When I Was Invisible by Dorothy Koomson
| When I Was Invisible by Dorothy Koomson | |
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| Category: General Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Ani Johnson
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| Summary: The subject matter may not make it a happy read, but its insight and characterisation makes it so compelling. Indeed, Dorothy Koomson at her hard hitting best. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 464 | Date: May 2016 |
| Publisher: Century | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1780893365 | |
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Veronika Harper met Veronica Harper aged 8, form the start both deciding they'd stay firm friends. Nika and Roni did everything together including their beloved ballet… until something goes terribly wrong. This leads to a series of events that don't just tear their friendship but also the lives they would otherwise lead. They wish for invisibility and choose different ways to accomplish it for the sake of their survival; physical as well as emotional.
I must declare myself a Dorothy Koomson fan and have grown happily used to her hard hitting style as she brings us authentic slices of the more heart-breaking sides of life. However When I Was Invisible takes hard hitting to a whole new level. This is a story in which Dorothy goes for the literary solar plexus punch and, gosh, she achieves it! While doing this the author shows once again that it's an error to consider her work as light chick lit. This is an insightful social commentary wrapped up in a tale of two people.
I won't spoil the book by clumsily regaling you with events that occur on the girls' journey into adulthood but please be aware that the journey includes adult content, and rightly so. For instance through various steps, Nika has to sleep rough and through these experiences Dorothy takes us beyond the TV screen and the news reportage via which we encounter such concepts alien to many of our 'normal' ways of life. Our eyes are opened to dangers and measures that need to be taken in order to survive on the pavements. We also watch various traps being sprung, enabling us to appreciate how the most apparently sensible decision can become the polar opposite once the consequences are discovered.
This is indeed real world stuff rather than soap facsimile. Ergo there are unpredictable twists because life is like that. There's one particular thing that we think we can guess will happen (no spoilers – I promise!) but Dorothy plays with our anticipation as we wonder whether we've guessed right or…
I'll be honest: this isn't an uplifting read. There's nothing wrong with how it's written; if anything Dorothy's skill shines through more in this than some of her previous work. It's the gritty shocks that at times made me wonder if I could carry on. However I realised I couldn't put it down because of the authenticity as well as despite it. Roni and Nika jump off the page to such an extent that I wanted desperately to know how it would end. Then, as I was caring, I was also learning until, realistically, nothing could stop me turning those pages.
I apologise if that last paragraph appeared to be a conundrum of mixed emotions but that's what this novel does to us. It takes us out of our possibly comparatively cosy world into others that exist on our periphery, not only making us aware but drawing us in to vignettes we'll never forget. You've done a good job Ms Koomson, thank you!
(Thank you also to Century for providing us with a copy for review.)
Further Reading: If you would like to read more Dorothy, then That Girl from Nowhere is a good place to start. If you'd like to stick with a look at a friendship under duress, then it has to be the equally superlative The Exclusives by Rebecca Thornton.
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You can read more book reviews or buy When I Was Invisible by Dorothy Koomson at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy When I Was Invisible by Dorothy Koomson at Amazon.com.
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