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The Unravelling of Ou
- GenresFiction
200 pages, Paperback
Published February 15, 2026
6 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
Hollay Ghadery
5 books56 followersHollay Ghadery is a multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, was released with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024 and was longlisted for the Toronto Book Award. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children’s book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is a host on The New Books Network, as well as a co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets and a co-chair of the League’s BIPOC committee, as well as the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. Learn more about Hollay at www.hollayghadery.com.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I love books that stab me straight in the heart, and The Unravelling of Ou did exactly that.
The novel opens in the most unexpected way, with a quirky and surprising narrative choice that immediately caught me off guard. The story is told through the perspective of a sock puppet, guiding us through how our protagonist, Minoo, arrived at her current emotional state. It sounds strange on paper, but it works beautifully and becomes one of the book’s most powerful storytelling tools.
The Unravelling of Ou follows Minoo, who is navigating the complexities of identity, body image, and emotional expression within a cultural framework that often struggles to make space for those conversations. Through fragmented memories and unconventional narration, the novel explores her relationship with her mother, the expectations placed on her body and behavior, and the quiet ways a child learns to cope when emotions feel too big to name.
What broke my heart was how effectively the book captures emotions that are far too complex for a child to fully understand or articulate. Watching Minoo try to make sense of love, shame, and selfhood was devastating in the quietest way. All I wanted to do was reach through the pages and hug her.
The novel handles heavy themes with care and honesty. Love for one’s own body, the mother-daughter relationship, and the ability to express emotions are shown as layered, messy, and deeply influenced by culture. That tension slowly unravels Minoo’s sense of identity, forcing her to find ways to survive and cope, even when she doesn’t yet have the language to explain what she’s feeling.
This is not a light read, but it is a meaningful one. If you’re in the mood for a beautifully written, emotionally complex story that will leave you aching long after you finish, this book will absolutely deliver. If you want to cry, read this.
The novel opens in the most unexpected way, with a quirky and surprising narrative choice that immediately caught me off guard. The story is told through the perspective of a sock puppet, guiding us through how our protagonist, Minoo, arrived at her current emotional state. It sounds strange on paper, but it works beautifully and becomes one of the book’s most powerful storytelling tools.
The Unravelling of Ou follows Minoo, who is navigating the complexities of identity, body image, and emotional expression within a cultural framework that often struggles to make space for those conversations. Through fragmented memories and unconventional narration, the novel explores her relationship with her mother, the expectations placed on her body and behavior, and the quiet ways a child learns to cope when emotions feel too big to name.
What broke my heart was how effectively the book captures emotions that are far too complex for a child to fully understand or articulate. Watching Minoo try to make sense of love, shame, and selfhood was devastating in the quietest way. All I wanted to do was reach through the pages and hug her.
The novel handles heavy themes with care and honesty. Love for one’s own body, the mother-daughter relationship, and the ability to express emotions are shown as layered, messy, and deeply influenced by culture. That tension slowly unravels Minoo’s sense of identity, forcing her to find ways to survive and cope, even when she doesn’t yet have the language to explain what she’s feeling.
This is not a light read, but it is a meaningful one. If you’re in the mood for a beautifully written, emotionally complex story that will leave you aching long after you finish, this book will absolutely deliver. If you want to cry, read this.
December 24, 2025
Delightful, weird-but-relatable book. Who hasn’t wanted to escape into an alternate reality to soothe the sharper edges of their lives? Our main character escapes into a..sock puppet. This is a wonderful, realistic portrayal of a life full of ups and downs and how one woman deals with the fallout. Highly recommend.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
As Minoo thinks of her first child, “the last time she kissed him before leaving him” forever, “pressing her lips to the tender chasm above his belly button…” she decides to bring her sock puppet Ecology Paul to the hospital to meet her new grandchild – as a buffer between herself and the swell of emotions. When her daughter tells her she must get rid of the puppet or never see her grandchild, Minoo’s life unravels as she drives home from the hospital.
A novel that expresses the unexpressable pain of motherhood, of being a woman inside a body that is “a soft, needy animal” of the desperate escape from shame that defines Minoo’s existence. She discovers masturbation and is told it’s disgusting; she’s told “menstruation may be natural, but that didn’t stop it from being vulgar”; she’s told that “one girl was more trouble than ten boys” and she comes to believe that “her body was and had always been a wound she had to endure.” She doesn’t know the meaning of ovulation or what is a cervix. The only way to escape her body is to crawl inside another’s, someone who just happens to be a woollen camp sock puppet with pipe cleaner hair and unrollable eyes.
There were so many moments reading THE UNRAVELLING OF OU that I swallowed hard against the swell of my own emotions, as a mother, as a daughter, as a woman coming to terms with my own painful experiences living inside a body that often doesn’t feel like it belongs to me. It might be difficult to express the urgency I feel – every reader needs to experience the perfect emotionality of Hollay Ghadery’s prose because she gets to the heart of living, not only in the body of a woman, but inside the mind of someone who dreams of being “untethered to the world”.
