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Sad Girl Novel

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What to expect

A young woman tries to figure out if she's the best (a creative genius) or if she's maybe just the worst (completely delusional) in this hilarious debut for fans of Monica Heisey, Elif Batuman and Emma Jane Unsworth.

Maybe my main character will slowly lose their mind too. Novels usually need an abandoned woman going crazy in them. It's gonna be, like, a sad girl novel.

An Australian expat in Berlin, Kim is jobless, rootless, and - as she's slowly discovering - somewhat useless.
That is until a chance encounter with Matthew, a hotshot New York literary agent, gives Kim the direction she's been craving. This year she will:

* Finally write her novel
* Decide what said novel is actually about
* Romantically pin down the increasingly flighty Matthew
* Be less jealous of best friend Bel's baby
* Convince her therapist that the amount of artichokes she eats doesn't classify as an eating disorder
* Stay sane in the process of achieving the above

Because Kim's story will not become a sad girl novel.
Definitely not.

'While Kimberley Mueller spends a lot of time wondering whether she's talented, Finkemeyer need have no such doubts. Finkemeyer's narrator - with her gift for both self-delusion and self-awareness - is a stroke of genius. Sad Girl Novel achieves all we can ask of contemporary fiction: it mocks and sympathises in equal measure.' Diana Reid, author of Love & Virtue

(P) 2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critics Review

Take Hannah Horvarth's endearing naivety and Kirstin Wiig's loveable kookiness and you have the hilarious new protagonist Kim - you can't help but root for her. Unique and smart with wry humour that will make you laugh out loud. I enjoyed following (and re-living) the trials and tribulations of being a 20-something writer desperate to prove herself to the world
Emma Gannon
Pip Finkemeyer has drawn such a unique, funny and painfully astute character in Kim. I could keep reading her inner monologue forever. It is rare to pick up a novel so simultaneously hilarious and moving. I loved it.
Laura Kay, author of The Split
What a voice - weird, witty, wonderfully unique. SAD GIRL NOVEL will make you laugh and move you, too. A winning combination.
Chloe Ashby, author of Wet Paint
While Kimberley Mueller spends a lot of time wondering whether she's talented, Finkemeyer need have no such doubts. Finkemeyer's narrator--with her gift for both self-delusion and self-awareness--is a stroke of genius. Sad Girl Novel achieves all we can ask of contemporary fiction: it mocks and sympathises in equal measure. I closed it feeling better able to laugh at myself
Diana Reid, author of Love & Virtue
Told through the eyes of Kim, a twenty-something Australian navigating the complexities of love, friendship, and mental health in Berlin, this novel will have you laughing, crying and wanting more. A book about finding yourself, losing yourself and everything in between, Finkemayer will draw you in with her stark realism and heartbreaking honesty.
The Urban, Australia
A captivating novel . . . Finkemeyer has an irreverent voice that will have you reaching for a pen to underline every second sentence. Sad Girl Novel will appeal to literary fiction readers who enjoyed Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation and Sally Rooney's Beautiful World, Where Are You.
Books + Publishing
Author Pip Finkemeyer
Narrator Alix Dunmore
Duration 8 hours and 27 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781399723565
Format Audiobook
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Genre Contemporary lifestyle fiction, Contemporary romance, Humorous fiction
Availability AU, GB, IE, US

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