Sad Girl Novel

by Pip Finkemeyer

Over the course of a year in Berlin, an aspiring novelist, Kim, and her historian best friend, Bel, confront their twin acts of creation.
​
Kim is becoming a writer, and is determined to write a bestseller. She's been convinced of this idea by Matthew, an American literary agent who is as emotionally unavailable as he is handsome (very). Kim lives in her own carefully constructed reality, which her imagination is constantly pumping full of hot air. As she attempts to buoy herself using other people for external motivation, they poke holes in her fantasies, leading her to wonder if she’s going to come crashing down or somehow stay afloat.
Meanwhile Bel is becoming a mother, and gives birth to a baby, certain it will fulfil her in ways her career does not seem to. Kim and Bel support and deceive each other as only the best of friends can.

In the face of probable failure, how do we convince ourselves to try and become something anyway? And how do we live with the choices we make?

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Adult, Audiobook, Humor, Mental Health

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2023

Reviews

[F. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to like this novel, but it just left me frustrated. First, let me start with what it does right. Although I am not a reader of fiction, I largely appreciated the novel's non-linear narrative, as this made the story less predictable. Listening to it as an audiobook works best, and Finkemeyer is good at keeping the reader's attention. But that's where it ends for me.

While I understand that this book is a satirical take on the sad girl genre, I felt like there was very little explanation for all the issues Kim faces and struggles with. In some way, I don't think she actually matures throughout this book's progression, which is a shame. It's a pretty demotivating novel for any young woman in her late 20s-early 30s, (which I assume is the target audience) because we never really get a sense of growth from any of it. For all that lead up to a betrayal, there's no real bang or comeback. Kim just meanders over all the choices she has made and "starts again", but never truly starts again because she's so focussed on escaping everything and evading responsibility. Perhaps I would have been better off reading Bel's historical papers.

[Rida Quraishi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers a unique twist on the ubiquitous genre of "sad girl" narratives. While it treads familiar territory with its young female protagonist, Kim, grappling with existential questions and the pursuit of a writing career, it manages to elevate itself above the standard tropes.

Finkemeyer's writing skillfully hovers just beyond the reader's grasp, inviting us to participate in the very tropes it deconstructs. It's as if we are both observers and participants in Kim's journey, with a subtle undercurrent of self-awareness that adds depth to the narrative. The novel appears to poke fun at itself while maintaining a serious undertone, creating an intriguing and intellectually engaging experience.

The relationship between Kim and her steadfast friend Bel provides a compelling dynamic. Bel's unwavering support, even as she navigates single motherhood, contrasts sharply with Kim's persistent self-doubt. This interplay between the characters adds an emotional depth to the story that is both relatable and at times frustrating, as we witness Kim's ongoing introspection.

One of the highlights of Sad Girl Novel is its exploration of themes. The glimpse into the life of an Australian expat in Berlin is captivating, and Kim's therapy sessions provide a voyeuristic perspective that draws readers in. The portrayal of Kim and Bel's enduring female friendship is another notable aspect, capturing the essence of such relationships.

While the novel does have a slow start, marked by a substantial amount of intellectualizing and a somewhat confusing chronological structure, it gradually gains momentum in the second part. The build-up to the climactic reveal in the third part is undeniably compelling.

Sad Girl Novel may require patience to get through its initial stages, but those who persevere will be rewarded with a refreshing take on a well-trodden genre. Pip Finkemeyer's debut novel dares to be different, offering an intellectual exploration of sadness and self-discovery amidst the backdrop of an intriguing Australian expat's life in Germany.

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me preface this by saying that I love books about women in their mid-late twenties “finding themselves” but being incredibly messy about it, because that is me. But I cannot even begin to describe how much I hated this book.

It was 300 pages of nothing. What was the story even about? I don’t have a clue. Like she was writing a book? Is that it?? It felt like when you’re writing an essay and trying to hit the word count so desperately that you forget what you’re talking about. I skimmed whole passages because I didn’t know what the fuck was happening and the timeline was all over the place and so fucking confusing.

