Cleaner

by Jess Shannon

'Its magnetism and effortless backflips reminded me a lot of Raven Leilani's Luster, like reading a painting. She's an incredible talent' Julia Raeside, author of Don't Make Me Laugh

'Shannon's debut is a tremendous display of talent. Contemporary in its composition and fearless to experiment, the book elegantly makes bold thematic suggestions which avoid heavy-handedness' Gonzalo Ceron Garcia, author of We Are The End

A woman in her mid-twenties moves back home to live with her parents, where her listlessness fuels an obsession with cleaning, and sets in motion a series of events that lead to her posing as a model in a nude gallery where she encounters a woman whose life will intertwine with her own.

'An utterly unflinching debut novel about becoming a rare and profound book about loneliness, self-expression and disillusionment, featuring sex, love, drugs – and cleaning' Ian Sansom

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, LGBT, Queer, Audiobook, Adult

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 17, 2026

Reviews

[MagretFume · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a hit or miss book, and I was fascinated by it, even though I'm not sure I really loved it. 

It felt like a car crash on the side of the road, an absolute mess but you keep staring at it. 

It's weird, wild, funny and cringy. The writing style is not what I expected but perfect for the story. 

I'm still not sure how I feel about it, but I had a good time! 

Thank you Scribner for this ARC!

[Yasmin Amin · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was beyond random but i couldn’t put it down
im not sure if half of it was a dream or not because the narrator is so unreliable but it was very interesting and i’ve never read a book like it!!

[George Stephenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devoured this in two days. Sort of like Fleabag meets After Hours, but also completely unique. Had me laugh out loud several times!

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

a surreal british take on early 20s directionless malaise, bisexual ambivalence, uncanny proximity to violent tragedy, and creative purpose. the absurd humor is the highlight!

rtc!

[jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Cleaner" follows an unnamed art school graduate taking a job as a cleaner to make ends meet after struggling to find work in her field. while working a shift at an art gallery, she meets and becomes infatuated with a woman named Isabella. after a series of separations and reconnections, Isabella vanishes, and our narrator takes over the life Isabella has left behind: moving into Isabella's apartment and dating Isabella's boyfriend. the ensuing narrative is a series of fever-dreamy events including the narrator's efforts to get (and maintain) a job, sustain her romantic and familial relationships, and reignite her love for art, all while hoping for Isabella's eventual return.

this is absurdist contemporary literature at some of its best, in my opinion. this has some great commentary on capitalism and parenthood. despite being similarly structured to another book i didn't quite enjoy, "Cleaner" was a bit more plot driven, so the stream-of-consciousness style worked better here. there are no paragraph breaks or quotation marks for dialogue, which has been a struggle for me with books in the past, but didn't hinder my reading experience much here. there were moments of introspection and times where the narrator fell down rabbit holes, but there were also plenty of events happening, too, which kept the narrative progressing at a good pace. and honestly, it was a fun time. i FLEW through this in two days.

i did want more exploration of Isabella. the narrator's obsession seemed a bit farfetched, even for an unreliable narrator. i really wanted more from that final scene as well. ultimately, Isabella remains an enigma to the reader and the narrator alike, though i'm not entirely mad about it.

thank you to scribner for the advance eARC!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written as one long stream of consciousness with no chapters or quotation marks, there is very little structure to guide you through this fever dream of a story. We follow an unnamed narrator, a young artist drifting through post-grad life, feeling lost and making increasingly chaotic decisions. The deadpan, detached voice works here, capturing that unsettled, in-between phase of early adulthood. On the surface, her behavior can feel amusing and out of control, but there’s a darker undercurrent running through it.

She’s obsessive, unreliable, and often disorienting as a narrator. There were moments I had to flip back and reread because I wasn’t sure what had actually happened. That sense of whiplash feels intentional, with the lack of structure mirroring her instability and mental state. It certainly won’t be for everyone, but if you’re open to something messy, voice-driven, and a little chaotic, it’s an interesting experience.

Thank you to Scribner for sending me an ARC of this debut. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

[ari · Rating 2 out of 5]

stream of consciousness is really hit or miss for me. this time was a miss.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

For some reason the "voice" of the book reminded me so muchof my friend Kelsey who died in 2023 and I pictured her as the MC. Maybe that's why I liked it so much. Like I was laughing out loud at parts which I rarely do with books.