Grief is expressed as an absence that constricts the heart. It is this perfection and how Ghadery delivers the story of Minoo’s unrequited and shame-filled love for her teenaged girlfriend; the gorgeous conversation with her son’s father; the moments with the mother in the end, an empathetic conversation with a neighbour – all of it will fill readers with empathy and love. Minoo needed her Ou (Ecology Paul) – he saved her – and I’m so happy I met them both.
A novel that expresses the unexpressable pain of motherhood, of being a woman inside a body that is “a soft, needy animal” of the desperate escape from shame that defines Minoo’s existence. She discovers masturbation and is told it’s disgusting; she’s told “menstruation may be natural, but that didn’t stop it from being vulgar”; she’s told that “one girl was more trouble than ten boys” and she comes to believe that “her body was and had always been a wound she had to endure.” She doesn’t know the meaning of ovulation or what is a cervix. The only way to escape her body is to crawl inside another’s, someone who just happens to be a woollen camp sock puppet with pipe cleaner hair and unrollable eyes.
There were so many moments reading THE UNRAVELLING OF OU that I swallowed hard against the swell of my own emotions, as a mother, as a daughter, as a woman coming to terms with my own painful experiences living inside a body that often doesn’t feel like it belongs to me. It might be difficult to express the urgency I feel – every reader needs to experience the perfect emotionality of Hollay Ghadery’s prose because she gets to the heart of living, not only in the body of a woman, but inside the mind of someone who dreams of being “untethered to the world”.
Grief is expressed as an absence that constricts the heart. It is this perfection and how Ghadery delivers the story of Minoo’s unrequited and shame-filled love for her teenaged girlfriend; the gorgeous conversation with her son’s father; the moments with the mother in the end, an empathetic conversation with a neighbour – all of it will fill readers with empathy and love. Minoo needed her Ou (Ecology Paul) – he saved her – and I’m so happy I met them both.
February 19, 2026
It's an strange thing to wonder if a sock puppet is a reliable narrator, but that's just one of the many thoughts raised by *The Unraveling of Ou* by Hollay Ghadery which is a novel narrated entirely by a sock puppet named Ecology Paul also known as Ou. This seemingly silly premise is used to great effect to tackle themes of mental illness, generational trauma, and internalized misogyny. It's an easy four out of five stars for me and easy to recommend to anyone interested in these sadly timeless issues. Or just wants to experience an incredibly beautifully written and insightful introspective tale about the mental prisons that we build for ourselves or are built for us by our circumstances.
The sock puppet belongs to Minoo, an Iranian Canadian woman who was exiled to Canada from Iran for a youthful indiscretion and while she has built a full life for herself in a small town in Ontario she has a bizarre need to wear Ou on her hand almost everywhere she goes which puts a strain on her and everyone around her to put it mildly.
The indiscretion is decades in the past and whenever the past is described Ou acts as the narrator of Minoo's memories. In these parts the narration is lyrical, poetic, and insightful which speaks as much to Ghadery's skill with language as it does with the nature of Ou as an incisive, honest, and blunt observer. Ou is very clear in the novel that they are a manifestation of Minoo herself and it's a devastating realization that Minoo has exiled these parts of her into a sock puppet. It's in the sections of the past that the reason for the internalized misogyny and fear of her own body that Minoo suffers from is revealed to be Minoo's mother, who has her own reasons for raising Minoo to be fearful of her body and any thoughts she has that contradicts her mother's will. The portrayal of a socially conservative Iranian family that, while influenced by religion, is entirely secular, is incredibly well done.
It's when we come to the present that the writing feels suffocating and I think that's by design. Minoo never speaks for herself in the entire book and in the present the story is framed as Ou trying desperately to talk Minoo off her path of self-destruction. Minoo is devastated as, in the opening scene of the novel, her daughter Roya refuses to let Minoo see her newborn grandchild, and orders Minoo out of the maternity ward when Minoo shows up with Ou on her hand who Roya detests.
And this is how the book proceeds, revealing secrets about how Ou came to be created, the acts of cruelty and betrayal that scar Minoo, and the growing estrangement between her and Roya as the narrative flips between the present and the past. The focus is kept on Minoo's relationship with her mother and her daughter as every other relationship Minoo has is with well meaning family and friends who are helpless in the face of Minoo's mental state and Ou is no exception. Minoo has been in survival mode her whole life and Ou is a more visible coping mechanism then most of us have and the ending really gets at whether she'll be move beyond that or not.
This is a wonderful novel that I highly recommend. Thanks to the publisher and author for the advance copy provided for review purposes. All opinions my own.
The sock puppet belongs to Minoo, an Iranian Canadian woman who was exiled to Canada from Iran for a youthful indiscretion and while she has built a full life for herself in a small town in Ontario she has a bizarre need to wear Ou on her hand almost everywhere she goes which puts a strain on her and everyone around her to put it mildly.