I hated every single character, even the fucking Baby. And even though I knew I hated Kim from the start, it was this that really got me:
“He’d put his number in my phone as we arrived, and WhatsApped me a sun emoji and told me to text him one back. I sent him the smiley moon instead, because I resented being micromanaged.” Like bitch!!!

Kim referring to Australia as her “home country” made me irrationally angry. We didn’t even know she was from Australia until like half way through. Even throughout her whole interaction with the Australian guy (Ben?) before the fair it wasn’t mentioned that she was Australian?? (Or was it and I just didn’t care)

Also this whole obsession with Matthew. He was in it for like 5 seconds. AND BEL PRETENDING TO BE MATTHEW??!! YUCK like this is some psycho shit - blocking his number and then creating a new email behind Kim’s back and then gaslighting Kim being like “oh come on you knew it was me” like SORRY??

Also did she find her therapist Debbie on Facebook marketplace because YIKES!!! Oh yes Kim go and do drugs and get fucked up to stop feeling and fuck up your life - mmmm no sorry that’s not it

I had no desire to pick this up and read it. The only reason I didn’t DNF it is because I just don’t DNF books. That’s the only reason it gets one star, because I somehow managed to finish it.

[nina.reads.books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Ubiquitous sad girl book but make it intellectual. This pretty much sums up Sad Girl Novel by Pip Finkemeyer. I’ve started swearing off books about women in their twenties having existential crises however Sad Girl Novel manages to bring something different and fresh to the genre.

We still have a sad young woman (an Australian expat living in Berlin), agonising over being a writer (of her own sad girl novel) and in an email relationship with an American literary agent but this book rather than wallowing in the standard trope of the hot mess, unreliable, unlikable narrator on a path of self-destruction somehow takes it up an intellectual notch. It felt like the writing was always dangling just a little bit out of reach of the reader. It’s like you are both living the trope while at the same time it’s being unpacked around you. I’m not describing this well but there was just something different here. Almost poking fun at itself while remaining apparently serious?

Aspiring writer Kim also has another relationship with best friend Bel. Bel is always there to build Kim up and even though she has recently had a baby on her own the way she supports Kim is above and beyond. But despite this support, Kim is constantly introspective and her self-doubt was both relatable and maddening!

There was lots to love about the themes here. I loved taking a peek into the life of an Aussie in Germany, I loved the fly on the wall feeling you got from Kim’s therapy sessions, I loved the interactions between Kim and Bel which really epitomised a deep and enduring female friendship. But it was a slow burn to start, with a lot of intellectualising and felt a bit of confusing due to way that events were told almost back to front time wise. But it picks up the pace in part two and the lead up to the big reveal in part three was compelling.

If you can push through the slow start I think you will find yourself enjoying the different approach that Pip Finkemeyer has taken with her debut novel.

Thank you to @ultimopress for my #gifted copy.

[August · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not entirely certain what the point of this book was, and while it was clearly an examination and ultimately a kind of rejection of the “sad girl novel”, it just wasn’t very… interesting?

[Mads Majella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pip is really witty and has some great observation skills. I think I'd love to split a bottle of wine with her.

BUT...this book was so hard to finish. Even the character of Berlin could not keep me interested because Kim was so self involved and unoriginal. The plot went nowhere, just pages and pages of a diary of someone who knows how to write well but we don't necessarily need to turn it into a 'sad girl novel'.

I think it would have made a quirky film in the 90's and I would have lapped it up as a 15 year old, but in 2023 I just felt her problems were just so trivial. Poor Kim, living in Berlin, getting a work trip to New York, going to Berghain for two days every weekend. So what!

I read that Pip was writing a ironic take on the 'Sad Girl Novel' but I think she just wrote a book based on her late 20's in Berlin with clever observations yet no substance or plot.

[Jess Checkland · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - This is surprisingly heartfelt novel about finding yourself in your twenties, taking big leaps, moving out of your comfort zone and feeling like the world is against you.

