I really enjoyed this book, its both what I was expecting and not what I was expecting at the same time.

The general premise surrounds a woman who has no psychological or medical issues being placed in The Salpêtrière Asylum as her father wants nothing to do with her for various reasons, which was a common occurrence in the patriarchal society of the 19th century. It also explores the experiences of the nurses and other women in the asylum.

The 'mad women's' ball, in which the rich were invited to the asylum for an evening to essentially watch and mock the 'mad women' is an interesting and distressing centre for the plot. It is made even more so by the fact that it is not fiction but is a real event that took place for many years in the 19th century. The way the women are put on show for people who do not care for them or who would not interact with them under normal circumstances is demeaning to the 'mad' women but in being so isolated in the asylum many see it as a distraction or chance to return to society. At the back of the book, Mas makes an interesting comparison to the reality TV and documentaries of today's world, showing that society may not have grown as far from this idea than we think.

My only reason for not giving this 5 stars is that there is a character who's development we seem to skip over a bit quickly at the end. She goes through an awful lot throughout the book and it felt lacking to not understand more of what happened to her and how she regained her agency.

I really wasnt expecting the inclusion of some paranormal plot points but I think enjoyed the book more because of it. I highly recommend giving this book a go, it was a great read!