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Karro
Not yet published
Expected 8 Apr 27Win a free print copy of this book!
16 days and 21:10:03
20 copies available
U.S. only
"Ingenious" – Yiyun Li, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Things In Nature Merely Grow
Ferrante meets Kitamura in this taut and sensual contemporary reimagining of Anna Karenina that fearlessly searches for the woman at its heart, while fully transforming the story we thought we knew, from critically acclaimed novelist Jenny Mustard.
On the cusp of her fortieth birthday, Karro has everything: a husband on the rise in London politics, a beautiful son, a luxurious Edwardian home, and money enough to waste her days on literature and the occasional dose of opium. When Karro falls into a consuming affair with a younger American artist, what begins as an awakening soon becomes a scandal, and society’s repercussions are immediate and severe. Karro's desires force her on a desperate pursuit of happiness—one that threatens to unravel not only her sense of self, but her entire existence.
Moving seamlessly between the high-society circles of London, Stockholm, the Côte d’Azur, and New York, Karro bravely revisits the age-old concept of the fallen woman and asks what it means to fall from grace today. An impassioned reimagining of Anna Karenina told in a first-person both tender and piercing, Karro is a psychologically astute and searingly honest portrait of a woman collapsing under the weight of motherhood and society's expectations. Like the wolf who chews off her own limb to escape, will Karro be able to free herself before it's too late? And in our contemporary age, what shape might that freedom take?
"A masterpiece" – Molly Aitken, author of Bright I Burn
"Exquisite" – Elaine Feeney, author of Let Me Go Mad In My Own Way
“Crackles with intelligence” – Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman
"Astonishing" – Kimberly King Parsons, author of We Were The Universe
“I fell in love with Karro from the first page” – Sandra Newman, author of Julia
Ferrante meets Kitamura in this taut and sensual contemporary reimagining of Anna Karenina that fearlessly searches for the woman at its heart, while fully transforming the story we thought we knew, from critically acclaimed novelist Jenny Mustard.
On the cusp of her fortieth birthday, Karro has everything: a husband on the rise in London politics, a beautiful son, a luxurious Edwardian home, and money enough to waste her days on literature and the occasional dose of opium. When Karro falls into a consuming affair with a younger American artist, what begins as an awakening soon becomes a scandal, and society’s repercussions are immediate and severe. Karro's desires force her on a desperate pursuit of happiness—one that threatens to unravel not only her sense of self, but her entire existence.
Moving seamlessly between the high-society circles of London, Stockholm, the Côte d’Azur, and New York, Karro bravely revisits the age-old concept of the fallen woman and asks what it means to fall from grace today. An impassioned reimagining of Anna Karenina told in a first-person both tender and piercing, Karro is a psychologically astute and searingly honest portrait of a woman collapsing under the weight of motherhood and society's expectations. Like the wolf who chews off her own limb to escape, will Karro be able to free herself before it's too late? And in our contemporary age, what shape might that freedom take?
"A masterpiece" – Molly Aitken, author of Bright I Burn
"Exquisite" – Elaine Feeney, author of Let Me Go Mad In My Own Way
“Crackles with intelligence” – Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman
"Astonishing" – Kimberly King Parsons, author of We Were The Universe
“I fell in love with Karro from the first page” – Sandra Newman, author of Julia
- GenresFiction
Kindle Edition
Expected publication April 20, 2027
About the author
Jenny Mustard
5 books729 followersJenny Mustard is a Swedish writer and creative, dividing her time between Sweden and London.
Jenny and her work have featured in the Observer, the Independent, Vogue, Stylist, the Evening Standard and elsewhere. She has over 600k followers, and more than 60 million views on YouTube.
Her acclaimed debut novel, OKAY DAYS, was published in 2023 and her work has been translated into ten languages. Her second novel, WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE, a New York Times Editors' Choice, was published in spring 2025.
Jenny and her work have featured in the Observer, the Independent, Vogue, Stylist, the Evening Standard and elsewhere. She has over 600k followers, and more than 60 million views on YouTube.
Her acclaimed debut novel, OKAY DAYS, was published in 2023 and her work has been translated into ten languages. Her second novel, WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE, a New York Times Editors' Choice, was published in spring 2025.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
But I am not a poor thing. I put myself here willingly, eyes open. Why? Oh, many reasons. But nothing poor about me.
This was a strange, disjunctive read for me but it ended up, after a false start (deliberate?), being intense and emotive. Which is strange because throughout about 70% of the narrative, I was characterising Karro's 1st person voice as clinical, cold and withholding: see that 'oh, many things', none of which are delineated, in the head quote. And it's not just that Karro holds back from telling us, the reader, what we want to know to make sense of her but that she is hiding from herself as well, so that we are experiencing her own internal concealments and maskings. It's this authorial juggling act - when I saw it - that makes this such a technically superb piece of writing with an emotional pay-off.
But on opening this book, together with the blurb which frames it as a modern re-writing of Anna Karenina, the whole thing felt a bit clumsy to me and, if I hadn't been reading an ARC for review, I would probably have DNF'd. The rather obvious parallels that feel both superficial and self-consciously re-doing Tolstoy made me want to skim. The relationships, especially that with Karro's young son, feel awkward and unconvincing; ditto those with her husband and her younger lover. I was mumbling to myself about first world problems as this scion of a wealthy publishing family who doesn't have to work, is married to a London MP, and has an affair with a millionaire artist who's never sold a piece and doesn't need to, who jets around the world, has a favourite champagne brand and just wants to lie around at home all day reading books (wouldn't we all?!) - but... but... the book then turns around and calls out readers like I had been with an abbreviated social media section that attacks Karro with precisely the same commentary about unnecessary privilege and ingratitude - and everything in my reading of the book turned around!
I don't want to give away spoilers but the way the book pivots is masterly - as is the way it carried me with it, so that my previous less than graceful reading of Karro became part of the story. After veering a long way from Anna Karenina, we come back to that book at the end, but not in any expected way. I ended up both impressed and, ultimately, moved by this book which looked as if it had started off as a thoughtless modern pastiche, but which ended up with me wanting to turn to the start and read it all over again.
A startling, clever, audacious piece of writing - just be patient at the start if, like me, this feels awkward and slight. Trust the author - she knows what she's doing.
Many thanks to Penguin for an ARC via NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book swept me away 100 times over. I love Karro and was consumed by her affair and how she sought happiness despite the risks. It felt like I was right there with her experiencing all of her emotions and the struggle to meet expectations as a woman. The writing was so beautiful and the flow of the book was perfection. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
“Just because I don’t feel like you do, doesn’t mean I don’t feel.” (p. 131)
When you are a ghost ship with a broken mast, you have no destination; you simply allow yourself, day after day, to be chased by every gust of wind that comes your way.
And all the treasures within you sink along with you when the current finally crashes you against the coastal cliffs.
Karro is lost. It is as if her essence has no deeper meaning. She exists in the environment she was born into, without truly understanding who she is or what she wants. She drifts and appears to herself and others like a phantom, burning and smoldering as if being broken herself were not enough.
Karro does not know what it is like to grow up differently, in a secure Swedish family, marrying a wealthy husband in London, and beginning a passionate affair with an even wealthier American artist of Korean descent. Her secure life allows her to do whatever she desires. But Karro is empty. Empty spiritually, socially, and within her family. Playing roles in her daily life, she manages only the theatrical minimum: a mother who can never truly feel a connection with her son; a visually striking wife who lives a parallel, solitary life, filling all her time with books; a socially provocative writer who, without fully revealing herself to anyone, is unable to write even a single line.
Hypocrite.
It is quite pathetic, but the approaching age of forty acts like a popped champagne cork, releasing all the unfulfilled emptiness and unhealed childhood traumas, because Karro can no longer play any of these roles.
A midlife crisis, a marriage crisis, a personality crisis.
Karro is like an egocentric planet that revolves only around itself; she is unable to break out of this fixed axis and cannot see anything beyond her own darkness, failing to realize the massive void she is sowing in her own child.
Karro feels like two different people. There is Karro, whom I really, really like, and there is Karina, who is incomprehensible and off-putting.
Would Karro be different if her life were burdened by the struggle for daily survival? Would she have time to focus so much on herself and sink into this void, where those around her are constantly indulging her and trying to fill these leaking holes?
I liked the scratching, slightly cold, melancholic tone of the book, which resonates with both Swedish and cosmopolitan sensibilities.
As the author herself writes, I react to the text with my own emotions: (“I’m careful not to slip into that framework, instead I try to stay honest to my subjective impression of the text. Like how it spoke to me, specifically?” p. 165). I am critical; I do not want to understand Karro, yet at the same time, I understand her a little. It is ironic, a boomerang effect where Karro criticizes her brother’s marital crisis and categorizes cheating, only to immediately and recklessly leap into this pleasurable, and hopeless temptation herself.
Since I read an ARC (Advanced Reader’s Copy) and the book has not yet been published, it is possible this is only a rough draft; however, it seems the book is in desperate need of an editor and proofreader. I do not know if it is a result of the authors Swedish language or a specific stylistic choice by the author, but I found the lack of dialogue formatting, incorporating it into one massive block of text with the narrative, quite difficult to read. At times, I had to pause and wonder if these were the character’s thoughts or spoken dialogue.
I am by no means an expert in English, as it is only my third language, but at times it was difficult to grasp the punctuation and vocabulary. It feels like there are countless errors: misplaced commas, question marks used instead of exclamation points or vice versa, and dialogue that is not clearly marked. There isn't a single page that wouldn’t benefit from a review of punctuation or orthography. To emphasize—every single page. It felt as if I were reading a first draft that had never been read or corrected by an editor. For example: “Maybe I should have started here, I didn’t know what you, how to start.” (p. 131) (extra ‘you’); “It sounds like pack snow” (p. 280) (maybe be ‘packed snow’?), etc.
