What do you think?
Karro
Not yet published
Expected 8 Apr 27"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 Mustard's 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
"Astonishing" – Kimberly King Parsons, author of We Were The Universe
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 Mustard's 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
"Astonishing" – Kimberly King Parsons, author of We Were The Universe
- GenresFiction
Kindle Edition
Expected publication April 8, 2027
About the author
Jenny Mustard
5 books708 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
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
“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
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
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 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
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
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 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
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.
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