My favourite quote from the book sums up what your twenties feels like:
“The layers between what I feared, and what actually happened to me we are always so thick and numerous, like the twenty mattresses between the Princess and the Pea. except I wanted desperately to not feel like a gross princess, I wanted desperately not to feel so affected by small things. But the spectrum of my life experiences was so narrow, I only had small things to be shaped by. Poor me.”

[Loana · Rating 3 out of 5]

i generally like sad girl novels and enjoyed the premise of this one but at some point it stopped making sense. i still found it interesting, particularly because i enjoy drama, but the whole storyline didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. still really enjoyed it somehow

[Svenja · Rating 1 out of 5]

As bland as a novel could possibly be.

[Elynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[alex alderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★
#ad — gifted as part of the bookstagram tour! 🌟

𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙙-𝙩𝙤-𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙠𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙅𝙖𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙜 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙗.

girlies… this was FUNNY. this might be one of the funniest books i’ve read in my whole twenty five years of luscious living 🤪

𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭: kim, an australian expat living in berlin, is a self-proclaimed sad girl. her dreary life is lacking substance as she spends the year trying to write her novel & spending time with best friend bel and “Baby”, (her six month old baby — lool), and the ever elusive matthew lurking in the digital romantic shadows ❤️‍🔥

kim is definitely the ‘tortured artist’ type. I listened to author pip finkemeyer talk on australian radio station ABC about how kim is meant to be unlikeable, & how she is trying to “reverse engineer a novel by researching the publishing industry” instead of writing from the heart and I found this SUCH an interesting concept because it’s true! because no one wants to read about women working the system to their advantage..

except ME. i was living for this. also let’s give it up for writers writing about writing. 🫡 this is a trope I love and will continue to read. when done properly, it can be so funny and self-referential. pip absolutely smashed this. 💥

read if you like:

💜 self-aware, dry, comedic writing which subverts the sad girl book trope and similar themes
💜 novels from the perspective of expats discovering cultural / language barriers
💜 writers writing about writing!

a huge thank you to emily on instagram: @thingsthativeread & hodder books for including me in the bookstagram tour! sad girl novel will be released ✨ 10th aug ✨ available to purchase at your fav bookshops & online retailers 🤠🚀💫

[Lulufrances · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating 3.5
Kim is a mess but I still felt for her! I liked her.
Whacky, sad, funny lil Kimberly Müller nearly all alone in Berlin, all the way from Australia.
(And the Australian humour was truly going strong in this one.)

I've read the criticisms re this novel (so many/such a low average rating, too?) and I see the problems and the way Sad Girl Novel doesn't really do a lot, aka Kim not giving much, but for me it was enough and all I needed or expected; after all she is a sad girlie protag and they tend to be self-involved, introspective and yes, subliminally sad.
Also, give me any book with as strong a sense of place as this, and I'll be happy; the essence of Berlin was so wonderfully captured, I felt like I was on the U8 again myself. (FUN!)
What confused me a bit was the way the dialogues or some passages were written – weirdly, it felt like they'd been translated from the German or at least not been written by a native English speaker.
Something was definitely clunky, but I can't place my finger on it entirely?

If you like this, you'll probably also enjoy Other People's Clothes (Calla Henkel) for the 20-somethings expats in Berlin vibes or A Room Called Earth (Madeleine Ryan) for some Australian vibes that are not like this at all and yet I had to think of it a few times.

(Bought this in Berlin at the beginning of June, in the vast English section of Dussmann, a place I can spend all my time and money.)