Despite that..
It was interesting to read how the author describes the strange feeling of reading or expressing certain things in Swedish; it resonates so much with my own experience with the Latvian language: “Reading about heightening emotions in our own language, especially if at all poetic, we will squirm. I’ve gone off some novels this way. I pause and pull my legs up under me. But reading in another language, there’s like a remove. I mean, there’s a distancing.” (p. 38)
Speaking of trains, tracks, and the unhappy mother/mistress syndrome, I could not help but think of Anna Karenina., The similarities between Karro, Karina, and Karenina; the author wanted to breathe a new version of Karenina into modern times. I liked Anna Karenina very, very much.
Despite all that, I really liked it—the emotions (even if they were mostly negative), the carousel of the plot, and the slow-moving text, as if the protagonist were under the influence of a mixture of alcohol and pills. Emotional feeling- fog and coldness of North.
The cover and title are excellent.
4 stars. I think this will be a big one.
Thank you to NetGalley for sharing this mystery’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
LATVIAN
“Just because I don’t feel like you do, doesn’t mean I don’t feel.” (131.lpp.)
Kad tu esi pamests spoku kuģis ar nolauztu mastu, tev nav galamērķa, tikai dienu no dienas ļaujiet dzenāt sevi jebkurai vēja brāzmai, kas nonāk tavā tuvumā. Un visi tie dārgumi, kas ir tevī, nogrimst līdz ar tevi, kad beidzot straume tevi triec pret krasta klintīm.
Karro ir zudusi. It kā viņas būtībai nav nekādas dziļākas jēgas. Viņa eksistē šajā vidē, kāda ir radusies, īsti nesaprotot, kas viņa ir un ko pati vēlas. Sev un citiem, kā rēgs klīst un parādās, dedzina un gruzdina, it kā nepietiktu ar vienu pašu salauzto-sevi. Karro nezina, kā ir savādāk, augot nodrošinātā zviedru ģimenē, apprecoties ar bagātu vīru Londonā un sākot kaislīgu romānu ar vēl bagātāku korejiešu izcesmes amerikāņu mākslinieku. Nodrošinātā dzīve ļauj viņai darīt jebko, ko viņa vēlas. Bet Karro, ir tukša. Tukša gan dvēleliski, gan sabiedriski, gan ģimeniski. Spēlējot lomas ikdienā, viņa spēj piepildīt teatrāli minimumu- māte, kura nekad pa īstam nespēj sajust saikni ar dēlu, vizuāli iespaidīgā sieva, kura dzīvo paralēli vienpatīgo dzīvi, aizpildot visu savu laiku ar grāmatām, sabiedriski izaicinošā, līdz galam nevienam neatklājošā rakstniece, nespējot uzrakstīt pat ne rindiņu.
Divkosīgums
Gluži patētiski, bet tieši tuvojošā četrdesmitagade ir kā šampanieša pudeles korķa izšāviens, kas parauj vaļā visu nepiepildīto tukšumu un neizdzīvotās bērnības traumas, jo Karro nespēj vairs tēlot nevienu no šīm lomām.
Pusmūža krīze, laulības krīze, personības krīze.
Karro ir kā egocentriska planēta, kas visu laiku riņķo tikai ap sevi un nespēj iziet no šīs iegrieztās ass, nespēj saredzēt neko ārpus sava aptumsuma, cik milzu tukšuma sēklu viņa iesēj pati savā bērnā.
Karro ir kā divi dažādi cilvēki. Karro, kas man ļoti, ļoti patīk. Un Karīna, kas ir nesaprotama un atgrūž. Vai Karro būtu citāda, ja viņas dzīvē būtu rūpes par ikdienas iztiku?! Vai viņai būtu laiks fokusēties tik daudz uz sevi un ieslīgt šajā nepiepildītajā tukšumā, kurā apkārtējie nepārtraukti izdabā un mēģina aizpildīt šos sūces caurumus?!
Man patika šis skrāpējošais, mazliet saltais, melnahoniskais tonis, kurā daudz ieskanās zviedriskais un kosmopolitāniskais.
Kā autore pati raksta, es reaģēju ar savām emocijām uz tekstu, (“I’m careful not to slip into that framework, instead I try to stay honest to my subjective impression of the text. Like how ir spoke to me, specifically?”(165.lpp.)) es esmu kritiska, es negribu saprast Karro, un reizē es viņu mazliet saprotu.
Gluži ironiski, kā bumeranga efekts, kurā Karro kritizē brāļa laulības krīzi un kategorizē krāpšanu, apmāti tūlīt pat vieglprātīgi ielecot šajā baudpilnajā, miesiskajā, beznākotnes kārdinājumā.
Tā kā lasīju ARC (advanced readers copy) un grāmata nav izdota, iespējams, ka šī ir tikai melnā versija, bet man liekas grāmatai nepieciešams labāks redaktors un korektors. Nezinu, vai pie vainas zviedru valoda, iespējams, ka īpašais veids kā autore raksta, bet man lasīšanu apgrūtināja dialogu neatzīmēšana- iekļaušana vienā masīvā blokā ar pārējo tekstu. Vietām domājot, vai tās ir varones domas, vai skaļi izteikts teksts. Es nebūt neesmu angļu valodas speciāliste, man tā ir tikai trešā valoda, bet vietām bija grūti uztvert interpunkciju nozīmi un vārdus. Liekas, ka ir neskaitāmi daudz kļūdu, nevietā komati, izsaukumu vietā jautājumzīmes vai otrādi, tiešā runa nav atzīmēta, viss vienā masīvā blokā. Nav neviena lappuse, kurā nevajadzētu pārskatīt interpunkcijas vai ortogrāfijas kļūdas. Ar uzsvaru- katrā lappusē. It kā es lasītu pirmo versiju un neviens korektors nebūtu lasījis un labojis tekstu. Piemēram- ‘’Maybe I should have started here, I didn’t know what you, how to start.’’(131.lpp.) (lieks you) ‘’It sounds like pack snow’’(280.lpp.) (packed snow?) utt.
Interesanti lasīt, kā autore stāsta par jocīgo sajūtu atsevišķas lietas lasīt/izteikt zviedriski, tik ļoti rezonē par latviešu valodu. “Reading about heightening emotions in our own language, especially if at all poetic, we will squirm. I’ve gone off some novels this way. I pause and pull my legs up under me. But reading in another language, there’s like a remove. I mean, there’s a distancing.” (38.lpp.)
Runājot par vilcienu, sliedēm, nelaimīgo mātes/mīļākās sindromu, es nespēju nedomāt par Annu Kareņinu, nezinu, vai tas ir speciāli, it sevišķi ņemot vērā Karro, Karīna, Kareņina līdzības, iespējams, autore vēlējās no jauna iedvest šo Kareņinas versiju mūsdienās. Man ļoti, ļoti patika Anna Kareņina, tāpēc šīs paralēles nevaru nesaredzēt arī Karro.
Neskatoties uz to visu, man ļoti patika, emocijas (pat ja tās bija tik daudz negatīvām noskaņām), sižeta riņķdancis un lēnivelkošais teksts, it kā varone būtu zem alkohola un tablešu sajaukuma. Emocionālā nosakaņa- skandināvu migla un sals.
Vāks/nosaukums- lielisks.
4 zvaigznes. Tur kaut kam ir jābūt.
When you are a ghost ship with a broken mast, you have no destination; you simply allow yourself, day after day, to be chased by every gust of wind that comes your way.
And all the treasures within you sink along with you when the current finally crashes you against the coastal cliffs.
Karro is lost. It is as if her essence has no deeper meaning. She exists in the environment she was born into, without truly understanding who she is or what she wants. She drifts and appears to herself and others like a phantom, burning and smoldering as if being broken herself were not enough.
Karro does not know what it is like to grow up differently, in a secure Swedish family, marrying a wealthy husband in London, and beginning a passionate affair with an even wealthier American artist of Korean descent. Her secure life allows her to do whatever she desires. But Karro is empty. Empty spiritually, socially, and within her family. Playing roles in her daily life, she manages only the theatrical minimum: a mother who can never truly feel a connection with her son; a visually striking wife who lives a parallel, solitary life, filling all her time with books; a socially provocative writer who, without fully revealing herself to anyone, is unable to write even a single line.
Hypocrite.
It is quite pathetic, but the approaching age of forty acts like a popped champagne cork, releasing all the unfulfilled emptiness and unhealed childhood traumas, because Karro can no longer play any of these roles.
A midlife crisis, a marriage crisis, a personality crisis.
Karro is like an egocentric planet that revolves only around itself; she is unable to break out of this fixed axis and cannot see anything beyond her own darkness, failing to realize the massive void she is sowing in her own child.
Karro feels like two different people. There is Karro, whom I really, really like, and there is Karina, who is incomprehensible and off-putting.
Would Karro be different if her life were burdened by the struggle for daily survival? Would she have time to focus so much on herself and sink into this void, where those around her are constantly indulging her and trying to fill these leaking holes?
I liked the scratching, slightly cold, melancholic tone of the book, which resonates with both Swedish and cosmopolitan sensibilities.
As the author herself writes, I react to the text with my own emotions: (“I’m careful not to slip into that framework, instead I try to stay honest to my subjective impression of the text. Like how it spoke to me, specifically?” p. 165). I am critical; I do not want to understand Karro, yet at the same time, I understand her a little. It is ironic, a boomerang effect where Karro criticizes her brother’s marital crisis and categorizes cheating, only to immediately and recklessly leap into this pleasurable, and hopeless temptation herself.
Since I read an ARC (Advanced Reader’s Copy) and the book has not yet been published, it is possible this is only a rough draft; however, it seems the book is in desperate need of an editor and proofreader. I do not know if it is a result of the authors Swedish language or a specific stylistic choice by the author, but I found the lack of dialogue formatting, incorporating it into one massive block of text with the narrative, quite difficult to read. At times, I had to pause and wonder if these were the character’s thoughts or spoken dialogue.