The indiscretion is decades in the past and whenever the past is described Ou acts as the narrator of Minoo's memories. In these parts the narration is lyrical, poetic, and insightful which speaks as much to Ghadery's skill with language as it does with the nature of Ou as an incisive, honest, and blunt observer. Ou is very clear in the novel that they are a manifestation of Minoo herself and it's a devastating realization that Minoo has exiled these parts of her into a sock puppet. It's in the sections of the past that the reason for the internalized misogyny and fear of her own body that Minoo suffers from is revealed to be Minoo's mother, who has her own reasons for raising Minoo to be fearful of her body and any thoughts she has that contradicts her mother's will. The portrayal of a socially conservative Iranian family that, while influenced by religion, is entirely secular, is incredibly well done.
It's when we come to the present that the writing feels suffocating and I think that's by design. Minoo never speaks for herself in the entire book and in the present the story is framed as Ou trying desperately to talk Minoo off her path of self-destruction. Minoo is devastated as, in the opening scene of the novel, her daughter Roya refuses to let Minoo see her newborn grandchild, and orders Minoo out of the maternity ward when Minoo shows up with Ou on her hand who Roya detests.
And this is how the book proceeds, revealing secrets about how Ou came to be created, the acts of cruelty and betrayal that scar Minoo, and the growing estrangement between her and Roya as the narrative flips between the present and the past. The focus is kept on Minoo's relationship with her mother and her daughter as every other relationship Minoo has is with well meaning family and friends who are helpless in the face of Minoo's mental state and Ou is no exception. Minoo has been in survival mode her whole life and Ou is a more visible coping mechanism then most of us have and the ending really gets at whether she'll be move beyond that or not.
This is a wonderful novel that I highly recommend. Thanks to the publisher and author for the advance copy provided for review purposes. All opinions my own.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I received this book from River Street Reads in exchange for a fair review.
Featuring one of the most fascinating narrators I’ve encountered, The Unravelling of Ou is a heartfelt and intimate look at parental oppression and coping with trauma.
This short book is excellent. It’s a frame story of a woman, Minoo, as she drives home from the hospital after visiting her new grandbaby. Most of the story is flashbacks, some in chronological order, some not, of her life and how key events shaped her odd coping mechanism - she has this sock puppet she wears that she uses to express her own doubts about her own behaviour. The sock puppet allows her to say things she can’t, but she also uses it as a crutch to avoid addressing these issues. The way this is shown is so well done - especially given the sock puppet is the narrator!
The way this is written is genius, really, because it's obviously not a sentience sock puppet, but Minoo herself working through her own history. As such, it never feels silly, and most of the time you even forget who is narrating, as the story is mainly in flashbacks. It’s a serious yet heartfelt story that is realistic and relatable.
The book approaches heavy themes, such as how parents attempting to control their children just push them away, but also how children still cling to abusive parents even when they are aware of the abuse and acknowledge their parents’ wrongdoing. Tied to this, it addresses how these expectations/emotional abuse put on children affect them throughout their life, such as how puritanical ideas about sex and womanhood can not only mess with women’s heads, but put them at risk medically. It’s really, really well done.
It’s also a story of immigration, as Minoo is from Iran and moved to Canada, and a story of queer awakening.
This book addresses so many things, but it never feels overwhelming. And there are good parts to Minoo’s life as well, giving us a really well-rounded character who feels real and you empathize with.
The writing is lovely, with some beautiful passages. I didn’t highlight them to include as examples, as I was reading this beside the pool on vacation (I should have brought a pen with me), but if you love smart, elegant writing, you should check this out.
This book was fantastic.
Featuring one of the most fascinating narrators I’ve encountered, The Unravelling of Ou is a heartfelt and intimate look at parental oppression and coping with trauma.
This short book is excellent. It’s a frame story of a woman, Minoo, as she drives home from the hospital after visiting her new grandbaby. Most of the story is flashbacks, some in chronological order, some not, of her life and how key events shaped her odd coping mechanism - she has this sock puppet she wears that she uses to express her own doubts about her own behaviour. The sock puppet allows her to say things she can’t, but she also uses it as a crutch to avoid addressing these issues. The way this is shown is so well done - especially given the sock puppet is the narrator!
The way this is written is genius, really, because it's obviously not a sentience sock puppet, but Minoo herself working through her own history. As such, it never feels silly, and most of the time you even forget who is narrating, as the story is mainly in flashbacks. It’s a serious yet heartfelt story that is realistic and relatable.
The book approaches heavy themes, such as how parents attempting to control their children just push them away, but also how children still cling to abusive parents even when they are aware of the abuse and acknowledge their parents’ wrongdoing. Tied to this, it addresses how these expectations/emotional abuse put on children affect them throughout their life, such as how puritanical ideas about sex and womanhood can not only mess with women’s heads, but put them at risk medically. It’s really, really well done.
