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Compensation
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6 days and 15:24:22
15 copies available
U.S. only
A brilliantly provocative and compulsive novel in which a husband and wife conceive an unorthodox plan to preserve their late son’s memory, and bend the rules of motherhood to their will . . .
Georges is dead. Charlotte’s darling son has died, still dressed and lying on top of his sheets. It is 4 pm, and typically the 34-year-old would have already been downstairs for a sip of the coffee his mother has brewed for him. But today, he has drunkenly hit his head, fallen into an eternal sleep, and left her with only her adulterer husband for company. As Erik shuts himself in his office to pore over his spam mail and watch porn, Charlotte desperately casts around for any way through her immeasurable grief.
She reaches a chilling Erik, a surgeon, will harvest Georges’ sperm, and a surrogate will bring his baby into the world. Charlotte does not care who the surrogate is. All that matters is that she gets the chance to continue—reimagine—her son’s legacy. But as Charlotte’s plan develops, and she invites another woman into her home, the power quickly begins to slip out of her hands. And soon, an intoxicating cocktail of desire, desperation, and guilt forces the trio to What is the real price of a mother’s love?
Deliciously dark and unsettlingly funny, Compensation is a biting novel about those who have it, and those who wish they did. A poignant and twisted psychological portrait of marriage and statehood, it is a story of delusion, repression, and longing that surprises and subverts until the very final page.
Georges is dead. Charlotte’s darling son has died, still dressed and lying on top of his sheets. It is 4 pm, and typically the 34-year-old would have already been downstairs for a sip of the coffee his mother has brewed for him. But today, he has drunkenly hit his head, fallen into an eternal sleep, and left her with only her adulterer husband for company. As Erik shuts himself in his office to pore over his spam mail and watch porn, Charlotte desperately casts around for any way through her immeasurable grief.
She reaches a chilling Erik, a surgeon, will harvest Georges’ sperm, and a surrogate will bring his baby into the world. Charlotte does not care who the surrogate is. All that matters is that she gets the chance to continue—reimagine—her son’s legacy. But as Charlotte’s plan develops, and she invites another woman into her home, the power quickly begins to slip out of her hands. And soon, an intoxicating cocktail of desire, desperation, and guilt forces the trio to What is the real price of a mother’s love?
Deliciously dark and unsettlingly funny, Compensation is a biting novel about those who have it, and those who wish they did. A poignant and twisted psychological portrait of marriage and statehood, it is a story of delusion, repression, and longing that surprises and subverts until the very final page.
- GenresContemporary
Kindle Edition
Expected publication January 19, 2027
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July 22, 2026A darkly funny novel of dangerous choices, and a brilliant study of human nature.
When waster, Georges, who still lives with his parents, dies unexpectedly in his bed after a drunken night out, his mother, Charlotte convinces her husband Erik to harvest Georges' sperm. She then convinces their cleaner, Lena, to carry their dead son's child so that she and Erik can have another chance at parenthood (grandparenthood).
Cerf describes Charlotte's unravelling through grief brilliantly, as well as Erik's coping mechanisms: his addition to porn and the outfall from that. Lena is in a relationship with Imogene who has her own part to play in this weird scenario. Nobody comes out well, but still Cerf writes character and their internal voices so well that I'm amazed this is a debut.
When waster, Georges, who still lives with his parents, dies unexpectedly in his bed after a drunken night out, his mother, Charlotte convinces her husband Erik to harvest Georges' sperm. She then convinces their cleaner, Lena, to carry their dead son's child so that she and Erik can have another chance at parenthood (grandparenthood).
Cerf describes Charlotte's unravelling through grief brilliantly, as well as Erik's coping mechanisms: his addition to porn and the outfall from that. Lena is in a relationship with Imogene who has her own part to play in this weird scenario. Nobody comes out well, but still Cerf writes character and their internal voices so well that I'm amazed this is a debut.
Want to Read
April 29, 2026I'm seated. The bookshop employees are scared and and asking me to leave because it's "not out yet" but I'm simply too seated.