I am by no means an expert in English, as it is only my third language, but at times it was difficult to grasp the punctuation and vocabulary. It feels like there are countless errors: misplaced commas, question marks used instead of exclamation points or vice versa, and dialogue that is not clearly marked. There isn't a single page that wouldn’t benefit from a review of punctuation or orthography. To emphasize—every single page. It felt as if I were reading a first draft that had never been read or corrected by an editor. For example: “Maybe I should have started here, I didn’t know what you, how to start.” (p. 131) (extra ‘you’); “It sounds like pack snow” (p. 280) (maybe be ‘packed snow’?), etc.
Despite that..
It was interesting to read how the author describes the strange feeling of reading or expressing certain things in Swedish; it resonates so much with my own experience with the Latvian language: “Reading about heightening emotions in our own language, especially if at all poetic, we will squirm. I’ve gone off some novels this way. I pause and pull my legs up under me. But reading in another language, there’s like a remove. I mean, there’s a distancing.” (p. 38)
Speaking of trains, tracks, and the unhappy mother/mistress syndrome, I could not help but think of Anna Karenina., The similarities between Karro, Karina, and Karenina; the author wanted to breathe a new version of Karenina into modern times. I liked Anna Karenina very, very much.
Despite all that, I really liked it—the emotions (even if they were mostly negative), the carousel of the plot, and the slow-moving text, as if the protagonist were under the influence of a mixture of alcohol and pills. Emotional feeling- fog and coldness of North.
The cover and title are excellent.
4 stars. I think this will be a big one.
Thank you to NetGalley for sharing this mystery’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
LATVIAN
“Just because I don’t feel like you do, doesn’t mean I don’t feel.” (131.lpp.)
Kad tu esi pamests spoku kuģis ar nolauztu mastu, tev nav galamērķa, tikai dienu no dienas ļaujiet dzenāt sevi jebkurai vēja brāzmai, kas nonāk tavā tuvumā. Un visi tie dārgumi, kas ir tevī, nogrimst līdz ar tevi, kad beidzot straume tevi triec pret krasta klintīm.
Karro ir zudusi. It kā viņas būtībai nav nekādas dziļākas jēgas. Viņa eksistē šajā vidē, kāda ir radusies, īsti nesaprotot, kas viņa ir un ko pati vēlas. Sev un citiem, kā rēgs klīst un parādās, dedzina un gruzdina, it kā nepietiktu ar vienu pašu salauzto-sevi. Karro nezina, kā ir savādāk, augot nodrošinātā zviedru ģimenē, apprecoties ar bagātu vīru Londonā un sākot kaislīgu romānu ar vēl bagātāku korejiešu izcesmes amerikāņu mākslinieku. Nodrošinātā dzīve ļauj viņai darīt jebko, ko viņa vēlas. Bet Karro, ir tukša. Tukša gan dvēleliski, gan sabiedriski, gan ģimeniski. Spēlējot lomas ikdienā, viņa spēj piepildīt teatrāli minimumu- māte, kura nekad pa īstam nespēj sajust saikni ar dēlu, vizuāli iespaidīgā sieva, kura dzīvo paralēli vienpatīgo dzīvi, aizpildot visu savu laiku ar grāmatām, sabiedriski izaicinošā, līdz galam nevienam neatklājošā rakstniece, nespējot uzrakstīt pat ne rindiņu.
Divkosīgums
Gluži patētiski, bet tieši tuvojošā četrdesmitagade ir kā šampanieša pudeles korķa izšāviens, kas parauj vaļā visu nepiepildīto tukšumu un neizdzīvotās bērnības traumas, jo Karro nespēj vairs tēlot nevienu no šīm lomām.
Pusmūža krīze, laulības krīze, personības krīze.
Karro ir kā egocentriska planēta, kas visu laiku riņķo tikai ap sevi un nespēj iziet no šīs iegrieztās ass, nespēj saredzēt neko ārpus sava aptumsuma, cik milzu tukšuma sēklu viņa iesēj pati savā bērnā.
Karro ir kā divi dažādi cilvēki. Karro, kas man ļoti, ļoti patīk. Un Karīna, kas ir nesaprotama un atgrūž. Vai Karro būtu citāda, ja viņas dzīvē būtu rūpes par ikdienas iztiku?! Vai viņai būtu laiks fokusēties tik daudz uz sevi un ieslīgt šajā nepiepildītajā tukšumā, kurā apkārtējie nepārtraukti izdabā un mēģina aizpildīt šos sūces caurumus?!
Man patika šis skrāpējošais, mazliet saltais, melnahoniskais tonis, kurā daudz ieskanās zviedriskais un kosmopolitāniskais.
Kā autore pati raksta, es reaģēju ar savām emocijām uz tekstu, (“I’m careful not to slip into that framework, instead I try to stay honest to my subjective impression of the text. Like how ir spoke to me, specifically?”(165.lpp.)) es esmu kritiska, es negribu saprast Karro, un reizē es viņu mazliet saprotu.
Gluži ironiski, kā bumeranga efekts, kurā Karro kritizē brāļa laulības krīzi un kategorizē krāpšanu, apmāti tūlīt pat vieglprātīgi ielecot šajā baudpilnajā, miesiskajā, beznākotnes kārdinājumā.
Tā kā lasīju ARC (advanced readers copy) un grāmata nav izdota, iespējams, ka šī ir tikai melnā versija, bet man liekas grāmatai nepieciešams labāks redaktors un korektors. Nezinu, vai pie vainas zviedru valoda, iespējams, ka īpašais veids kā autore raksta, bet man lasīšanu apgrūtināja dialogu neatzīmēšana- iekļaušana vienā masīvā blokā ar pārējo tekstu. Vietām domājot, vai tās ir varones domas, vai skaļi izteikts teksts. Es nebūt neesmu angļu valodas speciāliste, man tā ir tikai trešā valoda, bet vietām bija grūti uztvert interpunkciju nozīmi un vārdus. Liekas, ka ir neskaitāmi daudz kļūdu, nevietā komati, izsaukumu vietā jautājumzīmes vai otrādi, tiešā runa nav atzīmēta, viss vienā masīvā blokā. Nav neviena lappuse, kurā nevajadzētu pārskatīt interpunkcijas vai ortogrāfijas kļūdas. Ar uzsvaru- katrā lappusē. It kā es lasītu pirmo versiju un neviens korektors nebūtu lasījis un labojis tekstu. Piemēram- ‘’Maybe I should have started here, I didn’t know what you, how to start.’’(131.lpp.) (lieks you) ‘’It sounds like pack snow’’(280.lpp.) (packed snow?) utt.
Interesanti lasīt, kā autore stāsta par jocīgo sajūtu atsevišķas lietas lasīt/izteikt zviedriski, tik ļoti rezonē par latviešu valodu. “Reading about heightening emotions in our own language, especially if at all poetic, we will squirm. I’ve gone off some novels this way. I pause and pull my legs up under me. But reading in another language, there’s like a remove. I mean, there’s a distancing.” (38.lpp.)
Runājot par vilcienu, sliedēm, nelaimīgo mātes/mīļākās sindromu, es nespēju nedomāt par Annu Kareņinu, nezinu, vai tas ir speciāli, it sevišķi ņemot vērā Karro, Karīna, Kareņina līdzības, iespējams, autore vēlējās no jauna iedvest šo Kareņinas versiju mūsdienās. Man ļoti, ļoti patika Anna Kareņina, tāpēc šīs paralēles nevaru nesaredzēt arī Karro.
Neskatoties uz to visu, man ļoti patika, emocijas (pat ja tās bija tik daudz negatīvām noskaņām), sižeta riņķdancis un lēnivelkošais teksts, it kā varone būtu zem alkohola un tablešu sajaukuma. Emocionālā nosakaņa- skandināvu migla un sals.
Vāks/nosaukums- lielisks.
4 zvaigznes. Tur kaut kam ir jābūt.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Got to love a Swedish take on a Russian classic...
This novel fits a Swedish zeitgeist that we know from the films of Ingmar Bergman - human isolation and damaged family dynamics, all greased with some ennui and introspection. I was fascinated to be in the head of Karro/Karina. She lives a privileged, relatively idle life in London with her politician husband and young son, returning to Sweden annually to see her family. With time, staff, books and money Karro is essentially a loner and spends her days playing out familiar existential tropes.
During a visit to Sweden she meets a young Korean/American artist and her life spins off at a tangent. Through Mustard's spare, corrosive prose we live Karro's story and personal insights. Much like royalty of yesteryear she never explains, never complains nor bothers with the outside world castigating and vilifying every move she makes. She tells it how it is when happy, unhappy and unravelling.
I found it hard to "understand" this woman yet I believed in her even as I disliked her modus operandi. A forensic character sketch written to snare the reader. Certainly this one!
With thanks to #NetGalley and #PenguinUK for the opportunity to read and review
This novel fits a Swedish zeitgeist that we know from the films of Ingmar Bergman - human isolation and damaged family dynamics, all greased with some ennui and introspection. I was fascinated to be in the head of Karro/Karina. She lives a privileged, relatively idle life in London with her politician husband and young son, returning to Sweden annually to see her family. With time, staff, books and money Karro is essentially a loner and spends her days playing out familiar existential tropes.
During a visit to Sweden she meets a young Korean/American artist and her life spins off at a tangent. Through Mustard's spare, corrosive prose we live Karro's story and personal insights. Much like royalty of yesteryear she never explains, never complains nor bothers with the outside world castigating and vilifying every move she makes. She tells it how it is when happy, unhappy and unravelling.
I found it hard to "understand" this woman yet I believed in her even as I disliked her modus operandi. A forensic character sketch written to snare the reader. Certainly this one!
