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The Catch
This inaugural novel in the Well-Read Black Girl × Liveright series is a darkly whimsical debut about women daring to live and create with impunity.
Twin sisters Clara and Dempsey have always struggled to relate, their familial bond severed after their mother vanished into the Thames. In adulthood, they are content to be all but estranged, until Clara sees a woman who looks exactly like their mother on the streets of London. The this version of Serene, aged not a day, has enjoyed a childless life.
Clara, a celebrity author in desperate need of validation, believes Serene is their mother, while Dempsey, isolated and content to remain so, believes she is a con woman. As they clash over this stranger, the sisters hurtle toward an altercation that threatens their very existence, forcing them to finally confront their pasts—together. In her riveting first foray into fiction, Yrsa Daley-Ward conjures a kaleidoscopic multiverse of daughterhood and mother-want, exploring the sacrifices that Black women must make for self-actualization. The result is a marvel of a debut novel that boldly asks, “How can it ever, ever be a crime to choose yourself?”
Twin sisters Clara and Dempsey have always struggled to relate, their familial bond severed after their mother vanished into the Thames. In adulthood, they are content to be all but estranged, until Clara sees a woman who looks exactly like their mother on the streets of London. The this version of Serene, aged not a day, has enjoyed a childless life.
Clara, a celebrity author in desperate need of validation, believes Serene is their mother, while Dempsey, isolated and content to remain so, believes she is a con woman. As they clash over this stranger, the sisters hurtle toward an altercation that threatens their very existence, forcing them to finally confront their pasts—together. In her riveting first foray into fiction, Yrsa Daley-Ward conjures a kaleidoscopic multiverse of daughterhood and mother-want, exploring the sacrifices that Black women must make for self-actualization. The result is a marvel of a debut novel that boldly asks, “How can it ever, ever be a crime to choose yourself?”
352 pages, Hardcover
First published June 3, 2025
647 people are currently reading
10164 people want to read
About the author
Yrsa Daley-Ward
7 books952 followersYrsa Daley-Ward is a writer and poet of mixed West Indian and West African heritage. Born to a Jamaican mother and a Nigerian father, Yrsa was raised by her devout Seventh Day Adventist grandparents in the small town of Chorley in the North of England. Her first collection of stories 'On Snakes and Other Stories' was published by 3:AM Press.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 301 reviews
June 27, 2025
Someone explain to me what I just read....like I am 2 years old.... because... what the hell did I just read?
No I am serious, please comment and explain to me what I read.
No I am serious, please comment and explain to me what I read.
July 17, 2025
A satisfying new offering for those of us who are attracted to ambivalence in fiction. Consider the unreliable narrator trope. The Catch doesn’t exactly have that, as much as an unreliable sense of who the narrator is. Then there is the ending, which wanders through ambiguity to end in a more or less clear place. Maybe. Maybe not. And then there are the slippery things Daley-Ward does with time. It’s a lot, but in the end I enjoyed it. It’s a book that wants to be taken seriously and not seriously at the same time.
Clara and Dempsey are twin sisters who were abandoned shortly after birth by their mother Serene. Clara seemingly got the better roll of the dice when she was adopted by an upper-middle-class couple. She’s also tall and beautiful, like her birth mother. Her adoptive mother begins straightening her hair and taking other pains to maximize her appearance from an early age. Dempsey was smaller and marginally healthy, and wasn’t adopted until a year later by a widowed councilman who pays no attention at all to her clothing or hair or any other part of her look.
Clara is now a hugely successful author, but struggles with alcohol abuse and a feeling of emptiness she attempts to fill through casual sexual liaisons. Dempsey does clerical work online and lives in a studio apartment. She fills her days caught up with the latest internet fads and closely follows the lives of influencers. Her therapist encourages her to buy products and services she can’t really afford, but HER feeling of emptiness is only filled in this way. In case you haven’t noticed, although Clara’s activities drive the plot, I found Dempsey more appealing.
So they go along, pretty much estranged, until one day Clara sees a woman who she becomes convinced is Serene, their mother. The problem with that is that Serene committed suicide 30 years ago by wading into the Thames. To complicate matters more, this Serene appears to be the same age the twins are now, 30.
Clara interacts with this woman and becomes more and more convinced that she is their mother. The book that has gained Clara such recognition and wealth is about a woman whose life is uncannily like Serene’s. There are all kinds of weird stuff with this book alone, as lengthy sections of it are identical to passages in a letter purportedly written by their birth mother prior to her death but not given to Clara by her adoptive mother until well after her book is published.
Cue the music from the X FIles.
But all this strange stuff is intermingled with more mundane day-to-day activities. For Clara, this involves coping with her public responsibilities as a successful writer while generally under the influence. Dempsey’s efforts to meet the standards of her therapist culminate in the internet aftermath of some questionable activities at a therapeutic retreat. This is a rich source of humor (and some pathos on Dempsey’s part), successfully mined by Daley-Ward.
As the story moves along, Serene integrates herself more and more into their lives. Dempsey is convinced she’s a con artist; Clara is increasingly sure she’s their mother.
It may seem as if I’ve just shared a lot of the plot, buf there’s plenty more. I found that my engagement and enjoyment increased as the chapters unfolded, and reached a peak at the end. You just need to hold on for the ride as Daley-Ward explores issues of race, parenthood and sibling relations by use of a decidedly unique story. Not sure yet that it’s going to end up as one of my best of the year, but I’m happy to give it five stars.
Clara and Dempsey are twin sisters who were abandoned shortly after birth by their mother Serene. Clara seemingly got the better roll of the dice when she was adopted by an upper-middle-class couple. She’s also tall and beautiful, like her birth mother. Her adoptive mother begins straightening her hair and taking other pains to maximize her appearance from an early age. Dempsey was smaller and marginally healthy, and wasn’t adopted until a year later by a widowed councilman who pays no attention at all to her clothing or hair or any other part of her look.
Clara is now a hugely successful author, but struggles with alcohol abuse and a feeling of emptiness she attempts to fill through casual sexual liaisons. Dempsey does clerical work online and lives in a studio apartment. She fills her days caught up with the latest internet fads and closely follows the lives of influencers. Her therapist encourages her to buy products and services she can’t really afford, but HER feeling of emptiness is only filled in this way. In case you haven’t noticed, although Clara’s activities drive the plot, I found Dempsey more appealing.