It’s also a story of immigration, as Minoo is from Iran and moved to Canada, and a story of queer awakening.
This book addresses so many things, but it never feels overwhelming. And there are good parts to Minoo’s life as well, giving us a really well-rounded character who feels real and you empathize with.
The writing is lovely, with some beautiful passages. I didn’t highlight them to include as examples, as I was reading this beside the pool on vacation (I should have brought a pen with me), but if you love smart, elegant writing, you should check this out.
This book was fantastic.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The Unravelling of Ou by Hollay Ghadery
Oh my heart. This beautifully written story of Minoo lodged itself in my heart from the first chapter and stayed there until the final page.
“Minoo was never so ashamed of who she was until she saw herself through the eyes of her mother.”
A loving childhood inexplicably shifts into one marked by rejection, criticism and shame when Minoo reaches puberty. All she understands is that there is something wrong - something shameful - about her body and about herself. After a teenage pregnancy, Minoo is banished to Canada to be raised by an aunt, while her parents claim her son as their own. Overwhelmed, Minoo finds solace in a sock puppet named Ecology Paul, who becomes a safe place for her most painful thoughts and feelings.
Ecology Paul narrates Minoo’s life, developing into a voice that feels almost independent of her - a supportive confidant and compassionate witness. Ghadery poignantly captures Minoo’s overwhelming shame, her profound grief and abandonment and her relentless longing for even the smallest glimmer of maternal approval. The novel’s inventive narrative lends emotional depth and tenderness to the story, while also creating moments of unexpected humour that made me laugh out loud. Though the story is heartbreaking, it is also threaded with resilience, strength and curiosity, moments in which Minoo dares to engage fully with her life.
At its core, the novel is a nuanced exploration of motherhood in all its contradictions: the exquisite joy of holding and snuggling your baby; the intimacy of being your Childs entire world and the painful reckoning when they discover you are only human. It acknowledges the vulnerabilities and failures of motherhood without judgement and portrays the fraught mother- daughter relationship with complexity and compassion.
This is a deeply moving and emotionally immersive novel, an exploration of how people survive trauma and alienation, how they can unravel without completely breaking, and how they can slowly find their way back to themselves.
Creative, inventive and impossible to put down.
Oh my heart. This beautifully written story of Minoo lodged itself in my heart from the first chapter and stayed there until the final page.
“Minoo was never so ashamed of who she was until she saw herself through the eyes of her mother.”
A loving childhood inexplicably shifts into one marked by rejection, criticism and shame when Minoo reaches puberty. All she understands is that there is something wrong - something shameful - about her body and about herself. After a teenage pregnancy, Minoo is banished to Canada to be raised by an aunt, while her parents claim her son as their own. Overwhelmed, Minoo finds solace in a sock puppet named Ecology Paul, who becomes a safe place for her most painful thoughts and feelings.
Ecology Paul narrates Minoo’s life, developing into a voice that feels almost independent of her - a supportive confidant and compassionate witness. Ghadery poignantly captures Minoo’s overwhelming shame, her profound grief and abandonment and her relentless longing for even the smallest glimmer of maternal approval. The novel’s inventive narrative lends emotional depth and tenderness to the story, while also creating moments of unexpected humour that made me laugh out loud. Though the story is heartbreaking, it is also threaded with resilience, strength and curiosity, moments in which Minoo dares to engage fully with her life.
At its core, the novel is a nuanced exploration of motherhood in all its contradictions: the exquisite joy of holding and snuggling your baby; the intimacy of being your Childs entire world and the painful reckoning when they discover you are only human. It acknowledges the vulnerabilities and failures of motherhood without judgement and portrays the fraught mother- daughter relationship with complexity and compassion.
This is a deeply moving and emotionally immersive novel, an exploration of how people survive trauma and alienation, how they can unravel without completely breaking, and how they can slowly find their way back to themselves.
Creative, inventive and impossible to put down.
February 21, 2026
"It's not every day a sock puppet visits a maternity ward," the book begins. It is, perhaps, even less often that a sock puppet is the narrator of a novel. It is not that unusual to introduce narrators for effect--small children and even pets have been assigned that role. But Ecology Paul, a homemade sock puppet using gender neutral pronouns, is different. This narrator is here "because Minoo was too scared to be." They are "created specifically to give voice to the things Minoo could not." Through the voice of Ecology Paul, Minoo is freed from convention to speak with complete honesty, to articulate those things that Minoo cannot face.
Minoo was raised in a strict environment, receiving little affection or encouragement. Pregnant in her early teens, she is sent from her home in Iran to her aunt in Canada soon after her son is born. He is raised by her parents, and her mother allows no discussion or contact with him. Minoo seems to be regarded as a source of perpetual disappointment, as someone without a voice.