With thanks to #NetGalley and #PenguinUK for the opportunity to read and review
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I received an advance review copy of Karro from NetGalley, and this is my honest review. Although I haven't read Anna Karenina, I am familiar with the story, so I was intrigued by Jenny Mustard's contemporary reimagining.
Here, Karro is Swedish and living in London with her wealthy MP husband, Aharnish, and their son, Sakarias. Karro is heir to a Swedish publishing house and enjoys a comfortable life as a wife, mother, and socialite, with time to read and pursue her interests in art. The novel explores Karro's unravelling following a scandalous affair with a younger man.
Written in the first person, we are drawn deeply into Karro's world; her life, her happiness and freedom, her past and, increasingly, her deterioration. I found the characters very interesting. Karro frustrated me at times and was difficult to understand, but I think this is the intention. Karro seemingly has everything; a loving family, wealth, freedom, and the opportunity to pursue her interests, yet remains unhappy. The novel explores this contradiction honestly, as well as how dissatisfaction can gradually take hold.
I particularly liked Aharnish's behaviour, decency, and compassion. He could quite easily have been portrayed as vindictive, but he is forgiving and sympathetic and not influenced by others. I was also drawn to the side storyline of Stephan and his wife in Sweden, which gave more context for Karro's issues. There are some interesting themes here, particularly love, grief, and the very different ways men and women are treated when scandal enters their lives.
I enjoyed the way Mustard explores Karro's inner world, and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Here, Karro is Swedish and living in London with her wealthy MP husband, Aharnish, and their son, Sakarias. Karro is heir to a Swedish publishing house and enjoys a comfortable life as a wife, mother, and socialite, with time to read and pursue her interests in art. The novel explores Karro's unravelling following a scandalous affair with a younger man.
Written in the first person, we are drawn deeply into Karro's world; her life, her happiness and freedom, her past and, increasingly, her deterioration. I found the characters very interesting. Karro frustrated me at times and was difficult to understand, but I think this is the intention. Karro seemingly has everything; a loving family, wealth, freedom, and the opportunity to pursue her interests, yet remains unhappy. The novel explores this contradiction honestly, as well as how dissatisfaction can gradually take hold.
I particularly liked Aharnish's behaviour, decency, and compassion. He could quite easily have been portrayed as vindictive, but he is forgiving and sympathetic and not influenced by others. I was also drawn to the side storyline of Stephan and his wife in Sweden, which gave more context for Karro's issues. There are some interesting themes here, particularly love, grief, and the very different ways men and women are treated when scandal enters their lives.
I enjoyed the way Mustard explores Karro's inner world, and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A modern retelling of Anna Karenina, I was immersed in Karro. Incredible dialogues, stream of consciousness style, and oozing with seduction and self sabotage, I could not stop reading.
OVERVIEW
I went in blind and so should you, given the chance. If you like messy reads and wrestling with the human condition, you'll like it.
If you've read any of Mustard's other books, you'll find this one in a league of it's own. What makes Karro stand out is a new writing style, I found similar to Katie Kitamura but more digestible, like Mustard let loose her creative flow straight onto the page. I flew through the pages that all melted together, slipping between dialogues and the decomposing metal state of our protagonist.
I have not read Anna Karenina nor did look up anything about it until after finishing. I find it stands perfectly well on its own, so don't worry if you don't know the original, it will just make your read through all the more thrilling.
READ IF YOU LOVE
messy women
moral debates
all vibes no plot
unlikeable main characters
OVERVIEW
I went in blind and so should you, given the chance. If you like messy reads and wrestling with the human condition, you'll like it.
If you've read any of Mustard's other books, you'll find this one in a league of it's own. What makes Karro stand out is a new writing style, I found similar to Katie Kitamura but more digestible, like Mustard let loose her creative flow straight onto the page. I flew through the pages that all melted together, slipping between dialogues and the decomposing metal state of our protagonist.
I have not read Anna Karenina nor did look up anything about it until after finishing. I find it stands perfectly well on its own, so don't worry if you don't know the original, it will just make your read through all the more thrilling.
READ IF YOU LOVE
messy women
moral debates
all vibes no plot
unlikeable main characters
October 7, 2026
Review of Advance Copy received from NetGalley
“Karro”’s billing as a contemporary reimagining of Anna Karenina immediately intrigued me. I didn’t expect to have such an emotionally conflicted, yet richly reflective, experience reading this.
The writing is gorgeous and I found myself as a reader very torn on where I wanted the story to go, how I wanted Karro’s relationships to play out. Karro isn’t entirely likable but she’s written honestly. What more can we ask for from characters?
I wish I would’ve better understood what drew Karro to her younger lover, but his character felt flat and underdeveloped. Upon reflection perhaps that’s the point. The depth of Karro’s introspection as the book went on more than made up for the lack of richness in her male mirrors.
“Karro”’s billing as a contemporary reimagining of Anna Karenina immediately intrigued me. I didn’t expect to have such an emotionally conflicted, yet richly reflective, experience reading this.
The writing is gorgeous and I found myself as a reader very torn on where I wanted the story to go, how I wanted Karro’s relationships to play out. Karro isn’t entirely likable but she’s written honestly. What more can we ask for from characters?
I wish I would’ve better understood what drew Karro to her younger lover, but his character felt flat and underdeveloped. Upon reflection perhaps that’s the point. The depth of Karro’s introspection as the book went on more than made up for the lack of richness in her male mirrors.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I loved the light touch of the prose in this, the existential silence in the gaps between what Karro thinks and says. There is so much that she takes for granted, which is hard to stomach as a reader, and yet Jenny Mustard still manages to create a world in which Karro deserves a chance. Engrossing, readable and emotional despite the detachment of the prose and Karro herself.
August 30, 2026
Reading Karro is like seeing some of Anna Karenina classic landmarks rise again, this time to form a new, spectacular skyline. The view is honestly breathtaking and I really appreciate the way Jenny Mustard reimagined Tolstoj’s classic.
Karro has everything, a loving, wealthy husband, a happy son, her books (and all the time and resources to actually read them) - but a privileged life can only bring you so far. When she meets a younger American artist, she finds herself caught in an all-consuming affair.
I picked this book up and couldn’t put it down. The pacing was great, the themes crisp, and the storytelling sensual and compelling. Switching between stream of consciousness, sharp dialogues, and back again, we are presented with Karro’s inner turmoil as she navigates the world. The psychology of Karro is delicately dissected, and I think the author did an excellent job at creating a full fledged, complex woman. I mean, whether you like it or not, Karro is a white, privileged, upper class woman. Her problems are ultimately rich-people problems created all by herself. Still, I had compassion for her and wanted Karro to succeed in her pursuit of happiness.
I anticipate Karro to be a divisive read, as not all Karro’s choices might be appreciated amongst readers. But isn’t that the beauty of Literature? To be shown other perspectives and imagine what you would or wouldn’t do?
I really liked this one!
4.5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin General UK for the ARC.
Karro has everything, a loving, wealthy husband, a happy son, her books (and all the time and resources to actually read them) - but a privileged life can only bring you so far. When she meets a younger American artist, she finds herself caught in an all-consuming affair.
I picked this book up and couldn’t put it down. The pacing was great, the themes crisp, and the storytelling sensual and compelling. Switching between stream of consciousness, sharp dialogues, and back again, we are presented with Karro’s inner turmoil as she navigates the world. The psychology of Karro is delicately dissected, and I think the author did an excellent job at creating a full fledged, complex woman. I mean, whether you like it or not, Karro is a white, privileged, upper class woman. Her problems are ultimately rich-people problems created all by herself. Still, I had compassion for her and wanted Karro to succeed in her pursuit of happiness.
I anticipate Karro to be a divisive read, as not all Karro’s choices might be appreciated amongst readers. But isn’t that the beauty of Literature? To be shown other perspectives and imagine what you would or wouldn’t do?
I really liked this one!
4.5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin General UK for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin UK for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Okay, I loved Karro. There’s something so compelling about being stuck inside Karro’s head - she’s detached, observant, selfish, self-aware and sometimes completely impossible to like, but I couldn’t look away. I especially loved how unapologetically honest her inner voice is. She notices everything, judges everyone, contradicts herself, and then immediately picks apart her own thoughts. It felt much closer to an actual mind at work than the polished interiority you usually get in fiction.
The structure really worked for me too. It moves through memories, observations, relationships and moments without feeling particularly interested in giving you a neat, linear narrative. Instead, everything seems to follow the logic of Karro’s consciousness, which made the whole thing feel strangely intimate and immersive.
There’s also something wonderfully cold about the writing that somehow makes the emotional moments hit harder. Strange, uncomfortable, funny and completely absorbing. I absolutely loved this.
4.5 ⭐️
Okay, I loved Karro. There’s something so compelling about being stuck inside Karro’s head - she’s detached, observant, selfish, self-aware and sometimes completely impossible to like, but I couldn’t look away. I especially loved how unapologetically honest her inner voice is. She notices everything, judges everyone, contradicts herself, and then immediately picks apart her own thoughts. It felt much closer to an actual mind at work than the polished interiority you usually get in fiction.
The structure really worked for me too. It moves through memories, observations, relationships and moments without feeling particularly interested in giving you a neat, linear narrative. Instead, everything seems to follow the logic of Karro’s consciousness, which made the whole thing feel strangely intimate and immersive.
There’s also something wonderfully cold about the writing that somehow makes the emotional moments hit harder. Strange, uncomfortable, funny and completely absorbing. I absolutely loved this.
4.5 ⭐️
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This narrative sheds a light on what it feels like to be a fallen woman in modern times. Karro, a socialite, wife and mother starts a passionate affair with a much younger artist and causes a general outrage.
Though Karro is very emotionally distant at times, I thought the exploration of her psyche was very insightful and realistic. We get the whole, ugly truth about what she thinks, who she judges and what she feels. I liked that she felt more like a real person. The decisions she makes are questionable, but I ended up relating to her anyway.