July 8, 2026
Compensation was a genuinely riveting read. I knew that the premise gave license for the book to be deeply psychological but Cerf did such an amazing job with the characters. i really enjoyed the writing style and found the phrasing so beautiful. whilst the concept was VERY unhinged i loved every moment and will be back for whatever augustine cerf writes next.
each of the characters was deeply flawed in their own way which made the multiple POVs even more engaging. even though charlotte was INCREDIBLY unlikable i couldn’t help but feel so much sadness for her in the depths of her grief - a mark of incredible character building. it would have been easy to make charlotte appear just unhinged and callous but her grief is painted so vividly by the prose, it really feels like you occupy her mind through every part of the process.
i think this novel does such a great job of exploring the ethics of surrogacy and the privilege that surrounds such a process. at every point i felt like the author was well informed and wanted to do justice to the subject matter.
eARC received in exchange for my genuine review
each of the characters was deeply flawed in their own way which made the multiple POVs even more engaging. even though charlotte was INCREDIBLY unlikable i couldn’t help but feel so much sadness for her in the depths of her grief - a mark of incredible character building. it would have been easy to make charlotte appear just unhinged and callous but her grief is painted so vividly by the prose, it really feels like you occupy her mind through every part of the process.
i think this novel does such a great job of exploring the ethics of surrogacy and the privilege that surrounds such a process. at every point i felt like the author was well informed and wanted to do justice to the subject matter.
eARC received in exchange for my genuine review
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
First of all I would to say thank you for Zando and NetGalley for this Arc.
First thing that attract me to read this book are the cover and the synopsis. This not something that I normally pickup, my genre is mostly about fantasy, thriller and horror but Im glad i read this book. You need to be more open minded when you read this book, for me as someone who come from Southest Asia, this is a taboo.
Apart from that this book is really interesting, I cannot put this book down. Its really good. There are 3 main POV in here which are Charlotte, Erik and Lena and all of them has a "good" chemistry. I mean messy connection not a healthy relationship.
George is 34 years old who still live with his family, no job, just playing video games and drinking. By standard he is not some one you expect when you hit certain age. Well he died (Not a spoiler).
But as I further reading I realised this issue not only come from his mother but his father as well. Charlotte who Im not sure how to describe her. A narcissist? I mean she is weird, she control her son life. keep saying him to do this and that, she loved him but to the point that destroy her son. If im her son, i will definitely become crazy.
Erik her husband, has chosen a toxic coping mechanism, i mean instead writing he watch porn even bang other woman. The fact that his son died, being unloved by his wife & she also asking for him to extract their son sperm (not a spoiler) in order to "preserve" their dead son legacy is weird.
As I mentioned before this is not something that i will normally choose to read but Im glad that i read this book. This book give me an exposure to different perspectives to the point im asking myself back is this really okay? Is this worth the risk?
Honestly our of all these characters i feel bad about George & Imogen. They deserve better.
Overall the ending is okay, which is unexpected and a little bit rush for me but they got what they deserve.
However as i mention, reading this from Southeast asian lens where surrogacy is in the "gray zone" is a little bit uncomfortable topic but seeing this as one of the "option" to ease a grief is a new perspective.
I would say that this is a provocative read that questions my ethics and boundary of family legacy.
The only con of this book this, i feel some of the paragraph is not needed as it kind repetitive. Others are really good.
Do i recommend this book? Yes.
Will i reread this? Yes.
First thing that attract me to read this book are the cover and the synopsis. This not something that I normally pickup, my genre is mostly about fantasy, thriller and horror but Im glad i read this book. You need to be more open minded when you read this book, for me as someone who come from Southest Asia, this is a taboo.
Apart from that this book is really interesting, I cannot put this book down. Its really good. There are 3 main POV in here which are Charlotte, Erik and Lena and all of them has a "good" chemistry. I mean messy connection not a healthy relationship.
George is 34 years old who still live with his family, no job, just playing video games and drinking. By standard he is not some one you expect when you hit certain age. Well he died (Not a spoiler).
But as I further reading I realised this issue not only come from his mother but his father as well. Charlotte who Im not sure how to describe her. A narcissist? I mean she is weird, she control her son life. keep saying him to do this and that, she loved him but to the point that destroy her son. If im her son, i will definitely become crazy.
Erik her husband, has chosen a toxic coping mechanism, i mean instead writing he watch porn even bang other woman. The fact that his son died, being unloved by his wife & she also asking for him to extract their son sperm (not a spoiler) in order to "preserve" their dead son legacy is weird.
As I mentioned before this is not something that i will normally choose to read but Im glad that i read this book. This book give me an exposure to different perspectives to the point im asking myself back is this really okay? Is this worth the risk?
Honestly our of all these characters i feel bad about George & Imogen. They deserve better.
Overall the ending is okay, which is unexpected and a little bit rush for me but they got what they deserve.
However as i mention, reading this from Southeast asian lens where surrogacy is in the "gray zone" is a little bit uncomfortable topic but seeing this as one of the "option" to ease a grief is a new perspective.