Ecology Paul becomes her voice, her way to explain and make sense of her life--of all the losses, the disappointments, the insecurities. Ecology Paul can explain Minoo's relationship with her friend Kit, the closeness and the tension in her marriage, and the widening rift in her relationship with her daughter.
This is a novel about reclaiming identity and participating fully in one's life. It delivers a moving and ultimately satisfying resolution, one which embraces Minoo's journey in its entirety, while moving to something new. The author creates such rich images: "a sky that finally revealed itself, full-bellied, stuffed with stars." And although there are multiple shifts in both time and space in the setting, the author shifts seamlessly between these, never losing the rhythm, never leaving the reader behind. As a character-driven novel, it is not fast-paced, but it holds us through every moment of Minoo's journey.
Thank you, Hollay Ghadery, for this special story. Highly recommended.
Minoo was raised in a strict environment, receiving little affection or encouragement. Pregnant in her early teens, she is sent from her home in Iran to her aunt in Canada soon after her son is born. He is raised by her parents, and her mother allows no discussion or contact with him. Minoo seems to be regarded as a source of perpetual disappointment, as someone without a voice.
Ecology Paul becomes her voice, her way to explain and make sense of her life--of all the losses, the disappointments, the insecurities. Ecology Paul can explain Minoo's relationship with her friend Kit, the closeness and the tension in her marriage, and the widening rift in her relationship with her daughter.
This is a novel about reclaiming identity and participating fully in one's life. It delivers a moving and ultimately satisfying resolution, one which embraces Minoo's journey in its entirety, while moving to something new. The author creates such rich images: "a sky that finally revealed itself, full-bellied, stuffed with stars." And although there are multiple shifts in both time and space in the setting, the author shifts seamlessly between these, never losing the rhythm, never leaving the reader behind. As a character-driven novel, it is not fast-paced, but it holds us through every moment of Minoo's journey.
Thank you, Hollay Ghadery, for this special story. Highly recommended.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
PUBLISH DATE: February 15, 2026
The cover of The Unravelling of Ou immediately caught my attention and made me want to know what the author had tucked away inside its pages. Once I started reading, it quickly became clear that this is a deeply personal and emotionally layered story.
This novel follows Minoo as she works through the unraveling of herself across different stages of her life. It explores how she learns to cope with trauma, sadness, disappointment, joy, and the complicated in between moments that shape who we become. At its heart, this is a coming-of-age story, but it’s also about identity, belonging, and what it means to wrestle with yourself while trying to move forward.
The writing is thoughtful and often beautifully introspective, with many moments that feel especially quotable and reflective. It’s the kind of book that invites you to slow down and sit with the emotions rather than rush through them.
Overall, I found this to be a well-written and meaningful read that stayed with me after I finished.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BOOK TITLE: The Unravelling of OU
AUTHOR: Hollay Ghadery
PUBLISHER: Palimpsest Press
FORMAT: e-book
PAGES: 200
I received a complimentary digital ARC [Advanced Reader copy] of this book via NetGalley. Thank you to Palimpsest Press Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. As always, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
The cover of The Unravelling of Ou immediately caught my attention and made me want to know what the author had tucked away inside its pages. Once I started reading, it quickly became clear that this is a deeply personal and emotionally layered story.
This novel follows Minoo as she works through the unraveling of herself across different stages of her life. It explores how she learns to cope with trauma, sadness, disappointment, joy, and the complicated in between moments that shape who we become. At its heart, this is a coming-of-age story, but it’s also about identity, belonging, and what it means to wrestle with yourself while trying to move forward.
The writing is thoughtful and often beautifully introspective, with many moments that feel especially quotable and reflective. It’s the kind of book that invites you to slow down and sit with the emotions rather than rush through them.
Overall, I found this to be a well-written and meaningful read that stayed with me after I finished.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BOOK TITLE: The Unravelling of OU
AUTHOR: Hollay Ghadery
PUBLISHER: Palimpsest Press
FORMAT: e-book
PAGES: 200
I received a complimentary digital ARC [Advanced Reader copy] of this book via NetGalley. Thank you to Palimpsest Press Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. As always, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
i enjoyed this book a lot! this was such a deeply moving, surreal, and bittersweet read. at first i wasn’t sure what to expect from a book where a sock puppet named ecology paul is a central character, but he ended up being the perfect lens through which to explore Minoo's life. the story manages to take something that sounds almost childish; a puppet companion-and use it to unpack the very real, very adult complexities of teenage pregnancy in iran, the isolation of exile in canada, and the quiet struggle of questioning one’s sexuality in a world that demands conformity.
i loved the narrative structure in the story-having ecology paul recount Minoo's history while she drives home from the hospital was such a clever way to blend the past with the present. it felt both intimate and heartbreaking. the emotional stake was perfectly written; the tension between Minoo's love for her new granddaughter and her dependence on the puppet felt so raw. it’s a powerful metaphor for the coping mechanisms we cling to until they start to cost us the very things they were meant to protect + glimpses into her life in Iran and her journey as an immigrant added so much weight to her need to "be seen."
it’s a story about the messy, "unravelling" process of healing and the courage it takes to let go of the things that once saved us so we can finally show up for the people we love. definitely a book that stays with you long after the final page.