It also made me think about how society treats women once they no longer fulfill their assigned role. After Karro starts an affair, she is no longer a respected wife and mother, and is punished with social isolation as a result. Won-sik, the man she has the affair with, however, doesn't receive nearly as much of the backlash.
Karro was insightful and thought-provoking. Definitely worth a read for anyone!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
Though Karro is very emotionally distant at times, I thought the exploration of her psyche was very insightful and realistic. We get the whole, ugly truth about what she thinks, who she judges and what she feels. I liked that she felt more like a real person. The decisions she makes are questionable, but I ended up relating to her anyway.
It also made me think about how society treats women once they no longer fulfill their assigned role. After Karro starts an affair, she is no longer a respected wife and mother, and is punished with social isolation as a result. Won-sik, the man she has the affair with, however, doesn't receive nearly as much of the backlash.
Karro was insightful and thought-provoking. Definitely worth a read for anyone!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Jenny Mustard's third novel has been described as a re-telling of Anna Karenina - this does the work a disservice in my opinion. There are nods to Tolstoy's epic novel, but if you read this looking for how each major beat of that novel is going to play out, it is only going to distract you and perhaps even disappoint you. So treat it for what it is - the story of Karro, a woman about to turn forty, who seems to have it all - a successful husband, a beautiful son, an expensive house. Then she meets a younger man, an American artist called Won-sik, an affair begins and Karro's life is changed forever.
Mustard writes in a very cool, clinical manner - we inhabit Karro's life through a first person narration. She is a woman, not always likeable, who makes mistakes but tries to do the best by her husband Aharnish and their son Sakarias. Her interactions with them and with Won-sik drive this icy, yet emotional novel, and under that coldness we sense Karro's beating heart. This is a very modern story, refracted through the prism of Tolstoy.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
Mustard writes in a very cool, clinical manner - we inhabit Karro's life through a first person narration. She is a woman, not always likeable, who makes mistakes but tries to do the best by her husband Aharnish and their son Sakarias. Her interactions with them and with Won-sik drive this icy, yet emotional novel, and under that coldness we sense Karro's beating heart. This is a very modern story, refracted through the prism of Tolstoy.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This has jumped straight into my top 5 books of this year. It is one of those stories where I sort of hated but also loved the character and it’s just beautiful and tragic.
Karro is privileged, judgy and self-aware as she makes all these life choices that had me sort of screaming at her to stop but also thinking “if I were in that situation, I’m not sure what I’d do differently”. You navigate Karro’s inner turmoil right alongside her with the ‘stream of consciousness’ prose making you feel like you’re in her head with her.
While it took a few pages to get used to the writing style, it ultimately made the book unputdownable and the pacing was perfect.
I’ve already bullied a few people into pre-ordering!
Karro is privileged, judgy and self-aware as she makes all these life choices that had me sort of screaming at her to stop but also thinking “if I were in that situation, I’m not sure what I’d do differently”. You navigate Karro’s inner turmoil right alongside her with the ‘stream of consciousness’ prose making you feel like you’re in her head with her.
While it took a few pages to get used to the writing style, it ultimately made the book unputdownable and the pacing was perfect.
I’ve already bullied a few people into pre-ordering!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Honest Review Provided in Exchange for ARC from NetGalley
There is something perversely satisfying about finishing a novel and finding yourself reluctant to leave the mind of a person you'd go to considerable lengths to avoid in real life. And yet this was my experience of Jenny Mustard’s Karro. Karro is utterly infuriating - she's vain, she's pretentious, she's self-indulgent, and she's occasionally downright awful, and yet her head is a fascinating place to be, Mustard’s prose spare yet precise, her decision to use unmarked dialogue giving the whole narration a dreamlike sort of quality throughout. Karro is not a likable protagonist by any means, but she is a compelling one, and that’s far more important.
A modern-day retelling of Anna Karenina, Karro is every bit as self-destructive as Anna, every bit as opiate-dependent as Anna, considerably, in my opinion, more self-centered and narcissistic than Anna (and utterly, deeply oblivious to her own narcissism), but the prose is so gorgeous, so dreamlike, so vividly imagined, that I kept finding myself thinking as I read: You are insufferable; please keep talking.
Keep talking she does, and the more she continues, the more you find yourself falling into the trap Mustard has set: in echoes of Anna Karenina, while Karro’s equally culpable male counterpart bears none of Karro’s scorn and judgment, Karro bears it all, and while her judgment might be earned, its viciousness is disproportionate, its laser focus on the sole woman in the equation infuriating, Tolstoy's ghost flitting triumphantly around the page the more my agitation grew, saying: hello, me again, I said all of this 150 years ago, in a different time, a different society, a different country; yet here you are in 2026 reading it all over again and knowing the truth of it, still. And across time and space and distance, certain fundamental truths will always hold, truths like: given the choice, we will always, every time, find a way to blame the woman and absolve the man.
I felt a clash of emotions for this woman as I read, ranging from sympathy to mild irritation to outrage; never once did I actually identify with her. And yet when Mustard drives that final nail in, the one that says we're still doing this in 2026, you know we are, I found myself outraged not at Karro, but on her behalf.
Empathy for a character who is fundamentally decent and treated unfairly is very easy for a writer to engender. Empathy for a character who honestly kind of sucks, that has to be earned against the reader’s own resistance, is another trick entirely, and one that Jenny Mustard pulls off expertly.
There is something perversely satisfying about finishing a novel and finding yourself reluctant to leave the mind of a person you'd go to considerable lengths to avoid in real life. And yet this was my experience of Jenny Mustard’s Karro. Karro is utterly infuriating - she's vain, she's pretentious, she's self-indulgent, and she's occasionally downright awful, and yet her head is a fascinating place to be, Mustard’s prose spare yet precise, her decision to use unmarked dialogue giving the whole narration a dreamlike sort of quality throughout. Karro is not a likable protagonist by any means, but she is a compelling one, and that’s far more important.
A modern-day retelling of Anna Karenina, Karro is every bit as self-destructive as Anna, every bit as opiate-dependent as Anna, considerably, in my opinion, more self-centered and narcissistic than Anna (and utterly, deeply oblivious to her own narcissism), but the prose is so gorgeous, so dreamlike, so vividly imagined, that I kept finding myself thinking as I read: You are insufferable; please keep talking.
Keep talking she does, and the more she continues, the more you find yourself falling into the trap Mustard has set: in echoes of Anna Karenina, while Karro’s equally culpable male counterpart bears none of Karro’s scorn and judgment, Karro bears it all, and while her judgment might be earned, its viciousness is disproportionate, its laser focus on the sole woman in the equation infuriating, Tolstoy's ghost flitting triumphantly around the page the more my agitation grew, saying: hello, me again, I said all of this 150 years ago, in a different time, a different society, a different country; yet here you are in 2026 reading it all over again and knowing the truth of it, still. And across time and space and distance, certain fundamental truths will always hold, truths like: given the choice, we will always, every time, find a way to blame the woman and absolve the man.
I felt a clash of emotions for this woman as I read, ranging from sympathy to mild irritation to outrage; never once did I actually identify with her. And yet when Mustard drives that final nail in, the one that says we're still doing this in 2026, you know we are, I found myself outraged not at Karro, but on her behalf.
Empathy for a character who is fundamentally decent and treated unfairly is very easy for a writer to engender. Empathy for a character who honestly kind of sucks, that has to be earned against the reader’s own resistance, is another trick entirely, and one that Jenny Mustard pulls off expertly.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
“Isn’t it strange, time swelling and shrinking with the weight it carries.”
While I went into Karro with a little apprehension about the premise, I was quickly hooked. You don’t need to have read Anna Karenina to appreciate this reimagining, but if you have spotting the parallels is a fun little payoff.
I loved seeing how Mustard reworks these themes for a contemporary setting. One for me in particular was her treatment of class and privilege. These themes are central to Anna Karenina, but seeing them in a modern context hits completely differently. When reading Tolstoy, the historical double standards make it easier to lean toward viewing Anna compassionately as a victim of her circumstances throughout the novel. With Karro, however, the buffer of distance is removed, and her lifestyle and privilege feel incredibly jarring. It created an interesting moment of pause for me wondering if Mustard’s modern context is intentionally far more exposing, or if I am simply applying a harsher judgment because its a mirror of what we see today.
Karro isn’t an easy character to warm to, she’s a wealthy white woman whose comfortable life is funded by her considerate husband. She also makes decisions she knows will hurt the people she loves. Yet I found her incredibly compelling all the same. Her unapologetic nature and emotional detachment were refreshing to read and it made the moments where she expressed strong emotion really raw and powerful.
Mustard’s prose was another highlight. The stream-of-consciousness style won’t be for everyone, but I found it really absorbing. It also felt particularly well suited to Karro’s emotional detachment, offering an intimate look into her thoughts without necessarily making her any easier to understand.
Overall a really sharp modern take on a classic.
While I went into Karro with a little apprehension about the premise, I was quickly hooked. You don’t need to have read Anna Karenina to appreciate this reimagining, but if you have spotting the parallels is a fun little payoff.
I loved seeing how Mustard reworks these themes for a contemporary setting. One for me in particular was her treatment of class and privilege. These themes are central to Anna Karenina, but seeing them in a modern context hits completely differently. When reading Tolstoy, the historical double standards make it easier to lean toward viewing Anna compassionately as a victim of her circumstances throughout the novel. With Karro, however, the buffer of distance is removed, and her lifestyle and privilege feel incredibly jarring. It created an interesting moment of pause for me wondering if Mustard’s modern context is intentionally far more exposing, or if I am simply applying a harsher judgment because its a mirror of what we see today.
