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Assembly cover art

Assembly

By: Natasha Brown
Narrated by: Pippa Bennett-Warner
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Come of age in the credit crunch. Be civil in a hostile environment. Step out into a world of Go Home vans. Go to Oxbridge, get an education, start a career. Do all the right things. Buy a flat. Buy art. Buy a sort of happiness. But above all, keep your head down. Keep quiet. And keep going.

The narrator of Assembly is a Black British woman. She is preparing to attend a lavish garden party at her boyfriend's family estate, set deep in the English countryside. At the same time, she is considering the carefully assembled pieces of herself. As the minutes tick down and the future beckons, she can't escape the question: is it time to take it all apart?

©2021 Natasha Brown (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Natasha Brown's exquisite prose, daring structure and understated elegance are utterly captivating. She is a stunning new writer." (Bernardine Evaristo, author of the Booker Prize-winning Girl, Woman, Other)

What listeners say about Assembly

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  • Overall
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    3 out of 5 stars

A bit of a shock

I really wanted to know what it could be like to be a highly educated black person, a minority in a sea of whites in an atmosphere of 'diversity'. My reaction is one of recoil against the indirect sarcasm of a girl expecting not to be treated as different. She is after all different in so many ways that wallowing in her outrage against pretty much everything seems to me ridiculous. Caught in trap of moral indignation against not belonging, being an outsider, being the odd one out , when inevitably, she actually is. Her way of dealing with it is to become contemptuous of those around her naturally treading on eggshells trying to avoid the race, class, privilege barrier. I felt no sympathy and am left angry that the tone of this whole story, though brilliantly conceived, is plain mockery.

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100% worth reading

People who have had experiences like Natasha’s will love this. And for those who haven’t, I expect the perspective given in this book will be eye opening. Beautifully written, wonderfully read, highly recommend.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Confusing

This book seemed to have no beginning nor ending. It jumped from scene to scene and was very confusing.

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1 person found this helpful

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Short and oblique but so powerful

Beautiful reading by Pippa Bennett-Warner of a brief moment in the life of a high-achieving black woman whose sensitivity to the everyday racism and misogyny around her are finely tuned anyway but heightened by a huge decision she’s making. I don’t want to spoil it so can’t say more, but it’s fantastic.

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Phenomenal debut

An incredibly striking novel where every single word is perfectly, deftly placed. The author has so carefully depicted what it is like to exist at the intersection of all these identities.

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Heartbreaking Read

Astonishingly moving. It breaks my heart to read these struggles still present among such success.

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Incredible view into Black British identity

As a Black person born and bred in the UK, this short book is a sobering, eye-opening and accurate portrayal of the often unseen challenges. The book grapples with identity and the assumptions underlying living in the UK amongst an atmosphere of policy and norms which relegate black and brown people to being ‘other’.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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Some beautiful writing but hard to follow on audio

Audio felt “flat” and it was slightly hard to follow- better to read in a book I think.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Rather disappointing

An interesting take on the issues of women, race, class, and other important issues but I didn’t feel they were integrated into a good story and found some of the stereotypes very cliched.

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Beautiful and important

Beautifully written. Beautifully read. Feels like an important read. I am beyond moved. Thank you.

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