Author: Sophie Kinsella
Year published: 2024
Category: Adult fiction
Pages: 144 pages
Rating: 5 out of 5
Location: (my 2025 Google Reading map): UK
Summary: “What Does It Feel Like? is fiction, but it is my most autobiographical work to date. Eve’s story is my story.”—Sophie Kinsella
Eve is a successful novelist who wakes up one day in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there. Her husband, never far from her side, explains that she has had an operation to remove the large, malignant tumor growing in her brain.
As Eve learns to walk, talk, and write again—and as she wrestles with her diagnosis, and how and when to explain it to her beloved children—she begins to recall what’s most important to her: long walks with her husband’s hand clasped firmly around her own, family game nights, and always buying that dress when she sees it.
Recounted in brief anecdotes, each one is an attempt to answer the type of impossible questions recognizable to anyone navigating the labyrinth of grief. This short, extraordinary novel is a celebration of life, shot through with warmth and humor—it will both break your heart and put it back together again.
“Why did I write such a personal book? I have always processed my life through writing. Hiding behind my fictional characters, I have always turned my own life into a narrative. It is my version of therapy, maybe. Writing is my happy place, and writing this book, although tough going at times, was immensely satisfying and therapeutic for me.”—Sophie Kinsella
Review: During Nonfiction November, a novel that is basically a memoir seemed like a good idea. And it came highly recommended. From page one I was pulled into this story with Kinsella's easy writing style (remind me why I haven't read her books?!).
The first part of the book isn't very long as "Before" shows us Eve struggling to write her novel, then getting inspiration, writing the book, getting a Hollywood movie made of the novel, and hitting the red carpet. Yes, lots of the details (like the writing and filming) are skipped since the point is to show you her success as it leads into part two: After.
The rest of the book is Eve's (Sophie's) story of her recovery from a brain tumor. I have two friends who were diagnosed with a brain tumor within a year of one another (and they are married to each other!). One was cancerous, one was not. Recovery has not been easy. Kinsella does a wonderful job at describing Eve's experiences, how it felt, as well as the physical process.
Knowing this was also Kinsell'as story (which she talks about in the Afterword) made it all the more interesting and readable. This is a quick but informative and powerful read.
Challenges for which this counts:
- Bookish--main character is a writer
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