The July choice for ‘The Book Taster Book Club’ was ‘Weirdo’ by Sara Pascoe. This was a book that I had my eye on for some time, so it was a perfect excuse to pick it up and read it.
I can see why this book may be a Marmite book – and I definitely do not think that it is a book that will be for everyone, but I rather enjoyed it.
This story is told as a stream of consciousness, like we are living in the head of our main character, Sophie. And, for some, this may be a little jarring, but I rather enjoyed this as a reader. We all live in our heads sometimes, like Sophie, and we often have thoughts that may trigger other thoughts and cause us to jump around in our own heads. For me, this was really interesting, as little moments can often cause another memory or idea to be sparked – and this is what happens throughout the story. Sophie unpacks her past as she lives in her present, which takes her on a journey of self-discovery, as she realises that maybe there is not such a thing as perfection. But she also begins to understand why her present may have been impacted by her past…
Sophie also has a whole host of difficult and dysfunctional relationships to address in her life. These have certainly impacted the Sophie that she has become and need a bit of shaking off if she is going to move forward with her life.
So, as much as I appreciate that this book will not be everyone’s cup of tea, I think that there were a number of features that are probably quite relatable to many young women. The overthinking is definitely something that I could relate to, as was the way we jump around with our thoughts. This is especially true if we are feeling isolated or alone, which is how Sophie is feeling in this stage of her life. And I think there is an important lesson to us all that we should never let anyone dull our shine, or tell us that we are not worth being exactly what we want to be.