Karro isn’t an easy character to warm to, she’s a wealthy white woman whose comfortable life is funded by her considerate husband. She also makes decisions she knows will hurt the people she loves. Yet I found her incredibly compelling all the same. Her unapologetic nature and emotional detachment were refreshing to read and it made the moments where she expressed strong emotion really raw and powerful.
Mustard’s prose was another highlight. The stream-of-consciousness style won’t be for everyone, but I found it really absorbing. It also felt particularly well suited to Karro’s emotional detachment, offering an intimate look into her thoughts without necessarily making her any easier to understand.
Overall a really sharp modern take on a classic.
Review of advance copy
Thank you so much for this ARC through NetGalley!
The description of this book really captivated me and I was super excited to get into this modern retelling of Anna Karenina.
I found the initial few chapters to be built up of short sentences which felt a little janky to me. Whilst the writing grows as the book goes on, unfortunately I couldn’t shake this feeling from the start.
I unfortunately DNF this book at 30%, but I plan on coming back to it in time and to approach it again!
The description of this book really captivated me and I was super excited to get into this modern retelling of Anna Karenina.
I found the initial few chapters to be built up of short sentences which felt a little janky to me. Whilst the writing grows as the book goes on, unfortunately I couldn’t shake this feeling from the start.
I unfortunately DNF this book at 30%, but I plan on coming back to it in time and to approach it again!
October 22, 2026
★★★★ Middle age, motherhood, and looking for an anchor
I'm sad to admit I haven't read Anna Karenina yet (remedying that very soon), but Karro is billed as a loose, modern adaptation. Whether or not that means something to you, I think it stands alone quite well.
It captures the complexity of middle age and the choices we make along the way. I know some readers found the protagonist self-centered, but I didn't read her that way. To me she was listless and languishing, unsure of her foundation and looking for an anchor. There's something about middle age that I can relate to.
The themes of motherhood and abandonment are strong, heartbreaking, and relatable. The writing is strong too, and it propelled me through the story all the way to the end.
I'm sad to admit I haven't read Anna Karenina yet (remedying that very soon), but Karro is billed as a loose, modern adaptation. Whether or not that means something to you, I think it stands alone quite well.
It captures the complexity of middle age and the choices we make along the way. I know some readers found the protagonist self-centered, but I didn't read her that way. To me she was listless and languishing, unsure of her foundation and looking for an anchor. There's something about middle age that I can relate to.
The themes of motherhood and abandonment are strong, heartbreaking, and relatable. The writing is strong too, and it propelled me through the story all the way to the end.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I have not read Anna Karenina, so I didn't have that to make a comparison with this novel. I enjoyed Mustard's writing style, the story was interesting and it made me look at the choices others make with new eyes (I am the total opposite of Karro).
Good read and look forward to reading more of Mustard's work in the future.
Thank you to Tin House and Jenny Mustard for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.
Good read and look forward to reading more of Mustard's work in the future.
Thank you to Tin House and Jenny Mustard for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.
October 14, 2026
took me a minute to get into this, i started and then put it down and then had to come back, but once i was like 20% in i was very engaged. karro/karina is NOT a likeable character and i think if that’s what you need you will not enjoy this. its hard to empathise with her at times because of her privilege, but i feel this is partly the point. enjoyed the writing style & how almost disaffected it was at times? i will say that the dialogue writing was hard to follow occasionally due to lack of quotation marks and clear indication of who was speaking, but it worked for me.
ty penguin for the ARC
ty penguin for the ARC
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I liked *Karro*. The writing is sparse, direct, and emotionally restrained. Mustard's prose makes the book feel quite cold, like *Karro* herself. The nod to *Anna Karenina* is clear, and I appreciated seeing those themes adapted into a modern setting. Think a Swedish take on Tolstoy.
While I did find myself struggling to connect with her or understand some of her choices, this story is filled with morally gray people who make decisions the reader may not agree with. The choices may seem self-destructive, and much of the novel revolves around turmoil, dissatisfaction, and the consequences of wanting something different from the life one already has.
I could especially see fans of modern, boundary-pushing women in novels like *All Fours* appreciating this one. It shares that same interest in female desire, dissatisfaction with roles, identity, and what happens when a woman decides to step outside the life she’s expected to want. Thanks to Zando/TinHouse and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest
While I did find myself struggling to connect with her or understand some of her choices, this story is filled with morally gray people who make decisions the reader may not agree with. The choices may seem self-destructive, and much of the novel revolves around turmoil, dissatisfaction, and the consequences of wanting something different from the life one already has.
I could especially see fans of modern, boundary-pushing women in novels like *All Fours* appreciating this one. It shares that same interest in female desire, dissatisfaction with roles, identity, and what happens when a woman decides to step outside the life she’s expected to want. Thanks to Zando/TinHouse and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Being a bookseller has perks, I'm glad I picked up this arc!
I'd give this one a 4.5 star if I could, I really liked it.
I didn't think this book would be my cup of tea, but I did the thing again where I choose something solely based on the cover. Anyways. I couldn't put this book down! It's rare that I want to keep reading a book with a main character that I don't like and can't root for. But there was something about Karina that I just couldn't get enough of. The way this was written was stunning. Perfectly paced. This may sound direct, but I think if you've struggled with depression, you'll find solidarity within these pages. The chronic "everything in my life is fine, but I have to tear it down to feel something." is strong with this one.
PS: Mariana delivered the realest line in the entire book. "Only someone who's never been poor would say something so fucking stupid." Is so real.
P.P.S: my only gripe, again, is the lack of quotation marks. I forgot to mention that earlier because (unlike a certain other author I read earlier this year) the voices of these characters are so strong that I didn't need them.
I'd give this one a 4.5 star if I could, I really liked it.
I didn't think this book would be my cup of tea, but I did the thing again where I choose something solely based on the cover. Anyways. I couldn't put this book down! It's rare that I want to keep reading a book with a main character that I don't like and can't root for. But there was something about Karina that I just couldn't get enough of. The way this was written was stunning. Perfectly paced. This may sound direct, but I think if you've struggled with depression, you'll find solidarity within these pages. The chronic "everything in my life is fine, but I have to tear it down to feel something." is strong with this one.
PS: Mariana delivered the realest line in the entire book. "Only someone who's never been poor would say something so fucking stupid." Is so real.
P.P.S: my only gripe, again, is the lack of quotation marks. I forgot to mention that earlier because (unlike a certain other author I read earlier this year) the voices of these characters are so strong that I didn't need them.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is undoubtably a very well written book. However, after the first few pages, I found myself loathing the central character, I found her completely self obsessed, selfish, spoilt and thoroughly dislikable. After that realisation, I found it hard to look past that and enjoy the prose and creativity, when all I wanted to read was her getting hit by a train.
I'm grateful to the publisher though, as this is a strong read with the author having clear confidence to write in her own voice in a very stylish and accomplished manner. So much so, that I will seek out her previous work, as I'm sure I will enjoy it.
I just hope the next novel doesn't have Karro inside it though.
I'm grateful to the publisher though, as this is a strong read with the author having clear confidence to write in her own voice in a very stylish and accomplished manner. So much so, that I will seek out her previous work, as I'm sure I will enjoy it.
I just hope the next novel doesn't have Karro inside it though.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Okay wow, Karro. This is such a stream of consciousness deep dive into the head of a woman who, on paper, has everything - a rising-star husband, a beautiful son, a gorgeous house, money to burn on books and all the free time to read them, and yet she's cold, clinical, and often deeply selfish. I found myself judging her hard early on, and I think that's exactly the point. This is someone's innermost, unfiltered thoughts and feelings, the stuff most of us never say out loud, and the book slowly makes you feel judged right back for being so quick to judge her. Don't we all have those selfish, ugly thoughts that come out of nowhere, that we then quietly pick apart and digest into something more palatable before we let anyone see them? Is the polished version we present to the world any more "true" than the messy one in our heads? Karro just... doesn't bother polishing hers, and that's what makes her so uncomfortable to sit with.
I tore through this so fast. I loved how it moves between thoughts, time periods and events with no clear direction whatsoever, just following the shape of her mind rather than a tidy plot, it felt so true to how our own inner monologues actually work, jumping around, circling back, never quite linear. Being in someone else's head like that, especially a head this messy and this unwilling to be liked, was completely absorbing. 4 stars from me - can't wait to see what people make of this one when it's out.
I tore through this so fast. I loved how it moves between thoughts, time periods and events with no clear direction whatsoever, just following the shape of her mind rather than a tidy plot, it felt so true to how our own inner monologues actually work, jumping around, circling back, never quite linear. Being in someone else's head like that, especially a head this messy and this unwilling to be liked, was completely absorbing. 4 stars from me - can't wait to see what people make of this one when it's out.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A really interesting look at motherhood, aging and privilege.
Karro has it all, or so it seems. We get a front row seat to watch, almost in slow motion, as she implodes her life and I just couldn’t look away.
I really enjoyed watching and waiting and waiting some more for something to finally click for her.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Karro has it all, or so it seems. We get a front row seat to watch, almost in slow motion, as she implodes her life and I just couldn’t look away.
I really enjoyed watching and waiting and waiting some more for something to finally click for her.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Karro by Jenny Mustard is described as a retelling of Anna Karenina, reimagined against a Swedish-British backdrop, and it certainly makes for an intriguing and thought-provoking read.
This is not necessarily the most comfortable book to read, as it delves into some difficult themes, including adultery, depression. However, I appreciated how it challenges the reader to sit with uncomfortable questions rather than offering easy answers or clear-cut moral judgments.
The most interesting aspect for me was Karro herself. She is a complicated, contradictory character who seems to embody duality in almost every aspect of her life. She can be performative and charming in social settings, yet deeply conflicted in her personal relationships. She loves her son, but struggles with the expectations and conventional image of motherhood. At times, she seems remarkably clear-headed, only to become clouded by her own thoughts and impulses at others. She exists in the grey areas of life, although more often than not, those grey areas seem to lean towards the dark.
