine article. Here, we gain insight into Hannah’s own identity and viewpoints, which which led to the question: how did those aspects of her background and belief system influence her approach to the article’s narrative and framing?

The novel’s third section (written in the third person), fourth section (written in the first person), and fifth section (first person again) continue to interrogate a question raised in the preceding section: how much of what was written in the article was actually true? And for the parts that were true, were they overly simplified? The fifth section delves further into Lenny’s ideology, as well as her view into media’s approach to sales.

This short novel really packs a punch. It is quiet and thought-provoking and I couldn’t put it down. I would recommend this for fans of Hernan Diaz’s “Trust.” I can’t wait to read Natasha Brown’s first book, Assembly!

This was an interesting read, I'll say that first. I also have to admit I'm not quite sure of the message (if there is just one) the author is trying to convey. I liked the different styles used to propel the story, although I felt the first "article" dragged on a bit too long. As an American, I could identify with many of the social issues being discussed, with many of the same discussions having taken place here across the ocean.

Was I engaged? Yes. Did the book help me consider different ways of looking at an issue? Yes. Did I feel stupid and simple at times while reading? Yes. Was I satisfied at the end of the book? Not really, no. I felt things ended very abruptly. Most importantly, would I read more from the author? Yes, absolutely.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

I am torn with this book. I enjoyed it and thought it was excellently written and paced. The story drew me in but by the end I was a bit confused as to what was trying to be conveyed through the story. I don’t know how else to put it. I read a NetGalley version of this book.

I struggled with this brilliant book, and I am certain the deficiency is mine. I feel like an outsider
surrounded by brilliance, but I just don’t feel like the party is for me. Feeling enjoyment with
individual passages that intrigued me is not the same as feeling immersed in or changed by a
story.
My thanks to Random house via NetGalley for the download of this book for review purposes.

Incredibly funny and brutal social commentary with a little mystery thrown in. A not so subtle bashing of pundits, journalism, and British white upper class cosplaying as middle.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the e-arc!
Publication date: May 4, 2025

Universality is shaping up to be one of the standout books of the year! Natasha Brown's razor-sharp wit and knack for creating flawed but realistic characters make this novel an engaging read. Part mystery, part social commentary, Universality explores the messy intersections of wealth, privilege, and politics. The title speaks to humanity’s shared failings—greed, envy, and corruption—woven into both the literal and metaphorical fabric of the story. The theme of universality pops up throughout the book, tying everything together in a clever and thought-provoking way.

The plot follows a journalist as she investigates an illegal rave gone terribly wrong, with a man ending up dead from a blow with a solid gold bar. As she digs deeper, she uncovers a tangled web of relationships that cut across social classes. The story is split into five distinct sections, each pushing the investigation forward while shining a light on the societal cracks it exposes. Brown’s semi-satirical takes on capitalism, class, and media are brilliantly integrated into the characters’ lives without ever feeling preachy. It’s not your typical mystery, and while none of the characters are particularly likable, their complexity and relatability will stick with you long after you’ve finished.