[Liz Seasalt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kimberly is an Australian living in Berlin, trying to write her novel. Her best friend, Bel, has recently had a baby and the man she met on a business trip to New York, Matthew, has only been writing her e-mails. She's stuck, in a way, lost in life and in a city she doesn't speak the language in, between her duties as Bel's life partner and her longing for love and an artistic purpose.
I enjoyed this book! I always find it very interesting how non-Germans see Berlin and Germany and even more interesting when they choose to make it the spot their novel takes place. I enjoyed Kim as a character and could empathise with her and her struggles well, but also was able to be frustrated with her (as Bel maybe was?). I felt a bit unsatisfied with the reveal near the end and its consequences, although I can't quite say if it's because I had hoped for more (emotion, conflict, room to discuss this thing) or if the reveal itself wasn't as fitting as I had hoped. All in all I did like reading this and probably would pick up another novel by the author.

[Georgia McDonald]

I don’t know how to rate this because I ran out of stupid Spotify listening hours when I had 30 minutes left and had to wait 8 days to finish it :’)

[Lia Perkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely hate the cover of the book. Not actually worthy of 4 stars but it was a good procrastination novel

[Gabbie Pop · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a delight - both earnest in its representation of the disaster millennial woman™ (and more specifically the hopeful yet adrift writer), yet also so tongue in cheek and self aware about the fallacies of this niche genre. I very much enjoyed it and can see a large audience that would feel similarly. In many ways, this centers the importance of the two most important relations in many young women's lives - your relationship with yourself (& by extension your art), and the complex, slightly co-dependent relation with your female best friend.

It lost me at times - most notably at a scene that felt like it was walking the fine line of "is this fatphobia or am I imagining things", but it managed to pull me back in by the end.

Overall one of the most successful disaster millennial (or, indeed, sad bitch) novels I've read in recent years. I can see that the author aimed to make this the SAD BITCH NOVEL and not the SAD GIRL NOVEL, and I have no choice but to respect the hustle.

[Camila - Books Through My Veins · Rating 2 out of 5]

- thanks to @ultimopress for my #gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I am pretty puzzled about my experience with Sad Girl Novel. As a person seriously considering researching the 'sad girl novel' genre at an academic level, I would not have missed reading this novel for the world. Yet, it did not deliver what I expected.

I attended the launch of this novel in which Diana Reid interviewed Pip Finkemeyer about it, so I had an excellent opportunity to listen to the author delving into her motivations behind it. I walked away that day convinced this book was full of irony and sarcasm for the genre, thought-provoking insights about the writer's life and a relatable narrative about Millennial women. Confusingly, I cannot say I found these things, and yet I cannot say I did not. And yes, I know I am not making any sense.

On the one hand, I was anxious to be done with this novel because I could not bear the protagonist. This selfish, deluded, neurotic and self-centred young woman seemed incapable of stringing one coherent thought at any given time, and this is one of my biggest —if not the biggest— problems with the genre: the depiction of young women as devoid of a rich inner life, incapable of looking beyond their trivial worries. We, Millennial women, are not superficial. We are not unbearable. We are not empty.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed and appreciated the commentary on the creative life and the inner turmoils of writers. I am not a writer myself —nor do I intend to be— but I have listened attentively to many writers and their struggles to believe they can write something 'good enough'. In my experience, this constant self-doubt is inherent to the writer or writer-to-be, and Finkemeyer captured this dilemma through great observational writing and nuance.

Overall, Sad Girl Novel has me on the fence: I liked and appreciated it as much as I did not. However, the author has given me much to consider regarding the genre and the undeniable demand for sad girl novels. For sure, it is a book I will be revisiting for academic purposes.

[Shanice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the advance reader copy.

I had to DNF this book 7 chapters in because I couldn’t read anymore from the main characters perspective. It felt disjointed and filled with forced awkwardness.

So far nothing has really happened and for a relatively short book that’s concerning.

[Teyah Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5, this book was made for my specific mix of interests and neuroses thank u pip x

[Cara McDermott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kim is invested in making herself unlikeable so as to become loveable. She’s very much the centre of her own universe, but so aware of this that it’s difficult not to like her for it.

Her relationship with her therapist is worthy of a tv series. She says of her that she “was so mean to me that I was sure she didn’t think I could be suicidal, and I took that as a compliment. I liked to think that I was strong enough to weather all the shitty things she would say to me, so I could glean something good from her, like panning for gold.”