So they go along, pretty much estranged, until one day Clara sees a woman who she becomes convinced is Serene, their mother. The problem with that is that Serene committed suicide 30 years ago by wading into the Thames. To complicate matters more, this Serene appears to be the same age the twins are now, 30.
Clara interacts with this woman and becomes more and more convinced that she is their mother. The book that has gained Clara such recognition and wealth is about a woman whose life is uncannily like Serene’s. There are all kinds of weird stuff with this book alone, as lengthy sections of it are identical to passages in a letter purportedly written by their birth mother prior to her death but not given to Clara by her adoptive mother until well after her book is published.
Cue the music from the X FIles.
But all this strange stuff is intermingled with more mundane day-to-day activities. For Clara, this involves coping with her public responsibilities as a successful writer while generally under the influence. Dempsey’s efforts to meet the standards of her therapist culminate in the internet aftermath of some questionable activities at a therapeutic retreat. This is a rich source of humor (and some pathos on Dempsey’s part), successfully mined by Daley-Ward.
As the story moves along, Serene integrates herself more and more into their lives. Dempsey is convinced she’s a con artist; Clara is increasingly sure she’s their mother.
It may seem as if I’ve just shared a lot of the plot, buf there’s plenty more. I found that my engagement and enjoyment increased as the chapters unfolded, and reached a peak at the end. You just need to hold on for the ride as Daley-Ward explores issues of race, parenthood and sibling relations by use of a decidedly unique story. Not sure yet that it’s going to end up as one of my best of the year, but I’m happy to give it five stars.
January 31, 2025
When I finished this book I had to look up some reviews right away. Turns out I’m not the only one who unsure of what to think of this story.
Right from the start I wasn’t sure what to think of the writing style. The author writes lyrically and it turns out that’s because she’s a poet. Nothing wrong with that, in fact it makes the read interesting and unique.
My issue is that neither of the main characters was trustworthy so I was never sure what to believe and what to distrust. There’s a time travel element that I couldn’t quite decipher if it was truly happening or a product of mental illness.
I don’t want to over analyze the story for fear of running potential readers off. All I can say is that if you are interested you should give it a try.
Right from the start I wasn’t sure what to think of the writing style. The author writes lyrically and it turns out that’s because she’s a poet. Nothing wrong with that, in fact it makes the read interesting and unique.
My issue is that neither of the main characters was trustworthy so I was never sure what to believe and what to distrust. There’s a time travel element that I couldn’t quite decipher if it was truly happening or a product of mental illness.
I don’t want to over analyze the story for fear of running potential readers off. All I can say is that if you are interested you should give it a try.
Read
June 14, 2025Idk what I just read, but I think I loved it? But also someone plz explain it to me.
April 2, 2025
Thanks to WW Norton & NetGalley for this ARC!
Here lies the ultimate display of the unreliable narrator(s).
The Catch is a surreal and poetic examination of the blessings and, at times, curses we receive from our parents. We begin the book with Clara, a writer experiencing success with her new novel. The book's attention gives her free reign to access her darker impulses, relatively unchecked. Clara's novel tells a story remarkably similar to her own life, two twins whose mother died when the girls were quite young. In real life, Clara has a sister who is three minutes younger but worlds different from herself named Dempsey. Their mother abandoned them as babies and presumably drowned in the river Thames. No one really knows, because only her clothes were found.
Dempsey and Clara are separated when they go through the foster care system. As a result, they lead incredibly different lives — while Dempsey is obsessed with her own journey of self acceptance, seeking healers with varied levels of qualification. The two sisters' relationship is contentious at best.
All of this changes when Clara is sure that she has seen her mother, somehow also 30 (the same age as Clara and Dempsey), pocket a watch in a department store. Faced with a psychedelic possibility that their mother is alive, their age, and also really cool, Clara starts to spiral. She and Dempsey have to grapple with their own reality, trying to parse out the fraud amongst the three of them.
It's a circular, meta-narrative. We're reading from Clara and Dempsey's perspectives, with chapters of Clara's novel, Evidence, sparsed throughout. By the time I finished this one, I was reminded of David Lynch's Lost Highway, a film that ends just about where it began. The Catch will have you constantly wondering if you have finally figured it out, or if there's still some catch waiting on the next page.
Here lies the ultimate display of the unreliable narrator(s).
The Catch is a surreal and poetic examination of the blessings and, at times, curses we receive from our parents. We begin the book with Clara, a writer experiencing success with her new novel. The book's attention gives her free reign to access her darker impulses, relatively unchecked. Clara's novel tells a story remarkably similar to her own life, two twins whose mother died when the girls were quite young. In real life, Clara has a sister who is three minutes younger but worlds different from herself named Dempsey. Their mother abandoned them as babies and presumably drowned in the river Thames. No one really knows, because only her clothes were found.
Dempsey and Clara are separated when they go through the foster care system. As a result, they lead incredibly different lives — while Dempsey is obsessed with her own journey of self acceptance, seeking healers with varied levels of qualification. The two sisters' relationship is contentious at best.
All of this changes when Clara is sure that she has seen her mother, somehow also 30 (the same age as Clara and Dempsey), pocket a watch in a department store. Faced with a psychedelic possibility that their mother is alive, their age, and also really cool, Clara starts to spiral. She and Dempsey have to grapple with their own reality, trying to parse out the fraud amongst the three of them.
It's a circular, meta-narrative. We're reading from Clara and Dempsey's perspectives, with chapters of Clara's novel, Evidence, sparsed throughout. By the time I finished this one, I was reminded of David Lynch's Lost Highway, a film that ends just about where it began. The Catch will have you constantly wondering if you have finally figured it out, or if there's still some catch waiting on the next page.
July 27, 2025
2.5
Clara and Dempsey are twins whose mother died when they were babies. Clara is now a successful author who was brought up in a loving home. Dempsey struggles with life. She is unemployed and sees a therapist. She was adopted by Kendrick, whose parenting skills were minimal at best. The twins barely saw each other during their childhoods and Clara appears to despise her less beautiful and accomplished twin.
