A very nice girl but not a great book

Imogen Crimp's debut novel, A very nice girl, followed her studies in English at Cambridge and an MA in contemporary literature at the University College London. Crimp also briefly studied singing at the London conservatoire, an experience I assume she drew inspiration from for her first book. I get that A very nice girl is supposed to be a contemporary, feminist novel, but it just didn't vibe with me. Here's my review.

A very nice girl | Published February 2022 | Read June 2024

Anna is studying opera at the London Conservatory after unexpectedly winning a place in the exclusive program. She's young and out of her depth in her new world, falling into a relationship with Max, an older, wealthy man whom she meets in the bar where she sings for her supper. The relationship is toxic from the get go, especially as Anna becomes financially dependent on Max. She struggles to cope with her gruelling rehearsal schedule, the brutality of auditioning for limited parts, and managing Max and her friendship group, all as her fledgling identity is being formed.

I wanted to love this book as a debut novel of a young, female writer. I valiantly struggled through it, waiting for a pay off that never happened. I assume that Crimp is trying to portray Anna as a complex, nuanced woman but unfortunately she is neither of those things. Anna is kind of annoying, actually, and has a sense of entitlement that bothered me throughout the book. The reader is meant to sympathise with her struggles but they're not much different from every other person who's had to work their way through university. On top of all that, I didn't really feel her passion for singing, so even the opera setting for the story didn't hold my interest.

I struggled with the prose and writing style. Crimp is trying to pull off a Sally Rooney approach (quotation-mark free dialogue and staccato sentences) but I found it really hard to read. Anna's point of view is all we get in the novel as well, and that increased my annoyance with her.

I'm not really sure what point Crimp is trying to make as I didn't see Anna as a feminist icon. I mean, she keeps perpetuating the behaviour she purports to eschew. I guess that's where the "a very nice girl" title comes from, in the sense that Anna isn't, taking almost no responsibility for her actions. Yes, there is commentary on class and on power dynamics in relationships, but being in Anna's head for the entire novel didn't reveal anything terribly insightful about these topics.

Rating: ⭐