4 stars. ⭐️
i loved the narrative structure in the story-having ecology paul recount Minoo's history while she drives home from the hospital was such a clever way to blend the past with the present. it felt both intimate and heartbreaking. the emotional stake was perfectly written; the tension between Minoo's love for her new granddaughter and her dependence on the puppet felt so raw. it’s a powerful metaphor for the coping mechanisms we cling to until they start to cost us the very things they were meant to protect + glimpses into her life in Iran and her journey as an immigrant added so much weight to her need to "be seen."
it’s a story about the messy, "unravelling" process of healing and the courage it takes to let go of the things that once saved us so we can finally show up for the people we love. definitely a book that stays with you long after the final page.
4 stars. ⭐️
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January 12, 2026The Unravelling of Ou is an intimate, haunting, and exquisitely restrained novel that lingers long after its final page. Hollay Ghadery writes with remarkable emotional precision, unraveling identity, belonging, and interior fracture through prose that feels both fragile and unflinchingly honest.
In just 200 pages, the novel achieves a rare depth, exploring how silence, displacement, and memory shape a life from the inside out. Ghadery’s language is spare yet resonant, allowing emotion to surface quietly, often devastatingly, in the spaces between words. The result is a deeply human portrait of unmaking and becoming, one that trusts the reader and rewards careful attention.
This is a book that doesn’t ask to be consumed quickly; it asks to be felt. The Unravelling of Ou stands as a powerful testament to the strength of literary subtlety and the enduring impact of stories that speak softly but truthfully.
In just 200 pages, the novel achieves a rare depth, exploring how silence, displacement, and memory shape a life from the inside out. Ghadery’s language is spare yet resonant, allowing emotion to surface quietly, often devastatingly, in the spaces between words. The result is a deeply human portrait of unmaking and becoming, one that trusts the reader and rewards careful attention.
This is a book that doesn’t ask to be consumed quickly; it asks to be felt. The Unravelling of Ou stands as a powerful testament to the strength of literary subtlety and the enduring impact of stories that speak softly but truthfully.
February 16, 2026
The story of Minoo, a teenager sent by her parents from Iran to Canada after her surprise pregnancy, narrated by Minoo's constant companion: a sock puppet named Ecology Paul. On the day of her granddaughter's birth, Minoo is forced to choose between her family and Ecology Paul.
This may sound like a strange premise for a novel, but it made so much sense in the context of the story: a young woman sent to a foreign country with little support may look for comfort in strange places. I was fully invested in Minoo, in particular her childhood and teenage experiences, trying to make her mother happy while also not fully understanding how body works or what's happening around her.
This book included a lot of very sad events but it ultimately ended on a hopeful note - so don't let the tough subject deter you. I was very much looking forward to this book, the author's debut novel, and it did not disappoint!
This may sound like a strange premise for a novel, but it made so much sense in the context of the story: a young woman sent to a foreign country with little support may look for comfort in strange places. I was fully invested in Minoo, in particular her childhood and teenage experiences, trying to make her mother happy while also not fully understanding how body works or what's happening around her.
This book included a lot of very sad events but it ultimately ended on a hopeful note - so don't let the tough subject deter you. I was very much looking forward to this book, the author's debut novel, and it did not disappoint!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was such a bittersweet and beautiful story about Minoo and her sock puppet Economy Paul. Minoo had a tough time adjusting to changes and was given a sock puppet which became a coping mechanism to help her through the difficult period. What started as a coping mechanism became more of a crutch that Minoo became dependent on. It was told by the POV of Economy Paul, which was surprisingly beautiful and unexpected. This story made you feel for Minoo and everything she’s dealt with and is still dealing with. It brought up many conversations about mental health, culture, immigration, neurodivergence and sexual identity. I didn’t expect this book to be as beautiful as it was. I highly recommend this book, it’ll make you feel for Minoo and make you think.
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this early. The opinion in this review is my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A moving tale that had me riveted from the first page until the last. THE UNRAVELLING OF OU is unlike anything I've read before, not only because the narrator is a witty and wily sock puppet, but for its singular energy and insight into the human condition.
THE UNRAVELLING OF OU is a compact novel that whisks the reader through an eventful day in the life of Minoo, a shunned daughter, a troubled mother, and now, a new grandmother. She's been mired in her damage, leading to years-long estrangement from those she loves the most, both in Iran, where she was raised, and in Canada, to which she was forced to immigrate as a teenager. She's been hiding herself away, until it becomes too painful to continue on that path.
There is so much to admire about this book--vivid characters, unexpected humor, and beautiful descriptions top my list. Highly recommend.