However, one day Clara is in a high street store and sees a woman steal an expensive watch. She follows the woman home - not because of the watch but because she resembles their mother. Unfortunately Dempsey believes that the woman, who Clara has befriended and bears the same name as their mother, is either a ghost or a con woman.
Even more disturbing is the fact that the twins' lives now begin to resemble Clara's latest book, Evidence, which is all about their mother.
The Catch begins as a book where the characters are merely trying to find out if the woman is their mother, but as it continues, the story becomes more bewildering and falls under the magical realism genre. In its second half the entire book becomes a spiral of Clara and Dempsey trying to find out if the woman is their mother, who their father is and if they take any action what will happen to them?
I found the book increasingly bewildering and by the end it almost felt that the author had lost their grip on the narrative and didn't know where to stop. I was simply relieved to reach the end. The actual writing was good and the characters were believable though and I'd try more of this author's work that wasn't set in the same genre.
If you like magical realism and don't mind being utterly bewildered, you'll love this. Perhaps fans of Gabriel Garcia Marquez would enjoy it. I'm afraid it wasn't for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the advance review copy.
Clara and Dempsey are twins whose mother died when they were babies. Clara is now a successful author who was brought up in a loving home. Dempsey struggles with life. She is unemployed and sees a therapist. She was adopted by Kendrick, whose parenting skills were minimal at best. The twins barely saw each other during their childhoods and Clara appears to despise her less beautiful and accomplished twin.
However, one day Clara is in a high street store and sees a woman steal an expensive watch. She follows the woman home - not because of the watch but because she resembles their mother. Unfortunately Dempsey believes that the woman, who Clara has befriended and bears the same name as their mother, is either a ghost or a con woman.
Even more disturbing is the fact that the twins' lives now begin to resemble Clara's latest book, Evidence, which is all about their mother.
The Catch begins as a book where the characters are merely trying to find out if the woman is their mother, but as it continues, the story becomes more bewildering and falls under the magical realism genre. In its second half the entire book becomes a spiral of Clara and Dempsey trying to find out if the woman is their mother, who their father is and if they take any action what will happen to them?
I found the book increasingly bewildering and by the end it almost felt that the author had lost their grip on the narrative and didn't know where to stop. I was simply relieved to reach the end. The actual writing was good and the characters were believable though and I'd try more of this author's work that wasn't set in the same genre.
If you like magical realism and don't mind being utterly bewildered, you'll love this. Perhaps fans of Gabriel Garcia Marquez would enjoy it. I'm afraid it wasn't for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the advance review copy.
October 15, 2025
When this book is good, it's very very good, and when it's bad, it's horrid.
It's 2 stars, and it's 4 stars. (Thus, Goodreads forces me to compromise at 3 stars)
It's a literary novel that delves daringly into two sisters' self-destructive behavior, dragging them so deep--and dragging me with them--that I wanted to grab them, to stop them.
It's a realistic novel that honestly explores the relationship between twin sisters who were abandoned by their mother when they were infants, raised by different families, and now--understandably--suffer as adults from similar insecurity and need for love.
It's a sci-fi exploration that challenges your notions of reality, with more than a half-dozen alternative endings.
I'm in awe of the novel's originality and courage. I also love the semi-experimental language -- breaking off paragraphs in the middle of sentences, which then continue in short bursts. Yes! That structure perfectly displays what the sentence is saying.
So why the 2 stars? Why did I call it sometimes "horrid"?
Because I hated the two sisters.
Well, so what? Great novels can have unlikable main characters.
But it was annoying and downright boring to read about these characters and their ongoing self-destructiveness and self-blindness--especially because I felt that the author expected me to care about them. Self-pitying Clara, the best-selling novelist? Self-pitying Dempsey, a sucker for every fraud?
(When you find yourself counting the pages until this reading agony is finished, you know the book is in trouble.)
It's 2 stars, and it's 4 stars. (Thus, Goodreads forces me to compromise at 3 stars)
It's a literary novel that delves daringly into two sisters' self-destructive behavior, dragging them so deep--and dragging me with them--that I wanted to grab them, to stop them.
It's a realistic novel that honestly explores the relationship between twin sisters who were abandoned by their mother when they were infants, raised by different families, and now--understandably--suffer as adults from similar insecurity and need for love.
It's a sci-fi exploration that challenges your notions of reality, with more than a half-dozen alternative endings.
I'm in awe of the novel's originality and courage. I also love the semi-experimental language -- breaking off paragraphs in the middle of sentences, which then continue in short bursts. Yes! That structure perfectly displays what the sentence is saying.
So why the 2 stars? Why did I call it sometimes "horrid"?
Because I hated the two sisters.
Well, so what? Great novels can have unlikable main characters.
But it was annoying and downright boring to read about these characters and their ongoing self-destructiveness and self-blindness--especially because I felt that the author expected me to care about them. Self-pitying Clara, the best-selling novelist? Self-pitying Dempsey, a sucker for every fraud?
(When you find yourself counting the pages until this reading agony is finished, you know the book is in trouble.)
August 15, 2025
this might not be for everyone (judging by the low ratings here) but we NEED more fiction this weird and good and real!! the more i read the more i loved it
May 31, 2025
First off this cover is giving exactly what this book is: mind-boggling and twisted in a good way.
The concept behind this book is absolutely brilliant. So brilliant I am not sure I got it all, but what I did get was parallel universes of twin sisters left by their birth mother and adopted by separate families. One to a well to do, 2 parent home, fitting the “perfect family” description (or were they). The other a single father (but why). Seeing each other only briefly at holidays. As a twin myself, this book resonated with me, because me and my sister after high school lived totally separate lives. Making our bond hard as we matured and had different relationships with friends and lifestyles in different cities. What makes this book interesting is the twins are fraternal and don’t look much alike. They each have their own struggles. Clara struggles with multiple addictions(I will let you read and find out) and success. Dempsey struggles with her beauty image and personality disorder. They aren’t close but they are bonded by something. The story heightens around Clara seeing someone who looks exactly like their mother that hasn’t aged a day. Who comes in trying to “assist” her and figure out the next moves,which I found intriguing. Hence the themes of blue in the book which may represent an emotion or a spirit. Another interesting aspect of this one was the multiple uses of sex in the book. (Read it)The chapters are short which I loved and go back and forth between the sisters perspectives and activities-hence the “multiverse” . This is also an example of unreliable narrators. When I finished the book I was unsure of my feelings. You will either really love this book based on the writing, which is perfection, or hate it based on the ending=twisted. There is also a final chapter and an alternate endings so read the last part real slow. Hence The catch because there is always a catch. Special thank you to Liveright Books for the gifted Arc of the book.
