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Psychomachia
Psychomachia reads like an NA meeting with Donna Tartt, Joan Didion, DBC Pierre, James Frey, Angela Carter, Reinaldo Arenas, Virginia Despentes and JT Leroy battling their collective consciousness. Literature like this is usually presented through the male gaze, hence the fashion and rock n roll literati naming Kirsty Allison London’s finest.
She’s hilarious – she’s f*cked up. Scarlet Flagg is so wasted, she doesn’t know if she killed the arch patriarch of rock n roll, Malachi Wright of Wright States International Touring after he raped her at a festival at 14. Scarlet is the kinda girl you wanna help, f*ck, and leave. But is she dangerous? Did she murder Malachi or was it her boyfriend, Iggy Papershoes, frontman of Heroshima? Or perhaps her drug-dealing father? Scarlet doesn't remember – she hardly remembers her own name.
This is brutal female drug-lit at its finest. The first novel of the real nineties, Scarlet is an unreliable narrator of epic fin-de-millennia proportions floating in a Shoreditch-warehouse haze. Her fast moving chronicle of the secret drug-filled, love starved, sex satiated-nightmare world of East End fashion, art and music afterparties is set in an era before MeToo, when stigmas meant keeping schtum, and getting in with the male-dominated in-crowd relied on copious amounts of class-As. Like Jean Genet in a prison cell, without camera phones, social media or mental health awareness, Scarlet searches for redemption in the pursuit of revenge through blurred lines in Ibiza, Paris, London and New York.
She’s hilarious – she’s f*cked up. Scarlet Flagg is so wasted, she doesn’t know if she killed the arch patriarch of rock n roll, Malachi Wright of Wright States International Touring after he raped her at a festival at 14. Scarlet is the kinda girl you wanna help, f*ck, and leave. But is she dangerous? Did she murder Malachi or was it her boyfriend, Iggy Papershoes, frontman of Heroshima? Or perhaps her drug-dealing father? Scarlet doesn't remember – she hardly remembers her own name.
This is brutal female drug-lit at its finest. The first novel of the real nineties, Scarlet is an unreliable narrator of epic fin-de-millennia proportions floating in a Shoreditch-warehouse haze. Her fast moving chronicle of the secret drug-filled, love starved, sex satiated-nightmare world of East End fashion, art and music afterparties is set in an era before MeToo, when stigmas meant keeping schtum, and getting in with the male-dominated in-crowd relied on copious amounts of class-As. Like Jean Genet in a prison cell, without camera phones, social media or mental health awareness, Scarlet searches for redemption in the pursuit of revenge through blurred lines in Ibiza, Paris, London and New York.
256 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 9, 2021
This is a visceral journey through the unreliably narrated life and times of Scarlet Flagg... It's a genuinely good book, brutal in parts and funny in others (even brutally funny on occasion). There are oneiric qualities to the journey - making you doubt what's happening - either in your mind, or Scarlet's. Linguistically, for me, it walks an interesting line. There are hits and misses - some of it is couture Versace, some... even too gauche for Liberace. Even then, I get it, it makes sense. A reflection of the 'glory in excess' of the nineties, but anything that takes you out of the moment still jars, and lessens the impact...
A fabulous debut novel, I hope there is more to come.
A fabulous debut novel, I hope there is more to come.
July 26, 2026
This has to be one of the best books I’ve read, sooo depressing and sad but like rock n roll depression and saddness
It’s crazy how rape culture at least the way we view it today has progressed so much, gone be the days of women blaming themselves and carrying the burden until it literally kills them
Scarlett Flagg, what an unfortunate woman, I feel for her Just wanted to be accepted by the community she was born into, but being traumatised and using drugs as her coping mechanism ruined her completely.
I feel v moved rn
It’s crazy how rape culture at least the way we view it today has progressed so much, gone be the days of women blaming themselves and carrying the burden until it literally kills them
Scarlett Flagg, what an unfortunate woman, I feel for her Just wanted to be accepted by the community she was born into, but being traumatised and using drugs as her coping mechanism ruined her completely.