I would say that this is a provocative read that questions my ethics and boundary of family legacy.
The only con of this book this, i feel some of the paragraph is not needed as it kind repetitive. Others are really good.
Do i recommend this book? Yes.
Will i reread this? Yes.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy!
The suffocating atmosphere of Augustine Cerf's Compensation demands that the reader abandon the conventions through which contemporary fiction so often frames familial grief. Following the sudden death of Georges, a thirty four year old man found lifeless in his bed after a night of heavy drinking, his mother, Charlotte, develops an obsession as disturbing as it is methodical: extracting her son's sperm posthumously in order to conceive a grandchild through surrogacy. Cerf, rather than constructing an elegy for a mother devastated by loss, portraits a possessive will incapable of accepting that death also brings an end to her own desires. Charlotte turns tragedy into a moral license that allows her to trample the autonomy and consent of everyone around her.
However, it would be a mistake to approach this story through the lens of sentimentality or reduce it to a conventional critique of social inequality. Its strength lies precisely in its use of an almost absurd premise to satirize the tyranny of bourgeois good conscience and the pathologies of familial idealism. The home Charlotte shares with her husband, Erik, an adulterous surgeon addicted to pornography who retreats into his work to avoid confronting reality, is not a family broken by grief, but rather a structure that had long since been corroded by miscommunication.
The arrival of Lena, the couple's undocumented domestic worker, transforms that private decay into a conflict of class and power. Charlotte never regards her as a person worthy of consideration, but merely as the ideal vessel through which to fulfill her obsession with preserving the family line. Exploitation is never presented as an obvious outburst of cruelty. Instead, it disguises itself as good intentions, as the language of love, and as a supposed moral superiority capable of justifying any violation.
Perhaps one of the novel's most compelling aspects is its portrayal of motherhood. Charlotte embodies the kind of mother who refuses to take responsibility for the choices she herself made. Her son becomes a relic that must be preserved at any cost, as though extending his biological existence could somehow absolve her of guilt, failure, or shame. She feels like one of those mothers who invent increasingly pathetic justifications for the equally pathetic children they chose to bring into the world, simply to avoid confronting their own mistakes. It is difficult not to wonder whether her entire crusade is, at its core, a desperate cry for help.
Cerf approaches issues of class, immigration, and domestic labor with a degree of subtlety that is increasingly rare, avoiding the temptation to turn the novel into a sociological manifesto. The psychological tension remains at the forefront throughout, while his prose constantly shifts between the grotesque, the ridiculous, and the tragically serious. Lena, however, left me somewhat unconvinced.
The novel therefore dismantles one of the most comforting assumptions in our culture: that maternal love is, by definition, a morally pure force. Cerf suggests precisely the opposite. Once that love ceases to recognize ethical boundaries, it can become a form of domination as uncompromising as any other.
The suffocating atmosphere of Augustine Cerf's Compensation demands that the reader abandon the conventions through which contemporary fiction so often frames familial grief. Following the sudden death of Georges, a thirty four year old man found lifeless in his bed after a night of heavy drinking, his mother, Charlotte, develops an obsession as disturbing as it is methodical: extracting her son's sperm posthumously in order to conceive a grandchild through surrogacy. Cerf, rather than constructing an elegy for a mother devastated by loss, portraits a possessive will incapable of accepting that death also brings an end to her own desires. Charlotte turns tragedy into a moral license that allows her to trample the autonomy and consent of everyone around her.
However, it would be a mistake to approach this story through the lens of sentimentality or reduce it to a conventional critique of social inequality. Its strength lies precisely in its use of an almost absurd premise to satirize the tyranny of bourgeois good conscience and the pathologies of familial idealism. The home Charlotte shares with her husband, Erik, an adulterous surgeon addicted to pornography who retreats into his work to avoid confronting reality, is not a family broken by grief, but rather a structure that had long since been corroded by miscommunication.
The arrival of Lena, the couple's undocumented domestic worker, transforms that private decay into a conflict of class and power. Charlotte never regards her as a person worthy of consideration, but merely as the ideal vessel through which to fulfill her obsession with preserving the family line. Exploitation is never presented as an obvious outburst of cruelty. Instead, it disguises itself as good intentions, as the language of love, and as a supposed moral superiority capable of justifying any violation.