The concept behind this book is absolutely brilliant. So brilliant I am not sure I got it all, but what I did get was parallel universes of twin sisters left by their birth mother and adopted by separate families. One to a well to do, 2 parent home, fitting the “perfect family” description (or were they). The other a single father (but why). Seeing each other only briefly at holidays. As a twin myself, this book resonated with me, because me and my sister after high school lived totally separate lives. Making our bond hard as we matured and had different relationships with friends and lifestyles in different cities. What makes this book interesting is the twins are fraternal and don’t look much alike. They each have their own struggles. Clara struggles with multiple addictions(I will let you read and find out) and success. Dempsey struggles with her beauty image and personality disorder. They aren’t close but they are bonded by something. The story heightens around Clara seeing someone who looks exactly like their mother that hasn’t aged a day. Who comes in trying to “assist” her and figure out the next moves,which I found intriguing. Hence the themes of blue in the book which may represent an emotion or a spirit. Another interesting aspect of this one was the multiple uses of sex in the book. (Read it)The chapters are short which I loved and go back and forth between the sisters perspectives and activities-hence the “multiverse” . This is also an example of unreliable narrators. When I finished the book I was unsure of my feelings. You will either really love this book based on the writing, which is perfection, or hate it based on the ending=twisted. There is also a final chapter and an alternate endings so read the last part real slow. Hence The catch because there is always a catch. Special thank you to Liveright Books for the gifted Arc of the book.
Want to read
December 18, 2024Time's Most Anticipated Books of 2025: https://time.com/7202423/most-anticip...
I already preordered!
I already preordered!
January 28, 2025
I don’t know what I just read?? The writing was intoxicating but I had no idea what was happening at any point. I did enjoy Clara and Dempsey as main characters, but by the end I had no idea what was real and what was fake. There was a bit of fourth wall breaking, which only added to my confusion! But I still enjoyed this for the most part, despite my confusion.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #TheCatch #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #TheCatch #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
June 10, 2025
Orphaned twin sisters, Clara and Dempster, are fostered and adopted by different nuclear families. The Catch focuses on the two women in their 30s, at which Clara spots Serene, the presumably deceased mother, tiefing a Rolex and Dempster encounters Marcus, their biological father who Serene left, who moves into the unit upstairs in her apartment complex. Discerning that Clara’s novel tells the story of their family insofar as it is true in their reality, the sisters devise a plan to prevent Serene from becoming romantically engaged with Marcus so that they can block, if you will, their births and end the cycle of abandonment.
Daley-Ward’s novel is sparklier than I expected—it reads like a contemporary novel that incorporates the lifestyle of the rich and famous. This speculative fic read should definitely be tagged as fantasy or sci-fi because of the parallel timelines and a problem commonly encountered by the multiverse trope: how does changing the past alter the future? With a background in the hard sciences during my pre-grad school days, stories heavily relying on spacetime short-circuit my brain and prevent me from grasping the narrative. I seem unable to sustain a long enough pause from thinking about the theory of general relativity, suspend the disbelief in questions I have about the physics, and follow the story for what it is. If anything, a required suspending actually seems antithetical to the project I’m consuming because it is part and parcel that I “follow the story for what it is,” questionable choices from to against Einstein’s theory of spacetime and all.
In addition to this thematic hurdle, I quickly became impatient with our two main characters. The Catch is alternatively told from Clara and Dempster’s perspectives and minimally from Serene’s. I appreciate an unlovable MC as much as the next person, but the women, perhaps, were created to be uniquely childish to emphasize their childhoods and the trauma, resulting in stunted growth. I may not have finished the book if I had not received an ARC. However, I happily acknowledge the big dogs in the literary world rave about Daley-Ward’s novel; I support her endeavors to spotlight Black women in her work and wish her all the best.
CW: Clara makes a move on her mom.
My thanks to W. W. Norton & Company, Liveright, and NetGalley for an ARC.
Daley-Ward’s novel is sparklier than I expected—it reads like a contemporary novel that incorporates the lifestyle of the rich and famous. This speculative fic read should definitely be tagged as fantasy or sci-fi because of the parallel timelines and a problem commonly encountered by the multiverse trope: how does changing the past alter the future? With a background in the hard sciences during my pre-grad school days, stories heavily relying on spacetime short-circuit my brain and prevent me from grasping the narrative. I seem unable to sustain a long enough pause from thinking about the theory of general relativity, suspend the disbelief in questions I have about the physics, and follow the story for what it is. If anything, a required suspending actually seems antithetical to the project I’m consuming because it is part and parcel that I “follow the story for what it is,” questionable choices from to against Einstein’s theory of spacetime and all.
In addition to this thematic hurdle, I quickly became impatient with our two main characters. The Catch is alternatively told from Clara and Dempster’s perspectives and minimally from Serene’s. I appreciate an unlovable MC as much as the next person, but the women, perhaps, were created to be uniquely childish to emphasize their childhoods and the trauma, resulting in stunted growth. I may not have finished the book if I had not received an ARC. However, I happily acknowledge the big dogs in the literary world rave about Daley-Ward’s novel; I support her endeavors to spotlight Black women in her work and wish her all the best.
CW: Clara makes a move on her mom.
My thanks to W. W. Norton & Company, Liveright, and NetGalley for an ARC.
June 9, 2025
This is probably a top 10 for me. This novel is such a good representation on what it feels like to have bpd. The confusing narrator. Confusion in identity. And it’s written by the very talented Yrsa Daley-Ward - lines so beautiful they’ll just stick with you.
