Fantastic dark humour about a gay 28 year old woman living with an anxiety disorder, navigating unemployment and a series of events mostly steeped in verisimilitude. There is a kind of through line that occurs about a quarter of the way in, when it appears that someone may have been murdered, but most of the narrative is about the lived experience of someone with a disorder and probably mental issues of some kind (I don’t think it mentions any formal diagnosis in the text?).

What is so different about this is how unassuming the narrative is. The narrator at times feels like a diary discussing the events of the day, skipping time often. But it’s also voyeuristic, enabling a compelling kind of humour that doesn’t feel like it’s laughing at the character but the reader is included in a narrative constructed to counter a lot of the notions the protagonist has about herself—caused by her anxiety, no doubt. I found her to be relatable and smart and incredibly endearing. One of the easiest characters in a long time to root for.

The plot, as far as there is one as it’s pretty loose, also operates appropriate to the story. Often, it shows that what she’s anxious about doesn’t come to pass and she worries for “no reason”, but that’s not how anxiety works. The stereotypes about people suffering from anxiety are countered with her characterization, which I really appreciated and I found augmented the humour. Reminded me of Fleabag somewhat, but far less sexual content.