I feel v moved rn
July 22, 2024
Kirsty Allison’s debut novel is captivating ,blending rawness, grit, humor, and an energetiyc narrative that I couldn’t put down. The 90s in all its glory and debauchery.
October 16, 2023
As it started off, I was captivated by the fast-paced writing style, so visual, an adrenaline rush.
Towards the end it got a bit tedious with her indefinitely wandering around in a drug-induced state.
However, it picked back up at the end to tie up all the disgusting knots and make Malachi scummier than we thought he could've sunk.
A weird, manky, poetic tale.
3.5 stars
Towards the end it got a bit tedious with her indefinitely wandering around in a drug-induced state.
However, it picked back up at the end to tie up all the disgusting knots and make Malachi scummier than we thought he could've sunk.
A weird, manky, poetic tale.
3.5 stars
August 26, 2023
3.5 stars *** holy fuck this book was dark and the ***SPOILER*** ending was absoloutely tragic. I loved the frenzied erratic way it was written and I truly feel like I now know what it’s like to be on 5 different drugs at all times. And also that I’ve lived a full life time in the 90s. I love Scarlett and all her contradictions, and despite their questionable relationship, think her and Iggy BELONGED TOGETHER and I’m so sad they didn’t go on to live out rock n roll retirement together, and sober. HOWEVER. this book could have been edgy and poetic without the author trying so hard - sometimes this took me out of the book which made it hard to get stuck in. So did all of the asterisk, I ended up skipping most of them.
February 18, 2024
This was good, but not great, which I think it had the potential to be.
The writing style was odd, a little pretentious at points. I felt it was trying to imitate Irvine Welsh rather than doing its own thing. Overuse of adjectives in parts made it a little tedious.
The story was great though, if a little hard to follow in parts.
Not sure I needed the “twist” at the end, seemed a little forced.
Still give it 3* for originality though!
The writing style was odd, a little pretentious at points. I felt it was trying to imitate Irvine Welsh rather than doing its own thing. Overuse of adjectives in parts made it a little tedious.
The story was great though, if a little hard to follow in parts.
Not sure I needed the “twist” at the end, seemed a little forced.
Still give it 3* for originality though!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2022
A carnival of the senses + moving, true account of how a woman feels when she is treated as a commodity. Written before #Metoo, bold, daring use of language.
Read
September 11, 2023Being born in 1994 means I can really only go off of what I’ve been told, but I feel Psychomachia speaks truthfully to what the 1990s music scene would’ve looked and felt like. It is a complete concoction of sound, colour, material and personality that create something of a wild sensual overload. Kirsty Allison really doesn’t whimper from going straight into the thick of it, and it comes across that she’s speaking from personal experience of living in this environment throughout the nineties.
Allison uses a unique humour through short and quick one liners that mark the end of particular passages of text. We will be given a background of a character, or an explanation of a scene, and the narrator will throw in a comedic analogy or opinion to tie everything together. I think sometimes the author can be quite heavy handed with these humorous moments and I’m afraid to say they did sometimes take away from the overall plot. Rather than adding emersion, they only feel like a distraction to the story. Using this method of comedy sparingly would’ve been more beneficial to the impact they have when first experienced.
Saying that, why would you want to be immersed in such a hedonistic experience? Every character that Scarlett (our protagonist) encounters has a character flaw that’s glaringly obviously to everyone but Scarlett herself. She’s young and naive and it’s frustrating but gripping to read what she’ll give up next. She is manipulated by everyone around her as she’s held at the bottom of the pyramid and power dynamics are always in favour of the men surrounding her. The track is set and we’re watching our protagonist sat on the front seat of the train as it barrels towards a brick wall.
It’s a welcomed change to see the grubby and gritty side of 1990s fame being told from the viewpoint of a woman.
A book that’s perfect for music fans, especially those with a keen interest in the punk/grunge scene of the 1990s. A dark and dirty novel that doesn’t hold back, no matter the uncomfortableness.
Allison uses a unique humour through short and quick one liners that mark the end of particular passages of text. We will be given a background of a character, or an explanation of a scene, and the narrator will throw in a comedic analogy or opinion to tie everything together. I think sometimes the author can be quite heavy handed with these humorous moments and I’m afraid to say they did sometimes take away from the overall plot. Rather than adding emersion, they only feel like a distraction to the story. Using this method of comedy sparingly would’ve been more beneficial to the impact they have when first experienced.