I loved her book of poems, her memoir (which I’m now going to revisit), and this fiction. Just wow!!!
Thank you WW Norton & Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book.
I loved her book of poems, her memoir (which I’m now going to revisit), and this fiction. Just wow!!!
Thank you WW Norton & Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book.
Read
July 29, 2025DNF. I tried. I got to page 200 and then realized, I still can't connect with the story or the characters so I gave up.
dnf
June 27, 2025DNF.
This is one of those rare books where I can recognize the brilliance but still know it’s not the right fit for me right now.
The writing in The Catch is beautiful—lyrical, layered, and emotionally exacting. The structure is ambitious and intentionally disorienting: the character Clara is writing a book called Evidence, in which a character based on her mother (Serene) is also writing a book called Evidence. It’s a novel nested within a novel, wrestling with themes of identity, memory, authorship, and the cost of telling the truth.
Some scenes are unforgettable—particularly those that explore the violence of assimilation, the fracture of sisterhood, and the blurry edges of what’s real and what’s imagined. The metafictional layering is a powerful lens through which the novel examines silenced stories and inherited pain.
That said, I struggled with the reading experience. Both Clara and Dempsey carry so much unprocessed hurt, and while their perspectives are richly drawn, they felt heavy to sit with. I found myself not wanting to pick the book back up—and eventually decided to listen to that feeling.
Still, this is a stunning and ambitious novel that will resonate deeply with readers interested in layered, literary fiction that explores trauma, race, adoption, sisterhood, and narrative ownership. It just wasn’t the right book for me at the right time.
This is one of those rare books where I can recognize the brilliance but still know it’s not the right fit for me right now.
The writing in The Catch is beautiful—lyrical, layered, and emotionally exacting. The structure is ambitious and intentionally disorienting: the character Clara is writing a book called Evidence, in which a character based on her mother (Serene) is also writing a book called Evidence. It’s a novel nested within a novel, wrestling with themes of identity, memory, authorship, and the cost of telling the truth.
Some scenes are unforgettable—particularly those that explore the violence of assimilation, the fracture of sisterhood, and the blurry edges of what’s real and what’s imagined. The metafictional layering is a powerful lens through which the novel examines silenced stories and inherited pain.
That said, I struggled with the reading experience. Both Clara and Dempsey carry so much unprocessed hurt, and while their perspectives are richly drawn, they felt heavy to sit with. I found myself not wanting to pick the book back up—and eventually decided to listen to that feeling.
Still, this is a stunning and ambitious novel that will resonate deeply with readers interested in layered, literary fiction that explores trauma, race, adoption, sisterhood, and narrative ownership. It just wasn’t the right book for me at the right time.
November 17, 2025
I love an ambitious debut and this one is absolutely bonkers (complimentary).
Clara and Dempsey are twins, having grown up separately after the disappearance/presumed suicide of their mother, and they couldn't be more different. Clara, a successful author, is chaotic in her drinking, drugs, and temper whereas Dempsey, an admin gig worker, is meticulous and controlling of all that enters her body to an orthorexic extent (anal expulsive and retentive, respectively).
Are these two distinct women or simply two sides of the same soul?
Despite their mother having been dead and gone for many years, Clara sees her shoplifting. But the mother hasn't aged - she's the exact same age as Clara and Dempsey are now, the age at which she would have given birth to them. While Clara becomes obsessed with this woman and is convinced she is their mother, Dempsey heeds caution, assuming this woman is a con artist ready to embody the mother's persona to scam Clara. How would she be able to do that? Easy, Clara's bestselling book is a fantastical and fictionalized account of her mother's biography. It's completely within reason that as Clara develops a friendship with this woman that she purposefully takes on characteristics and mentions personal history portrayed in the book, but Clara will absolutely not accept this explanation. She is fully convinced this woman is their actual mother while Dempsey has little reason to trust her sister's drug-fueled judgement.
The twins are not particularly close in adulthood, but this new character of the mother/conwoman brings them into close proximity as they revisit pivotal moments of their childhood and investigate what they really know about their birth mother. There are many instances where the girls and their caregivers could have made different choices, several of which the twins team up and try to atone for, forcing the women to consider how each of these incidents affected her sister.
It's challenging to discuss the ending of this book without spoiling its contents, suffice it to say the ending heavily underscores this theme of how the choices we make impact our futures. Family is messy and complicated, as is this story. I read the book and immediately went back to read it again, as the ending changes the reader's perception of the beginning.
As both a trigger warning and also a laudatory comment on the book, this story deals with two forms of sexual misconduct that are very rarely discussed which adds to the messiness of the situation our characters are in.
I highly recommend this one, particularly for those who like themes of resilience, complicated families, and autonomy. Some pieces (regarding identity formation) reminded me of Akwaeke Emezi's Freshwater, if that's your jam.
Clara and Dempsey are twins, having grown up separately after the disappearance/presumed suicide of their mother, and they couldn't be more different. Clara, a successful author, is chaotic in her drinking, drugs, and temper whereas Dempsey, an admin gig worker, is meticulous and controlling of all that enters her body to an orthorexic extent (anal expulsive and retentive, respectively).
Are these two distinct women or simply two sides of the same soul?
Despite their mother having been dead and gone for many years, Clara sees her shoplifting. But the mother hasn't aged - she's the exact same age as Clara and Dempsey are now, the age at which she would have given birth to them. While Clara becomes obsessed with this woman and is convinced she is their mother, Dempsey heeds caution, assuming this woman is a con artist ready to embody the mother's persona to scam Clara. How would she be able to do that? Easy, Clara's bestselling book is a fantastical and fictionalized account of her mother's biography. It's completely within reason that as Clara develops a friendship with this woman that she purposefully takes on characteristics and mentions personal history portrayed in the book, but Clara will absolutely not accept this explanation. She is fully convinced this woman is their actual mother while Dempsey has little reason to trust her sister's drug-fueled judgement.
The twins are not particularly close in adulthood, but this new character of the mother/conwoman brings them into close proximity as they revisit pivotal moments of their childhood and investigate what they really know about their birth mother. There are many instances where the girls and their caregivers could have made different choices, several of which the twins team up and try to atone for, forcing the women to consider how each of these incidents affected her sister.
