So far the strongest offering by the author I’ve consumed, I think. Eileen is full to the brim with contradictions and has an earnest, warped view of herself and others, both men and women. And the illusions as to something come to a head despite her life being completely lacklustre creates a pleasant asymmetry. What could possibly have happened in this boring town to this albeit socially warped and troubled woman? Somehow it’s all very tense. Narrated from a future perspective too, the notion that she’s so candid about her now somewhat blasé perceptions of the world, create a compelling confluence.

And because I didn’t see the ending coming to such a head, and the story was riveting, and Eileen is certainly unhinged, all of this made it much more memorable than my previous read Lapvona, which is numb with shock value and meandering, and that one with the old lady, which I forgot that I’d read, and remember nothing at all but apparently thought was alright. By a country mile this beats them out.