Perhaps one of the novel's most compelling aspects is its portrayal of motherhood. Charlotte embodies the kind of mother who refuses to take responsibility for the choices she herself made. Her son becomes a relic that must be preserved at any cost, as though extending his biological existence could somehow absolve her of guilt, failure, or shame. She feels like one of those mothers who invent increasingly pathetic justifications for the equally pathetic children they chose to bring into the world, simply to avoid confronting their own mistakes. It is difficult not to wonder whether her entire crusade is, at its core, a desperate cry for help.
Cerf approaches issues of class, immigration, and domestic labor with a degree of subtlety that is increasingly rare, avoiding the temptation to turn the novel into a sociological manifesto. The psychological tension remains at the forefront throughout, while his prose constantly shifts between the grotesque, the ridiculous, and the tragically serious. Lena, however, left me somewhat unconvinced.
The novel therefore dismantles one of the most comforting assumptions in our culture: that maternal love is, by definition, a morally pure force. Cerf suggests precisely the opposite. Once that love ceases to recognize ethical boundaries, it can become a form of domination as uncompromising as any other.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)
ARC Review – Compensation by Augustine Cerf
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I have to start with my usual disclaimer: I reserve ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for books that completely change my brain chemistry, so a 4-star rating is still a strong recommendation from me!
Compensation is a dark, unsettling exploration of grief, privilege, obsession, and the stories people tell themselves to justify the unjustifiable. The premise hooked me immediately, but the real strength of this novel is its deeply flawed, morally gray characters 😅
“That’s what they do to cows, pump them full of hormones and force them into a state of constant giving, only they take away the calf, so that the love is poured into nothing, which is what grief is like.”
Watching these characters unravel was equal parts fascinating and horrifying. I especially appreciated that the book didn’t force growth on everyone, some characters evolve, while others remain trapped by their own delusions, and that felt incredibly true to life… 🫠
The ending was a little predictable, but still genuinely satisfying. I also went back and forth on the lack of quotation marks in dialogue, it was occasionally distracting and difficult to follow, but may have been an intentional stylistic choice to immerse the reader more deeply in each narrator’s perspective.
Overall, this didn’t completely floor me, but it was an engaging, thought-provoking read that I’d definitely recommend if you enjoy morally gray characters and psychological dramas!! And the ending gives total queen status 💅🏼👏🏼👑
ARC Review – Compensation by Augustine Cerf
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I have to start with my usual disclaimer: I reserve ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for books that completely change my brain chemistry, so a 4-star rating is still a strong recommendation from me!
Compensation is a dark, unsettling exploration of grief, privilege, obsession, and the stories people tell themselves to justify the unjustifiable. The premise hooked me immediately, but the real strength of this novel is its deeply flawed, morally gray characters 😅
“That’s what they do to cows, pump them full of hormones and force them into a state of constant giving, only they take away the calf, so that the love is poured into nothing, which is what grief is like.”
Watching these characters unravel was equal parts fascinating and horrifying. I especially appreciated that the book didn’t force growth on everyone, some characters evolve, while others remain trapped by their own delusions, and that felt incredibly true to life… 🫠
The ending was a little predictable, but still genuinely satisfying. I also went back and forth on the lack of quotation marks in dialogue, it was occasionally distracting and difficult to follow, but may have been an intentional stylistic choice to immerse the reader more deeply in each narrator’s perspective.
Overall, this didn’t completely floor me, but it was an engaging, thought-provoking read that I’d definitely recommend if you enjoy morally gray characters and psychological dramas!! And the ending gives total queen status 💅🏼👏🏼👑
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Lots of good things to say about Augustine Cerf’s compensation! A brilliant & unsettling book that im still mulling over days after I finished it.
The story follows Charlotte and Erik Blom and their housekeeper, Lena. After the sudden death of their adult son, Georges, Charlotte and Erik ask Lena to carry a baby conceived using Georges' sperm, taken at the time of his death. While pretty disturbing (and illegal), the pregnancy provides our three main characters with enticing opportunities. Charlotte uses it as a second chance at motherhood and an escape from her all-consuming grief, while for Erik it's the path of least resistance in a fragile marriage. For Lena, who is grappling with a myriad of challenges due to her lack of documentation, it’s her chance for a real proper go. It's uncomfortable but handled with nuance and wit.
Charlotte was my favourite character to read. She's controlling, elitist, narcissistic, judgemental, and, overall, just pretty frustrating, and yet I still found myself pitying her; was quite conflicted with how I felt about her by the end. I also really enjoyed the contrast between Charlotte and Erik's outwardly conventional marriage and Lena and Imogene's relationship. Charlotte and Erik on paper embody the traditional nuclear family, but Lena and Imogene less ‘traditional’ relationship consistently shows honesty, open communication, and mutual respect.