Saying that, why would you want to be immersed in such a hedonistic experience? Every character that Scarlett (our protagonist) encounters has a character flaw that’s glaringly obviously to everyone but Scarlett herself. She’s young and naive and it’s frustrating but gripping to read what she’ll give up next. She is manipulated by everyone around her as she’s held at the bottom of the pyramid and power dynamics are always in favour of the men surrounding her. The track is set and we’re watching our protagonist sat on the front seat of the train as it barrels towards a brick wall.
It’s a welcomed change to see the grubby and gritty side of 1990s fame being told from the viewpoint of a woman.
A book that’s perfect for music fans, especially those with a keen interest in the punk/grunge scene of the 1990s. A dark and dirty novel that doesn’t hold back, no matter the uncomfortableness.
February 5, 2026
There have been no shortage of harrowing insights into the drugs and debauchery that so stained the underside of first punk rock and then grunge that rock babylon became too small to contain its stench and conceal the bodies that kept its fires burning. The everyday stories exploded in the late 80's and 90's. Sid and Nancy, The Basketball Diaries, Trainspotting, and numerous other chronicles of addiction and dirt and madness have come into various media to tell the stories of those musically inclined and those not. Young people pushed to the edge by the post-Thatcher/Regan collapse of the world they'd been promised. The exposure of the elitist, corporatist, fascist lie it all was. Yet when it comes to the often peripheral women in these stories, they rarely have a platform to offer their perspective. With the exception of Zoo Station: The Story off Christiane F, very few times has the "harrowing journey" been a woman's.
And much like body horror, nobody tells a story of how the utterly ridiculous expectations of society become weighty enough to crush the human spirit and psyche into a living death like a woman. Nobody suffers it like women do. And it is never as terrifying, visceral, immediate, urgent, disgusting, disfiguring, and horrifying as when it is seen through a woman's eyes.
Kirsty Allison's tragic tale is told with such awe-inspiring precision and honesty that her rapid-fire staccato almost serves to normalize the razor-edged world she is depicting. The story of a rock 'n' roll groupie with a life and power of her own. Her destruction at the hands of a system designed integrally to devour her. It is unforgettable. Heartbreaking. At times deeply frightening. Something her friend Irvine Welsh never achieved, for all those disfavourably comparing her work to is. You've not read it properly.
Go back and do it again.
And much like body horror, nobody tells a story of how the utterly ridiculous expectations of society become weighty enough to crush the human spirit and psyche into a living death like a woman. Nobody suffers it like women do. And it is never as terrifying, visceral, immediate, urgent, disgusting, disfiguring, and horrifying as when it is seen through a woman's eyes.
Kirsty Allison's tragic tale is told with such awe-inspiring precision and honesty that her rapid-fire staccato almost serves to normalize the razor-edged world she is depicting. The story of a rock 'n' roll groupie with a life and power of her own. Her destruction at the hands of a system designed integrally to devour her. It is unforgettable. Heartbreaking. At times deeply frightening. Something her friend Irvine Welsh never achieved, for all those disfavourably comparing her work to is. You've not read it properly.
Go back and do it again.
October 20, 2021
The story of Scarlet Flagg who falls through the nineties fashion and music scene in a no holds barred tale of drugs, abuse and excess. By turns shocking, terrifying and even darkly funny in places, this is a book that takes hold of the reader's imagination and instills a craving to find out what's going to happen to Scarlet at all costs, no matter how terrible they fear it's likely to turn out to be due to the relentless narrative bombshells she is subject to.
It's addictive and you can't look away.
The hedonistic agitation of those days is painstakingly drawn with all its flaws and defects highlighted and yet Scarlet – our unreliable yet brutally honest narrator – is unable to escape or see what's as plain as a pikestaff to the reader. She is heading for a fall. The style – including tangential footnotes like a wandering train of thought which detail the endless deaths due to misadventure, malice and immoderation in rock and roll since its inception – is immediate and visceral, a total immersion tragedy which highlights the abhorrent truth: some people's response to encountering vulnerability will always be to exploit it.