I particularly enjoyed her perspective on books and reading, which added another layer to the character and gave me moments to reflect on the relationship between literature, identity, and how we understand ourselves.
Overall, I found Karro to be a compelling book to analyse, even if it didn't completely win me over. Its greatest strength lies in its ability to provoke discussion about marriage, motherhood, infidelity, ageism, inherited mental health struggles, and self-sabotage. These are complex subjects that rarely lend themselves to simple conclusions, and the book leaves plenty of room for interpretation.
This may not be a book for everyone, especially those looking for a comforting or particularly uplifting read, but I think it would make an excellent choice for a book club. There is plenty to unpack, debate, and disagree about, and sometimes that's exactly what makes a book worthwhile.
A thought-provoking exploration of a deeply contradictory woman and the uncomfortable complexities of human behaviour.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.
This is not necessarily the most comfortable book to read, as it delves into some difficult themes, including adultery, depression. However, I appreciated how it challenges the reader to sit with uncomfortable questions rather than offering easy answers or clear-cut moral judgments.
The most interesting aspect for me was Karro herself. She is a complicated, contradictory character who seems to embody duality in almost every aspect of her life. She can be performative and charming in social settings, yet deeply conflicted in her personal relationships. She loves her son, but struggles with the expectations and conventional image of motherhood. At times, she seems remarkably clear-headed, only to become clouded by her own thoughts and impulses at others. She exists in the grey areas of life, although more often than not, those grey areas seem to lean towards the dark.
I particularly enjoyed her perspective on books and reading, which added another layer to the character and gave me moments to reflect on the relationship between literature, identity, and how we understand ourselves.
Overall, I found Karro to be a compelling book to analyse, even if it didn't completely win me over. Its greatest strength lies in its ability to provoke discussion about marriage, motherhood, infidelity, ageism, inherited mental health struggles, and self-sabotage. These are complex subjects that rarely lend themselves to simple conclusions, and the book leaves plenty of room for interpretation.
This may not be a book for everyone, especially those looking for a comforting or particularly uplifting read, but I think it would make an excellent choice for a book club. There is plenty to unpack, debate, and disagree about, and sometimes that's exactly what makes a book worthwhile.
A thought-provoking exploration of a deeply contradictory woman and the uncomfortable complexities of human behaviour.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The narrative is beautifully written, conveying a sense of quiet anguish while remaining completely absorbing throughout. This contemporary reimagining of Anna Karenina serves as an extraordinary exploration of a woman who appears to possess everything, yet she feels profoundly disconnected from the reality of her own life. Karro is not a particularly likable protagonist; she is a privileged, selfish, and emotionally detached individual who is capable of making truly terrible decisions, yet she remains an utterly compelling figure. Mustard, makes absolutely no attempt to soften her character or seek any form of approval for her questionable behavior. Instead, we are granted intimate access to the uncomfortable, contradictory, and frequently profoundly unhappy inner workings of her complex mind. Mustard’s prose was another highlight. It reflects Karro’s emotional detachment, offering an intimate look into her thoughts. Although the narrative relied heavily on the somewhat tired cliché that wealthy individuals can experience sadness as well, I found the book to be quite enjoyable regardless. The author’s prose was exceptionally well-crafted, demonstrating a level of skill that made the story feel beautifully and thoughtfully woven together.
October 4, 2026
the writing was pretty good but i’m honestly just really tired of reading about rich people bitching and moaning all day long. what worked in tolstoy’s novel comes off as vapid and annoying here, mainly because a twenty-first century posh woman cannot be held up to the same standards as a nineteenth-century aristocrat.
thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was interested in reading Karro because I was familiar with its author from YouTube and a vegan cookbook. Although, I was never a fan of Anna in Anna Karenina, which might have been a red flag before getting into this.
The cover felt like her aesthetic and after reading this, I suppose the writing does too. It flows, but to me it feels affected and a bit stilted in some ways. There is the choice to not use quotation marks, which creates imbalances like this:
Sitting here thinking of grandma, I say.
I mean I don’t believe in ghosts, but.
She is everywhere, isn’t she?
He nods. Do you think she was lonely out here, those last years?
More annoyingly, after 40 or so pages, Mustard clearly feels this was not good enough and starts throwing in colons but not always…
He asks if that isn’t going against my nature?
I nod at Stefan and say, In my brother’s case I think it would be.
(later same page)
He says: Oh, common on now, you were watching us all morning, being fools on the ice. He holds out his hand.
I don’t usually dance I say, but take his had nonetheless.
That’s just sad, he says (…)
Or
You’re right he says, let’s not do that, pick the paintings apart. We can just enjoy.
I ask: Do you like them?
He says: Very much.
I ask about his stay in Stockholm, did he find what he was looking for?
It feels very… I want to be ”literature” not an airport read/Tiktok sensation. I have a difficult time with this kind of pretentious stylistic choices because they are so aware and feel forced to me.
Well enough, you get used to it, and the writing isn’t bad, it flows as mentioned. However for me I get an Erica Jong feeling in the sense that I cannot stand this woman. Karro that is, not Jenny Mustard. I had more empathy for Anna Karenina as her social circumstances are so different, hence the Jong reference which feels more apropos to me as a more modern writer.
It does not help that Karro pays lip service to her flaws, ”A horrible woman, ungrateful, entitled, selfish. It’s unnatural. I have everything. Look how easily I discard it.” Because she has no depth for a large part of the book so it feels performative.
I will defend the existence of bad women in literature, but Karro is mostly infuriatingly hollow. The only time I found that the character felt genuine was when she described her disgust at breastfeeding.
This sums up her whole character:
”I touch myself. Don’t come, he says. Don’t come yet. But I can’t take it so I say harder, please, and when he obeys I give it all up, freely, and I come without waiting, not a thought in my body.”
That is Karro. Not a thought in her body.
She just does. Then she retreats into a self-made fortress of doing absolutely nothing.
Technically there are thoughts, but they all revolve around herself so they're quite opaque.
When her brother asks her to have a difficult conversation with her husband, to ”not be cruel”, she just bites her hand and says nothing.
Rather than have conversations she’ll write notes.
Rather than make decisions she’ll wait for others to make them.
Rather than speak to her child she’ll just avoid it and his existence in general, paying lip service again to the idea that she does - in a fashion - love the child. But only as a function in her self-serving life and when it suits her schedule.
When she hurts her child she lets someone else deal with it.
Her husband is the most neutral character that has ever been as he has zero reactions to anything, which enables Karro.
Now, I believe people like this exist, and I’m sure Mustard has met some of them and captures the concept realistically in this modern setting. I did not enjoy reading about Karro however, it took me much longer than expected to finish the book and I mostly kept reading because I was hoping for either something bad to happen to Karro, or for her to be shook into some kind of genuine human emotion.
The plot meanders with Karro so unless you find her privileged, empty existence and internal life compelling, you are going to struggle with this one. (The family element of Tolstoy falls flat here as these characters are at best shallow backdrop)
That said, if your attitude going in is ”no thoughts, only vibes” your reading experience might improve.
If your favorite character from Anna Karenina was Anna, you might also enjoy this experience more.
There are positives: Again, even if I did not enjoy Karro, I do believe her experience is relatable in a variety of ways to different people. I think what Jenny Mustard partly does, and that is interesting, is look at how family dynamics change with the loss of a person and how old wounds rather roll through the years. They don’t look obvious but that does not mean that they are not there.
When one looks at how Karro lives her life at the start of the book it is rather a half-life, a protected cocoon that most people would not understand or be able to deal with. It is a protection that maintains her fragile personality, but it is a fabricated protection and its longevity is - as shown - volatile because of it.
I also think there is an interesting inclusion of what people say about Karro behind her back due to her actions, and as this review shows, I imagine I would be one of those people who judge her harshly. While I do think some judgement is certainly deserved, even when one sees things from her pov, it does highlight that empathy for another’s experience can be hard. And from the outside - judgement is both brutal and easy-come-by. (Especially for people who are somewhat 'public')
It does not excuse things that Karro does to be clear, but by the end of the book there is a full circle moment that explains, or justifies, the journey one takes through the novel.
All-in-all I think this is a really interesting novel, I cannot say I enjoyed Karro as a person, however I did understand her better and feel more for her by the end. So the journey is worth taking, even if it was frustrating at times.
Style: 3,5
Plot: 3,5
Characters: 2
Author aesthetic: 4
Overall: 3,25
Rated up to 3,50 for me
Thank you Penguin UK and NetGalley for this ARC.
I’ll be interested to see if Mustard has more up her sleeve now that this is out of her system and it is clear that she likes character studies.
The cover felt like her aesthetic and after reading this, I suppose the writing does too. It flows, but to me it feels affected and a bit stilted in some ways. There is the choice to not use quotation marks, which creates imbalances like this:
Sitting here thinking of grandma, I say.
I mean I don’t believe in ghosts, but.
She is everywhere, isn’t she?
He nods. Do you think she was lonely out here, those last years?
More annoyingly, after 40 or so pages, Mustard clearly feels this was not good enough and starts throwing in colons but not always…
He asks if that isn’t going against my nature?
I nod at Stefan and say, In my brother’s case I think it would be.
(later same page)
He says: Oh, common on now, you were watching us all morning, being fools on the ice. He holds out his hand.
I don’t usually dance I say, but take his had nonetheless.
That’s just sad, he says (…)
Or
You’re right he says, let’s not do that, pick the paintings apart. We can just enjoy.
I ask: Do you like them?
He says: Very much.
I ask about his stay in Stockholm, did he find what he was looking for?
It feels very… I want to be ”literature” not an airport read/Tiktok sensation. I have a difficult time with this kind of pretentious stylistic choices because they are so aware and feel forced to me.