Despite some heavy themes (concerning grief), it's a quick, engaging read, with short chapters and multiple POVs that keep the story moving.
Overall, I thought Compensation was a really impressive debut, and I'll definitely be picking up whatever Cerf writes next.
The story follows Charlotte and Erik Blom and their housekeeper, Lena. After the sudden death of their adult son, Georges, Charlotte and Erik ask Lena to carry a baby conceived using Georges' sperm, taken at the time of his death. While pretty disturbing (and illegal), the pregnancy provides our three main characters with enticing opportunities. Charlotte uses it as a second chance at motherhood and an escape from her all-consuming grief, while for Erik it's the path of least resistance in a fragile marriage. For Lena, who is grappling with a myriad of challenges due to her lack of documentation, it’s her chance for a real proper go. It's uncomfortable but handled with nuance and wit.
Charlotte was my favourite character to read. She's controlling, elitist, narcissistic, judgemental, and, overall, just pretty frustrating, and yet I still found myself pitying her; was quite conflicted with how I felt about her by the end. I also really enjoyed the contrast between Charlotte and Erik's outwardly conventional marriage and Lena and Imogene's relationship. Charlotte and Erik on paper embody the traditional nuclear family, but Lena and Imogene less ‘traditional’ relationship consistently shows honesty, open communication, and mutual respect.
Despite some heavy themes (concerning grief), it's a quick, engaging read, with short chapters and multiple POVs that keep the story moving.
Overall, I thought Compensation was a really impressive debut, and I'll definitely be picking up whatever Cerf writes next.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The cover obviously gripped me right away! We get introduced to Charlotte, her husband Erik, their son Georges, and their autodidact bisexual housekeeper Lena whose attempts at becoming a citizen have been unsuccessful thus far in this novel about power distribution, inequity, grief, and bizarre family dynamics. The book is told from the perspectives of these characters, except for Georges of course, because he is dead. (This is not a spoiler.)
I like reading unlikeable characters, and tried my hardest to feel empathetic for them, but Charlotte and Erik are selfish, close-minded, and a perfect match for each other. There is humor dispersed throughout the book, but it was most amusing to me that Georges caused so much grief in his wake, given how awful he was. It's mentioned he had a decent singing voice, but other than that, I don't think he had any redeeming qualities. As such, I enjoyed the paragraphs told from Lena's perspective the most. I think Imogene deserved better, as she was constantly "workshopping" (read: rationalizing) her circumstances. But when you think about it, not a single character in this story could demonstrate a healthy relationship. Lena herself, arguably the best of the bunch, is constantly convincing herself she's making "the right choice" when, as Imogen pointed out, was not a choice she should ever have to make.
I was entertained throughout, docking a star only for the semi-rushed ending. I could only hope that what came next would foster greater compassion, better communication, and equity. Thank you for the Advanced Copy, NetGalley!
I like reading unlikeable characters, and tried my hardest to feel empathetic for them, but Charlotte and Erik are selfish, close-minded, and a perfect match for each other. There is humor dispersed throughout the book, but it was most amusing to me that Georges caused so much grief in his wake, given how awful he was. It's mentioned he had a decent singing voice, but other than that, I don't think he had any redeeming qualities. As such, I enjoyed the paragraphs told from Lena's perspective the most. I think Imogene deserved better, as she was constantly "workshopping" (read: rationalizing) her circumstances. But when you think about it, not a single character in this story could demonstrate a healthy relationship. Lena herself, arguably the best of the bunch, is constantly convincing herself she's making "the right choice" when, as Imogen pointed out, was not a choice she should ever have to make.
I was entertained throughout, docking a star only for the semi-rushed ending. I could only hope that what came next would foster greater compassion, better communication, and equity. Thank you for the Advanced Copy, NetGalley!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Netgalley and Zando Publishing for the advanced e-copy.
I really liked this book, and it ended up being a very fast read for me. The pacing was quick and kept the story moving without feeling rushed, and that made it easy to stay invested the whole way through. The characters really stayed with me, especially because the book gave them enough depth to make their choices and reactions feel meaningful. I also found myself anxious for the main characters right up until the very end, which made the whole reading experience even more gripping. At first, I wasn’t completely sure how I felt about the ending. It felt a little unexpected, and I needed some time to sit with it before deciding whether it worked for me. The more I thought about it, though, the more it made sense for the situation and for the story being told. In the end, I’m glad it finished the way it did, because it felt honest rather than easy. I definitely think all the characters got what they deserved in the end, which made the conclusion feel especially satisfying.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
I love love love the way Augustine writes. It’s like poetry; vivid in imagery, capturing emotion in fits and bursts and random analogies. It is sometimes slow to read, choppy as you meander through the character’s thoughts, but there are points where I thought “this feeling / thing has never been better described”. I love it. It’s great. It’s even better that this is her debut novel.