Anyway, one sentence near the end was my fave because it perfectly encapsulates why I never had kids

"They were doomed to fail too and their best is never enough" ah yes so true

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

it’s not you, it’s me :/

[betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

cleaner is a textbook example of weird girl fiction that people will either love or hate. i was intrigued from the very first page and had no choice but to gobble it up, even if i’m not so sure i’d say that i loooooved it. i saw another reviewer describe it as a train wreck you can’t look away from—cleaner was messy and chaotic, even bordering on manic at times, and it somehow all works. there are no chapters and no paragraph breaks, which will infuriate some i’m sure. i thought it heightened the chaos and really felt like you slipped inside the wild mind of the cleaner. weird girl, weird book, and i think this will be a hit with the right crowd.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3 stars. Knocked off a little because I don’t know how to feel about the ending. If you love an unreliable female narrator raise your hand 🙋‍♀️. It’s definitely a weird girl book and you’re either gonna love it or hate it, but I honestly loved how the book felt like one stream of consciousness and her mind just kept going on and on, it honestly reminded me of a lot of my inner monologue. Personally, I think it’s a banger debut. As always, thank you Scribner for the earc.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this while spending two days at jury duty and that’s probably because it was the only book I brought with me. It’s classic “young person who’s aimless and everything in their life is a mess” vibe. FYI - there are no page breaks or paragraphs at all.

[Anahita · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stream-of-consciousness story of a queer woman’s life after graduation as she moves back with her parents. We follow her as her life takes unexpected turns and tumbles, following a chance meeting with another woman during her work as a cleaner.

She became obsessed with cleaning after moving back into her parents’ house and then takes jobs as a cleaner. Meeting another artist in the bathroom of an art gallery and partaking in cocaine and having sex with her all still in the same bathroom, seemed like an inciting incident that would drive the rest of the story. However, what followed was not what I had expected. I can’t say it was bad, but just that it was strange and rather authentic in ways.

It was a depiction of the messy, complicated, and detached life of a present-day individual. I feel like it could count as a coming-of-age of sorts, as her character is being shaped as we read the story.

There are two major complaints I can point out. First, is the crime and murder following the main character without any actual impact in the story or her character. And the second is the ending.

The writing style, while complex and at times hard to follow, was interesting and exciting. It is going to be a fun read for readers who enjoy the so-called “weird girl books”.

[Miriam Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

*With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book*

“Cleaner” follows an unnamed narrator, who has found herself living back at her parents’ house (even though they’re not that keen on having her there, and keener on moving in a Ukrainian refugee). She is wondering what to do next with her life when she discovers a passion for cleaning that leads her - through a series of apparently passively-made decisions - to pose as a nude model and then become obsessed with an artist - Isabella - who makes a sketch of her.

The book reads like a fever dream as she calmly narrates her very unpredictable and sometimes bafflingly unlikely actions as she tries to find Isabella again. It reminded me of Halle Butler’s “The New Me” in that way. It is wry and amusing but there’s a heart of something darker. An enjoyable read.

[Laurel Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book is rather short and had a couple interesting moments. I found myself bored and found the book to be slow.

[Benny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't know what to say. Reading this book felt like falling down the stairs - I tripped through it at record speeds, disoriented, incredulous, agog. Great fun and also quite nauseating - something about the drain-circling pace unsettled me to the core. Enjoyed very much.

[Emily TarBush · Rating 3 out of 5]

fever dream vibes, couldn’t put it down but also didn’t love it, ending felt incomplete

[Zoë · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars. Unfortunately, I just dont think this one was for me? I picked this up as a blind date with a book based off of the "For fans of Convenience Store Women" tagline and, while I can somewhat see how the books are similar in their dreamlike cyclical natures and a focus of not quite belonging in society, they honestly couldn't be more different when it comes to the overall message or the heart of the narrative.

I also feel like there was a lot of this book that was over performative and it often came across as trying too hard to express a message of 'not fitting in. Right up until the last two pages where it just shoves this message in your face point blank — not entirely dissimilar from a classic "in this essay I will..." line :/

Thats not to say aspects weren't enjoyable. This book has be gasping, laughing, and dreading what the main character would do next. The writing style (no page breaks, no paragraph breaks, no indents, just flat stream of consciousness text) simultaneously pulls you in and fills you with a growing sense of dread — it's honestly impressive.

Im happy I read this, but I can't honestly say I liked it

[Evan ⁠☆ (tortured poet) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think either you adore this book or you hate it.