THE UNRAVELLING OF OU is a compact novel that whisks the reader through an eventful day in the life of Minoo, a shunned daughter, a troubled mother, and now, a new grandmother. She's been mired in her damage, leading to years-long estrangement from those she loves the most, both in Iran, where she was raised, and in Canada, to which she was forced to immigrate as a teenager. She's been hiding herself away, until it becomes too painful to continue on that path.
There is so much to admire about this book--vivid characters, unexpected humor, and beautiful descriptions top my list. Highly recommend.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I will admit this novel took me completely by surprise. It left me sobbing at 4 am as I couldn’t put it down.
This story is about an Iranian woman shipped off to a relative in Canada as a young teen when she ends up with an unplanned pregnancy. She is forced to leave the baby behind in Tehran, and ends up with a sock puppet gifted to her when she arrives in Canada.
It's a short novel about mothers and daughters, reflecting on the main character’s relationships with her mother and daughter. It’s also about shame and how it affects + controls women, about trauma and how we cope with and process it, and about love and how powerful a gift it is to have our loved ones accept us and gently support our healing.
Unbelievably beautiful considering one of the main characters is a sock puppet. Not at all what I was expecting when I read the blurb!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
This story is about an Iranian woman shipped off to a relative in Canada as a young teen when she ends up with an unplanned pregnancy. She is forced to leave the baby behind in Tehran, and ends up with a sock puppet gifted to her when she arrives in Canada.
It's a short novel about mothers and daughters, reflecting on the main character’s relationships with her mother and daughter. It’s also about shame and how it affects + controls women, about trauma and how we cope with and process it, and about love and how powerful a gift it is to have our loved ones accept us and gently support our healing.
Unbelievably beautiful considering one of the main characters is a sock puppet. Not at all what I was expecting when I read the blurb!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
November 27, 2025
I’ve never read anything like this book before, and now all I want is more books like this. It is narrated by the socket puppet that acts as emotional support on the hand of an Iranian woman who immigrated to Canada as a teenager after having an unplanned teen pregnancy in Tehran. The sock puppet helps her cope with her trauma and the stresses of being an immigrant. The character development in this novel is immaculate. Even the sock puppet is a fully fleshed out character and a great narrator through which we see the woman’s life. This book might make you cry, but it’s worth it for the rich emotional experience of reading this book. I highly recommend pre-ordering this book and adding it to your 2026 TBR!
January 12, 2026
Thank you to the Literary Press Group of Canada, Palimpsest Press, and NetGalley for the advance readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thought this would be a lot sillier than it was, and the surprise was actually really well received. I really, really liked this book. Somehow Ghadery manages to capture the entire life of Minoo through the events of a single afternoon, using her reactions and actions in the present to link to her history and past. I also really enjoyed that Ecology Paul was the only narrator, because it allowed both an intimate and a distanced perspective to simultaneously unfold.
I think what’s most powerful is that Minoo never speaks. She’s spoken to, there are conversations that involve her, but she herself never speaks. This choice adds to the depth of her character by creating a perspective that she has been a passenger in her own life all the way until the final choice she makes at the very end of the book when she breaks with her trauma response (the puppet).
The reason it’s not rated higher for me is simply that the story felt clunkier than I’d have hoped at times. I feel this may be due to the length — I’d have honestly wanted this to be either longer, with more detail to the events unfolding, or shorter and more of a novella.
I thought this would be a lot sillier than it was, and the surprise was actually really well received. I really, really liked this book. Somehow Ghadery manages to capture the entire life of Minoo through the events of a single afternoon, using her reactions and actions in the present to link to her history and past. I also really enjoyed that Ecology Paul was the only narrator, because it allowed both an intimate and a distanced perspective to simultaneously unfold.
I think what’s most powerful is that Minoo never speaks. She’s spoken to, there are conversations that involve her, but she herself never speaks. This choice adds to the depth of her character by creating a perspective that she has been a passenger in her own life all the way until the final choice she makes at the very end of the book when she breaks with her trauma response (the puppet).
The reason it’s not rated higher for me is simply that the story felt clunkier than I’d have hoped at times. I feel this may be due to the length — I’d have honestly wanted this to be either longer, with more detail to the events unfolding, or shorter and more of a novella.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is a must-read for anyone who longs to feel seen. From start to finish, the story carries the weight that sits on your shoulders and allows you to feel light. I cannot even begin to fathom how this book will haunt me for the rest of my life and I’m so grateful I will be able to carry this story with me from now on. As someone who has the tendency to write lengthy reviews, words will always fail to capture my thoughts on “The Unravelling of Ou.” All I can say is that you MUST pick this one up.
Thank you to NetGalley, Palimpsest Press, and Hollay Ghadery for the eARC to review. Words will never convey my gratitude.
Thank you to NetGalley, Palimpsest Press, and Hollay Ghadery for the eARC to review. Words will never convey my gratitude.
