this book was surreal and hypnotizing in some very weird ways. How you can manage to turn sugar beets, of all things, into an impressive psychological horror-adjacent novel in the same way as My Year of Rest And Relaxation, among other things, is beyond me, but Sarsfield delivered it in this book. At times it was a little bit ambiguous, but I found that part of its charm. 4.5 stars. tysm for the arc.

In some ways, Beta Vulgaris was excellent — I’ve rarely encountered such effective descriptions of anxiety and self-loathing. Truly visceral. I felt myself growing increasingly unnerved the further I read. It was also deeply satisfying to watch the main character Elise’s perspective unravel as truths of her life and the people around her were revealed throughout the novel. The book was gripping; I really didn’t want to put it down.

However, around 3/4 of the way through the book, things came a little too undone. The book largely is written in the form of Elise’s stream of consciousness. Given her steadily mounting anxiety, this form could have built to a satisfying climax, but for me… fizzled. At a certain point, the scales tipped. Maybe because the ending was overly protracted, rather than building tension, the frenzied tone came across too scattered and nonsensical, to the point of being unpleasant to read. After having been on the edge of my seat for so much of the book, I just wanted to wrap up.

Over all, I did enjoy the book, though, and would recommend it to readers who enjoy flawed and unreliable female narrators, fans of psychological/eco horror or really, just strange books generally, and millennials who fear looking at their latest bank statements.

I can’t stop thinking about this novel. If you enjoy unhinged female characters, Beta Vulgaris should be on your want to read list. The author, Margie Sarsfield, does an excellent job conveying isolation and vulnerability in her forthcoming book, due for publication next February.

Our main character, Elise, joins a sugar beet harvest as a night worker with the intention of getting ahead on her debts. Over the course of two weeks, throughout which many agricultural workers start to disappear, Elise slowly loses grip on reality. The brutality of the work, combined with Elise’s internal struggles culminate, and essentially leave her incapacitated in survival mode. Her anxiety is also driven by her empty bank account, which leaves her unable to take basic care of herself. There are certainly elements of horror in this novel, but I would more likely classify it as a dystopia.

I would recommend Beta Vulgaris for readers who appreciate the darker elements of works by authors like Mellissa Broder and Ottessa Moshfegh. I would not recommend this book, however, to anyone who struggles reading about disordered eating. This is featured in graphic detail many times throughout the novel.

A huge thank you to W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book was... weird. But weird in a good way. Weird that left me curious and wanting to read more. Weird in a way that made me feel excited over what could happen next.

The main character was completely likable. From her struggles with money to her mental health, I related to her a lot and thus enjoyed reading the tale based on her narrative alone. I really wanted her to find the answers she needed and have a happy ending.

As far as the beets go... there could have been more beets. I expected more beets, I think. But they still worked as a sort of in-the-background, almost eerie sort of way.

This book left me with more questions than answers and I have frustrations over that, but that's normal. I really wish this book had had an additional 50 pages or so, but I would recommend it to anyone who was looking for an enjoyable, weird read and overall I enjoyed it.

"Worms can't talk, said the beets."

Elise is a complex and compelling character. She has a lot of issues that, unfortunately, I and probably a good portion of the female population can relate to to some degree. And while she is interesting in those ways, she's mostly boring. This story is 80% her stream of consciousness, and most of it is repetitive and nothing happens. Like the parts of Pretty Little Lists were absolutely unneeded.

I was intrigued, however, dying to find out what was going to happen, but I swam through so much stuff that did not forward the plot for nothing. The ending was so disappointing.

This was such an interesting book! It was creepy, a little bit scary, but not too too bad. I love the themes of class, anxiety, paranoia, and relationships. This had a great pacing to it and it kept me intrigued the whole way through! I would definitely read another book from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!