Well enough, you get used to it, and the writing isn’t bad, it flows as mentioned. However for me I get an Erica Jong feeling in the sense that I cannot stand this woman. Karro that is, not Jenny Mustard. I had more empathy for Anna Karenina as her social circumstances are so different, hence the Jong reference which feels more apropos to me as a more modern writer.
It does not help that Karro pays lip service to her flaws, ”A horrible woman, ungrateful, entitled, selfish. It’s unnatural. I have everything. Look how easily I discard it.” Because she has no depth for a large part of the book so it feels performative.
I will defend the existence of bad women in literature, but Karro is mostly infuriatingly hollow. The only time I found that the character felt genuine was when she described her disgust at breastfeeding.
This sums up her whole character:
”I touch myself. Don’t come, he says. Don’t come yet. But I can’t take it so I say harder, please, and when he obeys I give it all up, freely, and I come without waiting, not a thought in my body.”
That is Karro. Not a thought in her body.
She just does. Then she retreats into a self-made fortress of doing absolutely nothing.
Technically there are thoughts, but they all revolve around herself so they're quite opaque.
When her brother asks her to have a difficult conversation with her husband, to ”not be cruel”, she just bites her hand and says nothing.
Rather than have conversations she’ll write notes.
Rather than make decisions she’ll wait for others to make them.
Rather than speak to her child she’ll just avoid it and his existence in general, paying lip service again to the idea that she does - in a fashion - love the child. But only as a function in her self-serving life and when it suits her schedule.
When she hurts her child she lets someone else deal with it.
Her husband is the most neutral character that has ever been as he has zero reactions to anything, which enables Karro.
Now, I believe people like this exist, and I’m sure Mustard has met some of them and captures the concept realistically in this modern setting. I did not enjoy reading about Karro however, it took me much longer than expected to finish the book and I mostly kept reading because I was hoping for either something bad to happen to Karro, or for her to be shook into some kind of genuine human emotion.
The plot meanders with Karro so unless you find her privileged, empty existence and internal life compelling, you are going to struggle with this one. (The family element of Tolstoy falls flat here as these characters are at best shallow backdrop)
That said, if your attitude going in is ”no thoughts, only vibes” your reading experience might improve.
If your favorite character from Anna Karenina was Anna, you might also enjoy this experience more.
There are positives: Again, even if I did not enjoy Karro, I do believe her experience is relatable in a variety of ways to different people. I think what Jenny Mustard partly does, and that is interesting, is look at how family dynamics change with the loss of a person and how old wounds rather roll through the years. They don’t look obvious but that does not mean that they are not there.
When one looks at how Karro lives her life at the start of the book it is rather a half-life, a protected cocoon that most people would not understand or be able to deal with. It is a protection that maintains her fragile personality, but it is a fabricated protection and its longevity is - as shown - volatile because of it.
I also think there is an interesting inclusion of what people say about Karro behind her back due to her actions, and as this review shows, I imagine I would be one of those people who judge her harshly. While I do think some judgement is certainly deserved, even when one sees things from her pov, it does highlight that empathy for another’s experience can be hard. And from the outside - judgement is both brutal and easy-come-by. (Especially for people who are somewhat 'public')
It does not excuse things that Karro does to be clear, but by the end of the book there is a full circle moment that explains, or justifies, the journey one takes through the novel.
All-in-all I think this is a really interesting novel, I cannot say I enjoyed Karro as a person, however I did understand her better and feel more for her by the end. So the journey is worth taking, even if it was frustrating at times.
Style: 3,5
Plot: 3,5
Characters: 2
Author aesthetic: 4
Overall: 3,25
Rated up to 3,50 for me
Thank you Penguin UK and NetGalley for this ARC.
I’ll be interested to see if Mustard has more up her sleeve now that this is out of her system and it is clear that she likes character studies.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I found ‘Karro’ thoroughly immersive and gripping. It was one of those books I didn't want to put down, and each time I had to, I looked forward to returning to it. Watching Karro is rather like watching a car crash in slow motion: you can see the self-destruction gathering momentum, you want her to stop, but she seems incapable of it.
What makes Karro such a fascinating character is the paradox at her heart. She has so little sense of who she is, what she feels or what she wants, and yet she is vivid and entirely real on the page. She is somehow both indistinct and impossible to forget. I found myself feeling considerable compassion for her, though I suspect plenty of readers will find her simply unlikeable. Mustard makes it possible to understand Karro without necessarily approving of her, which is rather more interesting than asking us to like her.
The writing is excellent. Mustard's prose is clear and controlled, and her handling of the first-person voice is particularly skilful. As Karro's stability begins to disintegrate, so does the prose, the form reflecting the unravelling of the person at its centre. It's an effective way of drawing us into her experience rather than simply observing it from a distance.
I particularly liked the novel's treatment of female identity, the fallen woman and female mental illness, and the way Mustard explores these ideas without becoming preachy or handing the reader a set of answers. One of its most interesting ideas is that privilege can itself be a constraint. Karro has been raised to inhabit a succession of roles, seemingly without ever learning who she might be outside them. The life that ought to have afforded her freedom has, in a sense, deprived her of a self. Mustard leaves us to make up our own minds about Karro and her choices, trusting us to sit with the contradictions rather than resolving them for us.
The ending worked very well for me, bringing the novel's preoccupation with identity to a satisfying conclusion. After a lifetime of performing the roles expected of her, Karro has the possibility of casting them off and stepping into herself. There is something particularly satisfying about the idea of her finally becoming ‘Karro’—not the woman she has been expected to be, but the person she might yet discover beneath all those expectations.
As a modern reimagining of ‘Anna Karenina’, this feels like a clever, layered novel in its own right. Having only seen the film adaptation, I suspect I missed some of the subtleties of Mustard's dialogue with Tolstoy. I'd like to read the original and then return to ‘Karro’, to see what a second reading might reveal. For now, this is a four-star read that left me wanting to think about it further—and wanting to read it again.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Jenny Mustard, and Fig Tree for the ARC.
⚠️ Child death, infidelity, suicide attempt, mental illness, emesis, references to drug use and suicide
What makes Karro such a fascinating character is the paradox at her heart. She has so little sense of who she is, what she feels or what she wants, and yet she is vivid and entirely real on the page. She is somehow both indistinct and impossible to forget. I found myself feeling considerable compassion for her, though I suspect plenty of readers will find her simply unlikeable. Mustard makes it possible to understand Karro without necessarily approving of her, which is rather more interesting than asking us to like her.
The writing is excellent. Mustard's prose is clear and controlled, and her handling of the first-person voice is particularly skilful. As Karro's stability begins to disintegrate, so does the prose, the form reflecting the unravelling of the person at its centre. It's an effective way of drawing us into her experience rather than simply observing it from a distance.
I particularly liked the novel's treatment of female identity, the fallen woman and female mental illness, and the way Mustard explores these ideas without becoming preachy or handing the reader a set of answers. One of its most interesting ideas is that privilege can itself be a constraint. Karro has been raised to inhabit a succession of roles, seemingly without ever learning who she might be outside them. The life that ought to have afforded her freedom has, in a sense, deprived her of a self. Mustard leaves us to make up our own minds about Karro and her choices, trusting us to sit with the contradictions rather than resolving them for us.
The ending worked very well for me, bringing the novel's preoccupation with identity to a satisfying conclusion. After a lifetime of performing the roles expected of her, Karro has the possibility of casting them off and stepping into herself. There is something particularly satisfying about the idea of her finally becoming ‘Karro’—not the woman she has been expected to be, but the person she might yet discover beneath all those expectations.
As a modern reimagining of ‘Anna Karenina’, this feels like a clever, layered novel in its own right. Having only seen the film adaptation, I suspect I missed some of the subtleties of Mustard's dialogue with Tolstoy. I'd like to read the original and then return to ‘Karro’, to see what a second reading might reveal. For now, this is a four-star read that left me wanting to think about it further—and wanting to read it again.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Jenny Mustard, and Fig Tree for the ARC.
⚠️ Child death, infidelity, suicide attempt, mental illness, emesis, references to drug use and suicide
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
As an Eastern European who read Anna Karenina five times as a teenager in a futile attempt to understand, forgive, and accept, I cannot wait to read this.
﹋
The irony of me finishing it at midnight is definitely something.
Karro is a character that can be hard to relate to but she is still likeable. The exact right amount of self awareness seasoned with constant anxiety and just a pinch of homesickness.
The characterisation is very thoroughly done, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. Karro is a privileged woman who loves to read books (relatable) and drink (not relatable).
Her trauma is a reoccurring theme in the novel which I think is so important because it truly is explored to the fullest. Her behaviour did trigger me, then I realised it’s human nature.
The rich-people-can-be-sad-too plot line is so cliché in contemporary fiction at this point that all I did was sigh.
The Scandinavian touch to the writing is pleasent but also felt a bit too raw for my taste at times.
I wish the relationship with her husband would’ve been explored more, since he is also such a complex character and I feel like the narration didn’t do him justice.
This novel, despite its deep melancholic tone, healed something in me.
(Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Fig Tree for the eARC!)
﹋
The irony of me finishing it at midnight is definitely something.
Karro is a character that can be hard to relate to but she is still likeable. The exact right amount of self awareness seasoned with constant anxiety and just a pinch of homesickness.
The characterisation is very thoroughly done, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. Karro is a privileged woman who loves to read books (relatable) and drink (not relatable).
Her trauma is a reoccurring theme in the novel which I think is so important because it truly is explored to the fullest. Her behaviour did trigger me, then I realised it’s human nature.
The rich-people-can-be-sad-too plot line is so cliché in contemporary fiction at this point that all I did was sigh.
The Scandinavian touch to the writing is pleasent but also felt a bit too raw for my taste at times.
I wish the relationship with her husband would’ve been explored more, since he is also such a complex character and I feel like the narration didn’t do him justice.
This novel, despite its deep melancholic tone, healed something in me.
(Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Fig Tree for the eARC!)
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