It's challenging to discuss the ending of this book without spoiling its contents, suffice it to say the ending heavily underscores this theme of how the choices we make impact our futures. Family is messy and complicated, as is this story. I read the book and immediately went back to read it again, as the ending changes the reader's perception of the beginning.
As both a trigger warning and also a laudatory comment on the book, this story deals with two forms of sexual misconduct that are very rarely discussed which adds to the messiness of the situation our characters are in.
I highly recommend this one, particularly for those who like themes of resilience, complicated families, and autonomy. Some pieces (regarding identity formation) reminded me of Akwaeke Emezi's Freshwater, if that's your jam.
June 18, 2025
(3.5 stars rounded up)
The Catch is a haunting, poetic exploration of identity, memory, and the tangled bond between twin sisters. Clara and Dempsey, raised apart and shaped by vastly different lives, are drawn together again when they encounter Serene-a woman who looks exactly like their mother the moment she disappeared. What begins as a mystery quickly unravels into something much deeper, stranger, and more psychological than it first appears.
Just when you think you have a handle on the story, Yrsa Daley-Ward shifts your footing, asking you to question what’s real, what’s remembered, and what’s possible. The novel blurs the line between mental instability and alternate realities, offering a bold, unsettling ride through the fragmented lens of trauma, sisterhood, and self-perception.
Favourite elements:
The dynamic between Clara and Dempsey was a standout. It was raw, chaotic, and deeply real-filled with that intense push-pull of sisterly love, resentment, sabotage, and longing. I found myself feeling like the third sister, watching from inside their emotional storm. The depiction of BPD was thoughtful and nuanced, and the lyrical writing style added a haunting beauty even when the narrative itself felt unstable. The ending-and especially the bonus alternate endings-was a powerful touch that really elevated the experience.
What didn’t work for me:
At times, the novel leaned a little too hard into confusion. I appreciate intentional disorientation, but there were moments where it became frustrating rather than immersive.
Final thoughts:
I’d absolutely recommend The Catch to lovers of poetic writing, psychological fiction, and anyone drawn to complex family dynamics-especially women who understand the layered realities of sisterhood. It’s not an easy read, but it is a rich one, and it stays with you long after the final page.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! 🖤
The Catch is a haunting, poetic exploration of identity, memory, and the tangled bond between twin sisters. Clara and Dempsey, raised apart and shaped by vastly different lives, are drawn together again when they encounter Serene-a woman who looks exactly like their mother the moment she disappeared. What begins as a mystery quickly unravels into something much deeper, stranger, and more psychological than it first appears.
Just when you think you have a handle on the story, Yrsa Daley-Ward shifts your footing, asking you to question what’s real, what’s remembered, and what’s possible. The novel blurs the line between mental instability and alternate realities, offering a bold, unsettling ride through the fragmented lens of trauma, sisterhood, and self-perception.
Favourite elements:
The dynamic between Clara and Dempsey was a standout. It was raw, chaotic, and deeply real-filled with that intense push-pull of sisterly love, resentment, sabotage, and longing. I found myself feeling like the third sister, watching from inside their emotional storm. The depiction of BPD was thoughtful and nuanced, and the lyrical writing style added a haunting beauty even when the narrative itself felt unstable. The ending-and especially the bonus alternate endings-was a powerful touch that really elevated the experience.
What didn’t work for me:
At times, the novel leaned a little too hard into confusion. I appreciate intentional disorientation, but there were moments where it became frustrating rather than immersive.
Final thoughts:
I’d absolutely recommend The Catch to lovers of poetic writing, psychological fiction, and anyone drawn to complex family dynamics-especially women who understand the layered realities of sisterhood. It’s not an easy read, but it is a rich one, and it stays with you long after the final page.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! 🖤
July 10, 2025
One of a kind book that is NOT for everyone. Yrsa Daley-Ward plays with the lines of reality as she tackles very real issues of grief, motherhood, gender, mental illness, and generational trauma. I cringed so much in the first half, the choices of the characters, and yet as you are drawn into their brokenness, you understand and maybe even relate.
Real life is rather murky, just like the river-- sometimes you fight the flow, and sometimes you get pulled under by the current. This storyline manages to be absurd and real, disturbing and redemptive, it's graphic, funny, and suspenseful. Oh, the ending is clever !
Will you be asking what is happening for almost the entire book? yes! Will the ending bring conclusive resolution? No. However, I think it's a brilliant, mind stretching narrative that gives voice to hard things not many are willing to truly admit or talk about. It's definitely a book that begs for a second reading to grasp it more fully and one that occupies your mind long after you've finished reading it.
This book is a trip. For me, it was worth the journey.
Real life is rather murky, just like the river-- sometimes you fight the flow, and sometimes you get pulled under by the current. This storyline manages to be absurd and real, disturbing and redemptive, it's graphic, funny, and suspenseful. Oh, the ending is clever !
Will you be asking what is happening for almost the entire book? yes! Will the ending bring conclusive resolution? No. However, I think it's a brilliant, mind stretching narrative that gives voice to hard things not many are willing to truly admit or talk about. It's definitely a book that begs for a second reading to grasp it more fully and one that occupies your mind long after you've finished reading it.
This book is a trip. For me, it was worth the journey.
Want to read
June 26, 2025DNF 35%
I really wanted to finish this book, but I just couldn't connect to the characters of the book. Yrsa Daley-Ward's writing and narration is wonderful, but I found myself not really caring about the characters and that, coupled with a lack of reading time, is why I chose not to finish the book.
While I liked Daley-Ward's narration, keeping track of three female characters' points of view was challenging, especially since there didn't seem to be a distinct difference in voice for each character. I think I may try to read the physical copy of this book when I have more time because I do think it is a unique story that deserves to be read and appreciated. I just think I chose a format that didn't work for me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced copy of the audiobook.
I really wanted to finish this book, but I just couldn't connect to the characters of the book. Yrsa Daley-Ward's writing and narration is wonderful, but I found myself not really caring about the characters and that, coupled with a lack of reading time, is why I chose not to finish the book.