The book is full of witty one liners “He was more neurotic than me, which was arousing.” And observations with which every woman who has ever dated a man will relate “This was one of those moments where I was supposed to rise to the occasion and educate a man for the sake of all the future women in his life, but I was tired: so, so tired. And such moments always left the man better informed and me alone again.”

My only criticism of the book is that the frequent darting between the past and present made it occasionally confusing to keep timelines straight, and there were a few characters introduced that felt like they’d be important but were never again referenced making their appearance feel irrelevant or unnecessary.

That said, it’s been a while since I found so much of a book so very quote worthy, and I hate to admit that I found Kim so relatable. I wish I was more like her best friend Bel whom I adored. I would gladly read a sequel dedicated to her. But I’ll be keeping an eye out for what comes next from Pip Finkemeyer regardless.

[Bronte Teale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t say no to a sad girl novel, even if I recently lamented in another review how they often leave me feeling disappointed at the ending.

The trend continues. I really loved reading this, right up until the very last bit. The writing is great; it’s funny and sincere. As many others have commented, it’s a bit meta. What I find tiring though is reading all the reviews about it being an “intellectual” take on the sad girl novel.
I, too, internalise this bullshit about books written or read by women, and I’m so glad Pip Finkemeyer doesn’t let us get away with it. As she’s said in interviews, if these were books about/by men, we’d just call them literature (I’m looking at you, OG soft boi Dostoevsky).

This book lost a star for me because I found the ending corny (I don’t want to spoil it by elaborating). And whilst I really enjoyed the focus on the relationship between the protagonist and her best friend, I only realised later that the idea was to hold the two women up side by side as examples of two different extremes of the career-versus-motherhood problem. I’m always happy to see this properly dissected, but I think the fact that I completely missed this means it probably didn’t work that well. I never got the sense that Kim’s character actually struggled with this decision at all (which is fine), and whilst Bel has a baby on her own, there wasn’t a robust exploration of the enormous pressure women face in regards to having or not having children. So yeah, I don’t feel like this added much to existing commentary about this issue.

Nevertheless, a fun, well written read and a strong debut.

[Manon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je suis très frustrée de ce livre, parce que ma lecture commençait si bien mais a très mal continué. J’ai adoré la plume et certaines réflexions à travers lesquelles j’ai pu me retrouver, notamment sur l’écriture et sur la crise existentielle des 25 ans, mais malheureusement, ça s’arrête là.

J’ai rarement lu un livre où le personnage régresse tout du long plutôt qu’évolue, ce qui est assez agaçant. On n’a aucun élément sur la vie de l’héroïne, son histoire, rien, malgré ses nombreux monologues. Très déçue.

[Ashleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

One I wish I enjoyed more than I did. Sad Girl Novel drew me in from the start, however the whole second portion being a flashback lost me and by the third act I was disconnected. I would have enjoyed this book more if it had been told linearly. Kim was chaos which I was totally here for but then again become less invested as the book continued, I feel like a lot of the humour was lost.

This book was fine but I had high hopes

[Mia Drew-Crawshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the slightly punishing title, and the fact that the copy I read had a violent mint green and pink cover which made me ashamed to read it on the bus, I actually really liked this book. Kimberly is kind of self interested and pretty pathetic but I found that the book was sort of self-aware and irreverent so i found her endearing and relatable. Long live the 20-something with a BA and no plans.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Self-absorbed and dismal, I didn’t get more than a quarter of the way through. I guess I really brought it on myself for reading a book literally called Sad Girl Novel but my god, I don’t want to spend time with people like this.

[Chanel Chapters]

DNF @ 100 pages - there just wasnt enough going on to keep my attention

[Lucy Skeet · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a little pretentious but i really really liked it soooo

[Taylor Leeson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not worth the effort

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so me coded. Cheers to sad bitch books ✨

[Olive · Rating 3 out of 5]

hmmmmm ridiculously embarrassing title takes off a star