The characters in this are all horrible, but somehow also shamefully familiar, like the worst parts of yourself characterised. They are what you could become if you didn’t catch or control yourself: narcissistic, selfish, obsessive, over-indulgent, manipulative, cruel, jealous. I might not harvest my dead son for his sperm but the sentiments across Charlotte, Erik and Lena are still possible to empathise with, somehow, unbelievably.
This is a book on the ethics and power dynamics of surrogacy, at its core, but it also covers strong themes of grief, adultery, blackmail and legal identity.
I love love love the way Augustine writes. It’s like poetry; vivid in imagery, capturing emotion in fits and bursts and random analogies. It is sometimes slow to read, choppy as you meander through the character’s thoughts, but there are points where I thought “this feeling / thing has never been better described”. I love it. It’s great. It’s even better that this is her debut novel.
The characters in this are all horrible, but somehow also shamefully familiar, like the worst parts of yourself characterised. They are what you could become if you didn’t catch or control yourself: narcissistic, selfish, obsessive, over-indulgent, manipulative, cruel, jealous. I might not harvest my dead son for his sperm but the sentiments across Charlotte, Erik and Lena are still possible to empathise with, somehow, unbelievably.
This is a book on the ethics and power dynamics of surrogacy, at its core, but it also covers strong themes of grief, adultery, blackmail and legal identity.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you Tin House and NetGalley for the ARC!
What a shocking, unique read. We follow the POVs of three characters, alternating between Charlotte, her husband Erik, and their maid, Lena. When Charlotte and Erik’s 34-year-old son Georges unexpectedly dies, we bear witness to an unraveling unparalleled to typical portrayals of mourning. Their reactions to the grief and rage they experience are unfathomable; the chosen language coupled with the direct POVs yields believable characters despite this absurdity in their behavior. Lena’s entwinement in this family begins as standard employment that pivots in a way that forces her to confront her priorities as an undocumented immigrant. A demonstration of how grief devours and blinds, “Compensation” will stun readers until the conclusion’s unforeseen twist.
What a shocking, unique read. We follow the POVs of three characters, alternating between Charlotte, her husband Erik, and their maid, Lena. When Charlotte and Erik’s 34-year-old son Georges unexpectedly dies, we bear witness to an unraveling unparalleled to typical portrayals of mourning. Their reactions to the grief and rage they experience are unfathomable; the chosen language coupled with the direct POVs yields believable characters despite this absurdity in their behavior. Lena’s entwinement in this family begins as standard employment that pivots in a way that forces her to confront her priorities as an undocumented immigrant. A demonstration of how grief devours and blinds, “Compensation” will stun readers until the conclusion’s unforeseen twist.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
While I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to read this book, I ended up DNF-ing it at about 10%. It wasn't because it was poorly written—it just didn't capture my interest enough to keep reading. I originally requested this book because I thought it would be similar to "The Diary of an Oxygen Thief," and it was similar in a way but just not quite. The concept was interesting, but I found myself getting repeatedly confused. Also, I just wasn't connecting with the story or characters the way I'd hoped I would. Since I didn't finish, I won't comment on the overall plot or ending, but I think this could still be a great read for someone who likes books with a lot of rambling or the "what the f*** is going on??" that this book gives.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is a well-written novel with great character development and beautiful, precise prose. I did get excited by the premise, having read the summary, and I got a little antsy when halfway through the novel there was still no pregnancy. However, I was enjoying the writing and felt connected to the characters so much that I had to keep reading to see what happens. I really enjoyed this one. I am only a little bummed that this is a debut novelist because I finished this book and wanted to immediately read more from the author. I will have to be patient. In the meantime, I think this novel would lend itself to a great reread.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I would first like to say this is not a genre I normally read, but after reading the description I couldn't help but request this book. Slightly predictable, but still wildly enjoyable.
Thank you Zando and NetGalley for this ARC!
Thank you Zando and NetGalley for this ARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Funny with heart, and tightly plotted. Cerf takes the premise and the characters seriously and gives them so much depth. I love how the different chapters are from different character’s perspectives. I loved it!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
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