While I liked Daley-Ward's narration, keeping track of three female characters' points of view was challenging, especially since there didn't seem to be a distinct difference in voice for each character. I think I may try to read the physical copy of this book when I have more time because I do think it is a unique story that deserves to be read and appreciated. I just think I chose a format that didn't work for me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced copy of the audiobook.
October 4, 2025
Shortlisted for the 2025 Goldsmiths Prize
I mean, look at where we are. I found my dead mother shoplifting in a department store and then we discovered that life is magic and she's our age stuck in our timeline somehow and she has no regard for us, and we have to track her down and stop ourselves from being born. Oh, and we might even die tonight. Hahahaha."
The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward, a debut novelist for a writer already known for her poetry and memoirs, is an intriguing and welcome inclusion on the Goldsmiths Prize's shortlist - a prize that, and I say this has someone who loves it, has at times seem skewed to London-based white, male, middle aged, literary-academic and relatively obscure authors.
It's also a novel that refuses to acknowledge genres - at times I felt I was reading popular fiction for the Insta-generation, at others a psychological thriller; the prose can be prosaic but at times poetic in form as well as language; as literary fiction the novel is explicitly meta-fictional, writing itself with books within the book; and it leaves explictly open whether the odd events the two twin (literally) narrators relate are a con trick, magical or simply imagined (a brilliant example of how to use the Todorovian fantastic in literature) - indeed if the narrators do converge on a view, the ending(s) suggest other interpretations.
Judge Simon Okotie called it well: “The Catch is an extraordinary shape-shifting, genre-defying work of fiction. Reading, by turns, as popular fiction, literary fiction and science fiction, it calls all such distinctions into question.” And something the author-twin in the novel echoes in her own work (which adds 'memoir' to the readings):
My previous books swam along quite nicely-nothing outstanding, but all respectable enough. The first was an anthology of prose and poetry from women of African descent, and the second was an anthology of selected essays by Black British writers of the last century. Both books did well in colleges and libraries and mostly kept me afloat, along with the odd brand deal or speaking engagements. This novel, though, shifted genres, shifted everything.
I called the book Evidence. Things were happening that no one would believe, so I wanted to have somewhere to harbor the facts. The booksellers are calling it autofiction, which is a laugh. Early reviewers said the plot was about time travel, which was, again, missing the point. It helped create buzz, so I didn't argue. I had planned to write a splashy, commercial story with a deft political message, a prize-winning thing lauded by critics, but the dark material arrived at my feet, dressed and ready to talk, hijacking all other possibilities. You have to let the spirit in, even if she's frightening. Even if she bursts rudely onto the scene, threatening to drown you.
Against that, I would have preferred a tighter work. The background plot, against which the main events unfold, particularly the inclusion of a story of a spiritual healer-cum-sex pest, added relatively little for me except to the page count and generally I was more grabbed by Clara's story than Dempsey's.
3.5 stars.
I mean, look at where we are. I found my dead mother shoplifting in a department store and then we discovered that life is magic and she's our age stuck in our timeline somehow and she has no regard for us, and we have to track her down and stop ourselves from being born. Oh, and we might even die tonight. Hahahaha."
The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward, a debut novelist for a writer already known for her poetry and memoirs, is an intriguing and welcome inclusion on the Goldsmiths Prize's shortlist - a prize that, and I say this has someone who loves it, has at times seem skewed to London-based white, male, middle aged, literary-academic and relatively obscure authors.
It's also a novel that refuses to acknowledge genres - at times I felt I was reading popular fiction for the Insta-generation, at others a psychological thriller; the prose can be prosaic but at times poetic in form as well as language; as literary fiction the novel is explicitly meta-fictional, writing itself with books within the book; and it leaves explictly open whether the odd events the two twin (literally) narrators relate are a con trick, magical or simply imagined (a brilliant example of how to use the Todorovian fantastic in literature) - indeed if the narrators do converge on a view, the ending(s) suggest other interpretations.
Judge Simon Okotie called it well: “The Catch is an extraordinary shape-shifting, genre-defying work of fiction. Reading, by turns, as popular fiction, literary fiction and science fiction, it calls all such distinctions into question.” And something the author-twin in the novel echoes in her own work (which adds 'memoir' to the readings):
My previous books swam along quite nicely-nothing outstanding, but all respectable enough. The first was an anthology of prose and poetry from women of African descent, and the second was an anthology of selected essays by Black British writers of the last century. Both books did well in colleges and libraries and mostly kept me afloat, along with the odd brand deal or speaking engagements. This novel, though, shifted genres, shifted everything.
I called the book Evidence. Things were happening that no one would believe, so I wanted to have somewhere to harbor the facts. The booksellers are calling it autofiction, which is a laugh. Early reviewers said the plot was about time travel, which was, again, missing the point. It helped create buzz, so I didn't argue. I had planned to write a splashy, commercial story with a deft political message, a prize-winning thing lauded by critics, but the dark material arrived at my feet, dressed and ready to talk, hijacking all other possibilities. You have to let the spirit in, even if she's frightening. Even if she bursts rudely onto the scene, threatening to drown you.
Against that, I would have preferred a tighter work. The background plot, against which the main events unfold, particularly the inclusion of a story of a spiritual healer-cum-sex pest, added relatively little for me except to the page count and generally I was more grabbed by Clara's story than Dempsey's.
3.5 stars.
October 20, 2025
Really enjoyed the first half of this magical realism journey into the psyches of two sisters. One sister lives hard and was a lot of fun, while the other is obsessed with healing and getting to the root of their joint trauma. I think the second half- where we get a little too caught up in the magical mystery part of it- will lose people who are interested in the more realistic parts.
The writing is absolutely gorgeous and it's clear the author was a poet first. I liked a lot of this and recommend for people who love spec fic, magical realism, confusion, and really great writing about change, shifting, transforming, and gently making fun of wellness culture.
The writing is absolutely gorgeous and it's clear the author was a poet first. I liked a lot of this and recommend for people who love spec fic, magical realism, confusion, and really great writing about change, shifting, transforming, and gently making fun of wellness culture.