Review of advance copy received from Author
The Unravelling of Ou by Hollay Ghadery touches upon mothering, sexual identity, family dynamics and voice. Narrated by a sock puppet, Ghadery has written a surprising narrative that interrogates the treatment of young women caught in the crossfire of cultural norms and mental health. Beautifully told with her trademark use of evocative and poetic language. Ghadery has once again challenged readers to ponder identity and what it means to be seen. This is not a book to be missed! Full review pending with The Miramichi Reader.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Narrated by a supportive sock puppet, The Unravelling of Ou chronicles the story of an Iranian woman, Minoo, who immigrated to Canada at the demands of her parents due to cultural conventions in response to her teen pregnancy. We follow the story through the voice of Ecology Paul, the affable sock puppet who serves as her voice and way of coping with her childhood traumas. With the cover of sock puppet, Minoo struggles to come to terms with her abandonment, loss, grief and sexuality all while adapting to life in a new country and learning a new language.
February 20, 2026
This book really snuck up on me and hit me much more emotionally than I thought it would initially.
Minoo is such a relatable, understandable, deeply insecure main character. Telling the story of Minoo’s life from the perspective of her lifelong friend, a talking sock puppet named Ecology Paul, was such an interesting choice (and one that I think worked so well). This was a poignant book about grief, childhood trauma, belonging, and understanding.
I loved the storytelling, how it was woven with present anxieties and the last traumas that led to the anxieties. I’ve never wanted to reach into a book and hug the main character more than in The Unravelling of Ou. The ending punched me right in the face and had me just sitting there left to think about the book I just abruptly finished.
I’ve never read a book like The Unravelling of Ou, and not sure I will again.
Thank you to Netgalley and Palimpsest Press for the advanced copy!
Minoo is such a relatable, understandable, deeply insecure main character. Telling the story of Minoo’s life from the perspective of her lifelong friend, a talking sock puppet named Ecology Paul, was such an interesting choice (and one that I think worked so well). This was a poignant book about grief, childhood trauma, belonging, and understanding.
I loved the storytelling, how it was woven with present anxieties and the last traumas that led to the anxieties. I’ve never wanted to reach into a book and hug the main character more than in The Unravelling of Ou. The ending punched me right in the face and had me just sitting there left to think about the book I just abruptly finished.
I’ve never read a book like The Unravelling of Ou, and not sure I will again.
Thank you to Netgalley and Palimpsest Press for the advanced copy!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you so much for the ARC!
I adored this—it was so charming! The themes of POC experience / culture/ generational stuff felt digestible and easy to connect with, and I loved the puppet's POV, so unique. Pacing slowed a bit for me in the middle, but I’m so excited to read the final version! (3.5 stars, I feel like this will be an easy 5 stars for a lot of people.)
I adored this—it was so charming! The themes of POC experience / culture/ generational stuff felt digestible and easy to connect with, and I loved the puppet's POV, so unique. Pacing slowed a bit for me in the middle, but I’m so excited to read the final version! (3.5 stars, I feel like this will be an easy 5 stars for a lot of people.)
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4
setting: Canada (and snippets of Iran)
rep: iranian-candian protagonist and author; queer protagonist
this is a short, unusual little book narrated by the sock puppet that Minoo has carried with her for decades. some really lovely bits of writing in here! I especially enjoyed the unique perspective that gave the story this whole extra layer and insight into Minoo's life and her trauma
setting: Canada (and snippets of Iran)
rep: iranian-candian protagonist and author; queer protagonist
this is a short, unusual little book narrated by the sock puppet that Minoo has carried with her for decades. some really lovely bits of writing in here! I especially enjoyed the unique perspective that gave the story this whole extra layer and insight into Minoo's life and her trauma
February 2, 2026
Unfortunately, this is a no for me. I love reading about things and cultures that I am not familiar with. Nevertheless, the puppet makes me uneasy all the time. I also do understand that this was the main’s character way of coping, because the character had no easy life. I think the book was beautifully written. Thank you so much for the ARC, Netgalley!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
What an interesting, sad, frustrating novella. The puppet's eye perspective was unique and perfect for this story. Much longer and it would likely have lost it's charm, but Hollay Ghadery managed to balance the tone, pacing, and beautifully realized characters in this short book.
Thank you to Net Galley and Palimpsest Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Net Galley and Palimpsest Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Beautiful book, exploring motherhood, childhood trauma and repression, and big feelings almost entirely through the eyes of a sock puppet. Big thanks to River Street Writing for an ARC to review! Rounded up from 4.5
Review of advance copy
This was a really unique book told by a sock puppet. I really enjoyed the themes, it’s beautifully written, I love the insight and there’s definitely something I related to. I just found it dragged a bit in the middle, but I think a lot of people will love this.
October 10, 2025
A beautiful and whimsical read!
February 18, 2026
Exquisite examination of misogyny and the complexities of mother-daughter relationships. A must-read.
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