At the same time, she is considering the carefully assembled pieces of herself. She is preparing to attend a lavish garden party at her boyfriend's family estate, set deep in the English countryside. The narrator of Assembly is a Black British woman. Go to Oxbridge, get an education, start a career. A stunning new writer' Bernardine EvaristoĬome of age in the credit crunch. 'I'm full of the hope, on reading it, that this is the kind of book that doesn't just mark the moment things change, but also makes that change possible' Ali Smith 'Virtuosic, exquisite, achingly unique' Guardian

'Diamond-sharp, timely and urgent' Observer, Best Debuts of 2021 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG FICTION AWARD 2021

Natasha Brown's ability to slide between the tiniest, most telling detail and the edifice of history, the assemblage of so many lives in so many times and places, is as breathtakingly graceful as it is mercilessly true.SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLDSMITHS PRIZE 2021 Dalloway meets Citizen by Claudia Rankine. Written in a distilled, minimalist prose, Assembly is illuminating on everything from micro aggressions in the workplace, to the reality of living in the 'hostile environment', to the legacy of British colonialism.' - The Observer, Best Debuts of 2021 I take hope from Assembly, not just for our literature but also for our slow awakening.' - Diana Evans, author of the Women's Prize-shortlisted Ordinary People 'Bold and original, with a cool intelligence, and so very truthful about the colonialist structure of British society: how it has poisoned even our language, making its necessary dismantling almost the stuff of dreams. She is a stunning new writer.' - Bernardine Evaristo, author of the Booker Prize-winning Girl, Woman, Other 'Natasha Brown's exquisite prose, daring structure and understated elegance are utterly captivating. Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd ISBN: 9780241992661 Number of pages: 112 Weight: 113 g Dimensions: 198 x 131 x 8 mm MEDIA REVIEWS And it is about one woman daring to take control of her own story, even at the cost of her life. As the minutes tick down and the future beckons, she can't escape the question: is it time to take it all apart?Īssembly is a story about the stories we live within - those of race and class, safety and freedom, winners and losers.

Shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2022Ĭome of age in the credit crunch. Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction 2022 Granta Best of Young British Novelists 2023

Assembly book natasha brown