June 27, 2025
this book started out really strong for me—I loved being in Clara's head and watching her unravel from within and her doubts about being a writer and the thread of her addiction/alcoholism and how it was passed down from her mother. But I got totally lost after about 25% when the story took a fantasy/speculative turn that I was never really able to pick back up! But this might by another reader really loves it (I didn't know about the fantasy elements going into it and am generally not into that genre, so take that how you will!)
July 10, 2025
Thank you to the Publisher Random House Uk and NetGalley for allowing me access to a e-read ARC of this book.
Rating at 3.5-4☆
Where to begin?
This was a dark, twisty and often confusing story, but in a good way. I might not have always known what was real, but it certainly pulled me in, needing to read on in my bid to find out more. (I actually finished it in just over 24hrs).It certainly ticks the box for fans of dysfunctional families, and other world timelines. It's full of emotion, it will keep you on your toes, and it's one that I know will stick with me for a while. It's not one I can see myself reading multiple times, but I may read it again, if only to try and pin down what actually happened.
If you're a fan of reading things that are a bit different, that gets you thinking, I'd say give this one a go!
Rating at 3.5-4☆
Where to begin?
This was a dark, twisty and often confusing story, but in a good way. I might not have always known what was real, but it certainly pulled me in, needing to read on in my bid to find out more. (I actually finished it in just over 24hrs).It certainly ticks the box for fans of dysfunctional families, and other world timelines. It's full of emotion, it will keep you on your toes, and it's one that I know will stick with me for a while. It's not one I can see myself reading multiple times, but I may read it again, if only to try and pin down what actually happened.
If you're a fan of reading things that are a bit different, that gets you thinking, I'd say give this one a go!
April 29, 2025
Clara and Dempsey are twins raised in separate adopted homes after their mother disappeared in the Thames. Now 30, Dempsey on the surface appears to be the most lost, getting sucked in by a therapist/influencer. Clara has written a best-selling novel about the mysterious reappearance of their mother. But is it a novel or real-life? Because also making an appearance is Serene, who may or may not be their mother. Or is she a con woman? Making things odder, Serene is the same age as the twins and claims not to have children, but the rest of her autobiography is eerily similar. If this seems confusing to read about, it was also confusing to read. But also compelling and raising interesting ideas, even if I'm not sure they went anywhere. Still processing this one.
June 20, 2025
I’m not sure how to rate this because I kinda hated it. But I was also enthralled by the story and the characters (even though they weren’t likable) and wanted to know what happened next and how it ended. This is a book I want more people to read, so we can discuss it, but I know most will be in the “why did you recommend this to me” category.
Opted to round up to a 4 due to discussability. I wish I would have picked this as a book club read because I suspect it would have been a lively conversation.
Opted to round up to a 4 due to discussability. I wish I would have picked this as a book club read because I suspect it would have been a lively conversation.
July 10, 2025
what the hell did i just read
September 1, 2025
This was my first read by Daley-Ward and I knew nothing going in, so I was surprised by how quickly the narratives pulled me in. A compelling set of voices, twins who were abandoned as infants by their self-involved mother, and who suddenly meet a woman who may just be the very first person they’ve been missing.
The chapter titles were fun in that they’re so detailed and distinct, while there was a bit of confusion as to which voice was speaking in each chapter—at first anyway.
I can see this novel becoming a film, a mystery with some time travel elements sprinkled in. The writing is eloquent and despite some confusion, I found the story as a whole to be compelling and memorable.
The chapter titles were fun in that they’re so detailed and distinct, while there was a bit of confusion as to which voice was speaking in each chapter—at first anyway.
I can see this novel becoming a film, a mystery with some time travel elements sprinkled in. The writing is eloquent and despite some confusion, I found the story as a whole to be compelling and memorable.
September 12, 2025
Well, this was weird! I loved the main storyline (IS SHE MOMMY???) and the ending was really cool. I didn’t love the side quests (Dr. Rayna’s cult camp?), and a lot of the dialogue fell flat. I had a hard time figuring out the tone, which made the book a little hard to connect with, but I always wanted to know what would happen next.
I found out about this book through the NYT Book Review podcast, and I am SO excited to listen to the episode about it. This feels like a very strange choice for their book club. Didn’t love, didn’t hate, definitely confused, definitely still thinking about it.
I found out about this book through the NYT Book Review podcast, and I am SO excited to listen to the episode about it. This feels like a very strange choice for their book club. Didn’t love, didn’t hate, definitely confused, definitely still thinking about it.
July 22, 2025
I had mixed feelings about Yrsa Daley-Ward's memoir,
The Terrible;
I admired her prose and her brave exploration of her traumatic childhood growing up with Seventh-Day Adventist grandparents in north-west England, but struggled with the increasingly frequent fragments of prose-poetry as she moved into her teens. Thankfully, The Catch, her debut novel, is written pretty much entirely in prose, and it's a much stronger showcase for Daley-Ward's talent. Its premise is beautifully eerie and the way it plays out throughout the novel is even eerier. Clara, on the cusp of literary fame, glimpses a woman her own age who looks exactly like her dead mother. Indeed, Clara is convinced that the woman actually is her mother, even though her less-fortunate, socially awkward twin sister Dempsey thinks she's gone mad. As Clara hunts down the mysterious woman, she wanders into a flat that looks exactly like the one in the few faded photographs she has of her mother: 'Through the glass I notice the burnt amber walls of the photo... I have lived or at least dreamed this, the knowing hue of the place, the honey wood of the floor'. This hallucinatory novel wanders between a more solid many-worlds conceit and something that feels more metaphorical; somehow, Daley-Ward manages to keep it grounded until she allows herself to float off, magnificently, at the very end. It's a brilliant way to explore the strained relationship between the sisters, who were brought up in different adoptive families after their mother's death, and the way they mourn their mother's lost potential. I appreciated the freshness of a book about motherhood from the point of view of the daughters, as well, emphasising that the strength of the love we feel for our parents can be as fathomless as what parents feel for their children, even if it plays out differently. I wanted this to be just a tad more spec-fic rather than lit-fic, but it's a great, original debut.
I received a free proof copy of this novel from the publisher for review.
I received a free proof copy of this novel from the publisher for review.
June 25, 2025
3.75 stars
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