Will leave you reeling and live in your mind forever after.
It's addictive and you can't look away.
The hedonistic agitation of those days is painstakingly drawn with all its flaws and defects highlighted and yet Scarlet – our unreliable yet brutally honest narrator – is unable to escape or see what's as plain as a pikestaff to the reader. She is heading for a fall. The style – including tangential footnotes like a wandering train of thought which detail the endless deaths due to misadventure, malice and immoderation in rock and roll since its inception – is immediate and visceral, a total immersion tragedy which highlights the abhorrent truth: some people's response to encountering vulnerability will always be to exploit it.
Will leave you reeling and live in your mind forever after.
March 15, 2025
This book illustrates a visceral, traumatising, raw journey.
The style of writing (although sometimes difficult to read/piece together at times)- vague and disjointed perfectly depicts the alcoholic drug filled, depressive and hazy state the characters experience, more so towards the end (you’ll see why).
It does not follow a linear structure of writing and for that reason I personally enjoyed the story as you are unable to predict what will happen next.
I had the pleasure of meeting Kirsty Allison where I work (before I’d finished the book), her aura and realness are injected into the story of psychomachia.
The style of writing (although sometimes difficult to read/piece together at times)- vague and disjointed perfectly depicts the alcoholic drug filled, depressive and hazy state the characters experience, more so towards the end (you’ll see why).
It does not follow a linear structure of writing and for that reason I personally enjoyed the story as you are unable to predict what will happen next.
I had the pleasure of meeting Kirsty Allison where I work (before I’d finished the book), her aura and realness are injected into the story of psychomachia.
August 11, 2023
I don't know what to make of this novel. It leaves me with a million different feelings. I feel battered. I feel drugged. I feel raped. I feel music coursing through my veins. I feel like I am the god of pop culture and a rock n roll saint. The writing references a lot of things. At times they feel rather banal, dragging things on and on and then suddenly there was a death and it thrusts you into a state of melancholy. I wanted Iggy Papershoes to be a villain but I ended falling in love with him.
God this is an awful book. In a good way, that is.
God this is an awful book. In a good way, that is.
February 23, 2023
I loved this book and I wish more people knew about it.
It’s cool, perfect for music fans out there as it has so many interesting references to songs and artists etc. The main character is a poc woman trying to navigate the 90s punk scene of London while dealing with self-entitled men (obviously). It’s quite dark and definitely distressing at times.
It’s cool, perfect for music fans out there as it has so many interesting references to songs and artists etc. The main character is a poc woman trying to navigate the 90s punk scene of London while dealing with self-entitled men (obviously). It’s quite dark and definitely distressing at times.
July 18, 2022
Baddie bok💅🏻
March 12, 2023
chaos ! irvine welsh meets eliza clark.
gritty grungey groupy
gritty grungey groupy
January 2, 2024
this is probably the first troubled girl, female rage, truly fucking brutal, messy and biting book i’ve read that actually delivers on that. so so good and i Love the footnotes giving music history/fashion history context. scarlett is in top 10 characters ever for me
September 3, 2023
this book really do be an anti-ode to existing
brilliantly fucked up
November 12, 2024
Jesus Christ
June 15, 2025
"i couldn’t look within myself, only out"
January 14, 2023
a phantasmagoria of drugs sex violence and music - really good if you liked my year of rest and relaxation, prozac nation, 100 boyfriends… as well as feminist literature and rock n roll history. so fucking good
March 19, 2024
90s party vibes the book
I now always read fuck as fark (Scarlet ml <<<<333333)
SHE DID NOTHING WRONG FREE MY GIRL 😡😡😡🔥🔥🔥🔥✨✨❤️❤️❤️
10/10 but very graphic at the scary bits
I now always read fuck as fark (Scarlet ml <<<<333333)
SHE DID NOTHING WRONG FREE MY GIRL 😡😡😡🔥🔥🔥🔥✨✨❤️❤️❤️
10/10 but very graphic at the scary bits
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews