Hangsaman has to be one of the strangest books I've ever laid eyes on. At face value it's a coming of age novel, not much different to The Bell Jar, but go deeper, further and you have something so intricately crafted and unusual that hits notes like no other. This novel is hard to pinpoint. Not quite one thing, hinting at being something else and constantly morphing to suit itself.

This book is chock-full of unpleasant people that you can't help but hold a place for in your heart (or at least your thoughts). Aside from these people Natalie herself is, I thought, absolutely wonderful. To be pulled so far into the mind of a character that you question what may be real or unreal is something rare to come across, and something I fell absolutely in love with.

I have so much to say about this book that I can't put into words at the level it deserves. I know I'll reread this a few times, and still won't be able to fully understand or describe it.