The Lost Art of Sinking

by Naomi Booth

Some call it the Fainting Game, others Indian Headrush - but it's all the rage amongst the girls of Class 2B.

"It makes you go all rushy. You feel like you're falling into a dream."

This is the story of Esther, who lives in the Pennines with her father. Esther is obsessed with experimenting with different ways to pass out: from snorting Daz powder at school to attempted autoasphyxiation in a serviced apartment in north London. But what happens when you take something too far? And what has Esther's mother, a beautiful dancer wasting away in her bedroom, to do with it all?

The Lost Art of Sinking is a dark comedy about losing yourself. Sensual, funny and exquisitely written, this bold novella introduces a fresh new literary voice in Naomi Booth. Shortlisted for the MMU Novella Award 2014.

Genres: Fiction, Novella, Literary Fiction, Contemporary

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2015

About the author

Naomi Booth is a writer and academic. Her fiction tends to explore unsettling landscapes, strange compulsions, dangerous bodies and contamination. Her short fiction has been longlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award, the Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize, and included in Best British Short Stories 2019. Her story Sour Hall was adapted into an audio drama by Audible.

Reviews

[Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This copy kindly provided by NetGalley on behalf of the publisher.

I didn't connect with this one at all...

The main character, Ettie, tries her entire life to emulate her dead mother & make her proud, until she is eventually told the truth about her mothers death (which, to be honest she should've seen the truth for herself a long time ago), at which point she seems to have some kind of epiphany and stops making herself pass out, The end.

All the nonsense in the middle was exactly that - nonsense. It was all pointless stories/events that really did nothing for me or the story.

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love. Every sentence is beautiful. Some writers would have tried to stretch this out into a novel, but the novella length is perfect for the story.

[Victoria (Eve's Alexandria) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Naomi Booth’s recent novel Sealed and was keen to pick up her debut novella. It’s a haunting, beautifully eloquent piece, and hints at the quality of the writing to come, but it felt a little too fragmented.

It focuses on the perspective of Esther, a young woman obsessed with fainting, who spends years trying to replicate the perfect shape of her mother’s dying swoon. A series of linked vignettes follows her through university and then to a dead end job in London, with flings and dangerous one night stands along the way. Each is really interesting in its own right; Booth excels at atmospheres of alienation and ambivalence. But plot wise a lot is left hanging. Characters and incidents burn bright and then fizzle out. Places and scenarios come into view and then disappear. Esther seems to be building towards some grand gesture or performance, picking her moment for the perfect swoon, yet she’s easily derailed from her purpose by a rapid and overly neat ending. It feels like lots of things, brimming with potential and verve, rather than a coherent whole. Still very much worth spending time with though.

[Sarah T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written in places with a fascinating lead character. I actually felt that there was enough potential here to flesh out a much longer book. As it was, the vignettes of Esther's life were compelling and deftly conceived and definitely left me wanting more of the same.

[Lavelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Naomi Booth is undoubtedly a talented writer, I just think this needed like 50 more pages for the story to really get where it needed to be.

[Ava · Rating 2 out of 5]

wow i’m on a stinker streak aren’t i. kind of a nothing novella that lacked the character voice and intensity of sealed. but this is her debut so #hoping and praying that this is a fluke!!!!

[Stephen Curran · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot of Naomi Booth's debut novel is structured around experiences that might make someone faint or swoon. This is reflected in many of the chapter titles: The Sight of Blood, Variations in Heat, Asphyxiation. Its narrator, Esther, teaches herself at an early age how to will herself into a state of blissful unconsciousness and - following the death of her mother - spends the rest of her life searching for a suitable 'audience'; a quest that threatens to put her in harm's way.

The theme is control and release and the style reflects this, moving between the economic and the lyrical. I may have enjoyed the author's second novel SEALED a lot more (a narrative driven eco-horror, it's a very different beast indeed) but this contains strange, poetic pleasures of it's own.

(On a side note: a couple of pages in I was thrilled to learn that THE LOST ART OF SINKING is partially set in my home town of Todmorden, with mentions of Studley Pike and the Rochester canal and even my local Morrisons; it's a tiny little out-of-the-way town so I'm glad it's earned itself a new place on the literary map).

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this! One that’s been on my shelf for the longest time, and it was a perfect quick read. Would definitely recommend.

[Runalong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and haunting look at why someone may get addicted to something dangerous. The way it encourages empathy is matched by a feeling of disquiet at the final outcome

Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...