The literal definition of hit or miss.

This resonated so deeply with me that I think I'll never be the same

[jocelyn • coolgalreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

lmaooo what

[Tahina Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this unhinged stream of consciousness, even though it really stressed me out at times. I never knew what was going to happen next and I was hooked from the beginning!

[edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

beyond fabulous. several moments made me properly laugh out loud which is quite rare for a book to do to me. every sentence drips with meaning, each word chosen for maximum efficiency.

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for sending an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book kind of missed the mark for me and I think I was expecting something different. It's narrated as a stream of consciousness, the kind that incorporates spoken dialogue into the text and doesn't use quote marks, which is not my favourite thing.
The main character gets herself in such absurd situations and it's a bit weird how this is presented to the reader as being absolutely normal. I don't want to give details that would be spoilers, I can only say it comes across like the main character has no agency whatsoever. Things happen TO her all the time as if she can't influence any of it when actually she should be able to. The stream of consciousness narration doesn't address this either, or reflect on it. We're expected to accept it but this is not how real human beings behave.
If the author was looking to create a character that is just passive through every event in her life, then I suppose they succeeded but this makes the experience of reading this novel very frustrating.

[eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman in her mid-twenties moves back home to live with her parents, where her listlessness fuels an obsession with cleaning, and sets in motion a series of events that lead to her posing as a model in a nude gallery where she encounters a woman whose life will intertwine with her own.

A realistic, relatable depiction of how messy and complicated life can be. The writing is so interesting and, while it made it somewhat hard to follow at times, it also made it truly captivating, and quite literally impossible to put this book down; it is a stream of consciousness, not afraid to experiment and explore. It's such a quick, fast-paced read, perfect to sit down and binge in a lazy day.

Many thanks to Bedford Square Publishers & NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

[Jen G · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an odd little book, mostly in a good way. Often quite funny, in an absurdist kind of way.

The stream of consciousness writing began to wear on me, and, by the time I was reading the eARC, the audiobook had come out, so I switched to the audiobook at about the half way point, and that was much more enjoyable; the narrator was excellent at bringing the story to life.

My criticism is that the characters, particularly Isabella and Paul, were not well developed, so it was hard to understand their importance in the story.

The book was at its best when the narrator’s visions flowed freely, in her art and perspectives on the world. Is she supposed to be schizophrenic? I’m not sure, but being inside her head is quite a wild ride. I particularly enjoyed the compulsive cleaning scenes, which actually (almost) inspired me to scrub my kitchen floor.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for eARC.

[Riley (runtobooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars —
• when our unnamed narrator returns to her childhood home with a suitcase full of degrees and student debt, she’s forced to confront the reality that she needs a job and quick. she picks up a job as a cleaner at a local art gallery, where she meets isabella, another aspiring artist, and begins an affair with both her and her rich boyfriend, paul. when isabella doesn’t come home one day, the cleaner has to decide if she should go back to her old life, or stay in the comfort of her new surroundings, stepping into isabella’s place.
• this book was a meal best consumed in one sitting. i found myself unable to tear my eyes away as our narrator made one decision after another that ultimately impacted herself & those around her, for better or worse.
• the book is written with no paragraph breaks or quotation marks, very much making it read as a manic episode that worked well for the narrator’s journey.

[Sam Sproule · Rating 4 out of 5]

a continuous stream of thought from the author, I was stressed with them, frustrated about their decisions, and ultimately couldn't put it down because there were no breaks/chapters. reminded me of an insufferable Sally Rooney or Jen Beagin character (in a good way). strange but a nice way to spend a few hours.

[Ella Tansley · Rating 5 out of 5]

At no point did I know where this book was going, and I absolutely loved it. It’s not massively plot driven, and at times it felt disorientating, but I also found it darkly funny and relatable. Weird girl stream of consciousness fiction at its finest.

With thanks to NetGalley and Bedford Square publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Benevbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely one for the weird girls, who like stream of consciousness writing (there are no chapters in this book, just one long stream of prose), art, finding a purpose and identity, feeling lost, ambiguity, bisexuality, and just overall, weirdness!

[T'Jae Freeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc!

I get what this book was trying to do but ultimately it just felt too disorganized to be engaging enough. There are many subplots within the plot and a lot to sort of follow and latch onto and overall I didn't feel connected to the main character enough or what they were feeling.