[Alma (retirement at last) · Rating 1 out of 5]

As contemporary fiction goes this did not hit the mark at all for me. I did not enjoy it, the subject matter was not one I wished to explore and I didn’t particularly like the protagonist.
As this was a book club choice I was prepared to give it a go although I’m not a particular fan of contemporary fiction.
I feel, sometimes, that people tend to promote authors the way they promote certain artists and gain a following of sycophants, well I’m not one of them.
Didn’t like it. 1 out of 5 for effort.

[Laura Lacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this kind of book, set in a school, demonstrating the way that strange fads can take off. The idea of girls forcing themselves into swooning was intriguing. The characters were interesting and the plot had a nice fast pace, the prose was witty, evocative and bold. However it was just too short for me! It was kind of over before I could be fully invested in it.

[Snoakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esther found her mother's body when she was a child. Since then she has been experimenting with making herself faint. She had come to believe that if she manages the perfect swoon, in front of the perfect audience, she will somehow reconnect with her mother.
Sad and quirky, Esther is a fascinating character.

[Han Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally beautiful.

[Catherine Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the writing style. The subject is very unusual. Would definitely look for other works by this author.

[Kate Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Naomi Booth’s The Lost Art of Sinking is an unusual short story, its writing style is unlike one I’ve come across before, the large chunks of description stand out more prominently than the plot line, characters crop up for a couple pages then disappear, and the protagonist is very passive. This bildungsroman focuses on Esther, recently grieved by the death of her performative mother struggling to connect with her (before and after death.) Esther and her school friends compete in a new playground game, the dying game, attempting to faint in assembly through autoerotic asphyxiation. Esther quickly becomes obsessed with the idea of being able to perform the ‘perfect, romantic swoon’ similar to her mother, after finding her dead body laid out in a feminine fainted position. As she grows up, it becomes her escape from normal mundane life, and she believes this will reunited her momentarily with her deceased mother. As she moves through university, London and jobs Esther is trying to recreate her mother’s moment with different sexual partners and dangerous scenarios. We see her portray her grief through the disillusion that if she can capture the perfect swoon in front of the perfect audience, she will be worth her mother’s attention. This book is categorised as a dark comedy but I didn’t find it very funny. I enjoyed it, the descriptions of her losing consciousness was very creative, but I didn’t find any of it funny - maybe my sense of humour isn’t dark enough. All the characters in this book were pretty cruel, but the men especially. All of them treated Esther horribly - maybe partly because she treated herself so badly - but this is no excuse for their continuous abusive behaviour towards her. It would have been nice to see how some character relationships ended, but as we move through life quite often there is no definitive ending. Overall I enjoyed the book, but the ending left me a bit underwhelmed sadly. I think it was about her accepting death, but I didn’t feel there was much of a conclusion.

[Jane Flynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book.
Very stylish and descriptive. The chapter each tell of a different occasion when Esther attempts to or does black out on demand.
She is obsessed with her dead Mother, her ability to Swoon when needed.
Esther found her Mother dead in her teens.

As a regional read I thought it didn't really capture the Calder Valley and it's residence. The story could have been anywhere.

Authors first book, her academic back ground over shadowed the story slightly in that it felt like she was over stylising her work.

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark, blunt and fleeting read :

"I started to slide into unconsciousness. What are you doing? he said, and he shook me. What the fuck? What is this? Is this what you get off on? Fucking hell. Stop it."

There is no fairy-tale ending, just a glimmer of hope in the final pages...

[Roxy Elson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Enjoyable read but left me wanting more in terms of an escalation of the fainting game. I almost feel that it didn't go far enough? Doesn't quite make my top list of unhinged female protagonists, my favourite genre.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief and beautifully written.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure I quite got why you'd want to make yourself pass out. from the Read Regional 2017 section of the library.

[Alison whittle · Rating 4 out of 5]

short but refined with humour and a touch if sadness...

[Susan Atkin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m being generous with one star.

[Bella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great gothic atmosphere, but I felt the book was too short to really have any impact.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are several funny moments in the book, but the ending is pretty vague.

[Sofie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Sue Corbett · Rating 3 out of 5]

A YA that I’d not want to hand out to just any young teen. A precautionary tale but I think it glorifies the practice of deliberately passing out.

[Amber Isaacs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an strong opening, but feel it isn't sustained. Still really enjoyed

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Dominic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the writing and imagery. How the author moved through this concise exploration of a child who lost a parent. Loved every line of this quick read.

[Alycia · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is one of those books where nothing truly happens which i normally love but idk i just wasn’t into it