Sheena Patel

I'm a Fan

In I'm A Fan a single speaker uses the story of their experience in a seemingly unequal, unfaithful relationship as a prism through which to examine the complicated hold we each have on one another. With a clear and unforgiving eye, the narrator unpicks the behaviour of all involved, herself included, and makes startling connections between the power struggles at the heart of human relationships and those of the wider world, in turn offering a devastating critique of access, social media, patriarchal heteronormative relationships, and our cultural obsession with status and how that status is conveyed. In this incredible debut, Sheena Patel announces herself as a vital new voice in literature, capable of rendering a range of emotions and visceral experiences on the page. Sex, violence, politics, tenderness, humour—Patel handles them all with both originality and dexterity of voice.

I'm A Fan

Sarah Christine Gill

Seventy-two objects associated with pain or pleasure are laid out on a table. Amongst them are a rose, a feather, grapes, lipstick, honey, a whip, a scalpel, a gun and a bullet. Abramović stands in the centre of the room for six hours and surrenders herself to the audience. At the beginning the audience are timid and nervous. They reposition Abramović's arms and tentatively engage with her. As the performance matures, they are bolder. They place objects on her, take pictures of her and pose with her, taking staged photographs playing with her body, using it as a prop. They become comfortable with her inertness which makes them aggressive, pouring oil on her head, pricking her with the thorns of the rose, they cut her clothing, cut her body, they place the knife between her legs driving the blade into the wood behind her, they carry her around the room halfnaked, one participant licks her blood and another loads the bullet in the gun and points it at her head and holds it there, finger on the trigger until another audience member pushes his hand away. When the gallerist announces the end of the performance, Abramović comes alive and walks about the space of her own agency. The audience members scatter, unable to bear or deal with the reminder that she is, in fact, a person. She says of the performance, it was six hours of horror and if you leave it up to the audience they can kill you.

"Pure fire from start to finish. Sheena Patel is the future" - Niven Govinden "A fast, fizzing cherry bomb of a debut..." - Observer "Mesmerising, powerful, and finely observed" - Olivia Sudjic --- AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVEL OF 2022 I'M A FAN tells the story of an unnamed narrator's involvement in a toxic affair. Endlessly scrolling through the social media profiles of her boyfriend's girlfriend, her obsession with the couple spirals out of control. With a clear and unforgiving eye, Sheena Patel makes startling connections between power struggles at the heart of human relationships to those in the wider world, offering a devastating critique of social media, patriarchy, and class structures.

Nice book to read at the beach on a nice summer day in Cape Town and wonder why you bought it  

Marion

Eva Ströberg

Sheena Patel - I’m a fan
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⭐️⭐️⭐️
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This is the kind of books that make you irritated, curled your toes and thirsty for more. It is so cringey in so many level, but also a drag to read.
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This unnamed woman in her 30s (?) who’s in relationship with the most patient boyfriend in the history of Britain, is having an affair with a guy who has more than one lovers and she knows this.
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She also knows the name of his wife and the other lovers, that she actively stalks them on the social media. She’s a fan! 
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It’s crazy how social media can turn a normal person into a stalker so easily. How could you gain information pre-internet era? 💁🏻‍♀️ the slow way
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Anyway this book irritates me so much in the end that I am giving it 3 stars only

Matt Eaves

armoni mayes

4.5 stars. Imagine Acts of Desperation and Boy parts had a baby, that would be this book. More loosely on the boy parts, but the MC has…issues lol. 

I’m A Fan follows an unnamed narrator in her early 30s as she navigates being obsessed with both an older man and a woman he used to hook up with. This man, who’s married too, has a multitude of affairs with our MC being a … victim to one of these numerous affairs. We learn that he’s every girl’s worst nightmare — noncommittal, noncommunicative, egotistical, and an asshole. But our MC is so convincing in her nature of desire for him it’s hard to watch honestly. Then on the other side of the coin she stalks this other woman and tries to learn every single thing about her thinking it will somehow gain the man’s love and affection (spoiler: it doesn’t).

Patel discusses not only relationship imbalances, but quite a few chapters delved into women’s issues (how they are viewed in society) and racism. But, as someone who’s been in a situationship that arguably sent them into psychosis, i felt for our MC. I’m docking half a star because a couple of chapters felt a bit disjointed and not related to the plot at all. 

“ We are all of us engaged in a collective self-harm by trying to love him, seeking to be loved by him.” 

“I am on a clock and it runs differently for me. I am female. There was never much time and I've wasted so much already.”

“There is never a moment I think being this available is a bad thing for me. I reason, a main character would go, a main character says yes to life.”

Nanthanat Chompradist

It was a fun, interesting, and addictive read, but I had higher hopes, so it's kind of disappointing. I did enjoy some chapters. There are some hilarious chapters and sentences that actually made me laugh. But for overall,It felt repetitive and lacking a plot or any development (fully no plot just vibe).

britt

i think there’s some really good commentary in this but it’s only every so often and the rest of it is pretty boring.

Reading with resistance because I'm so wary of the theme. But hella good.

Dora Tominic

Disclaimer: this is not a review.

Reading with resistance because I'm so wary of the theme. But hella good.

Shalini Basu

What do I do with all the rage I felt from reading the sharp, biting lines of This novel now!!!
Would have been perfect if only the end wasn’t a fantasy

I wanted to like this more because I thought it was a very interesting look into parasocial relationships but it turned out the protagonist was actually just insufferable and a little bit insane,(maybe more than a little bit), but also PAINFULLY millennial. There was no continuous plot so it made it a little bit harder to follow the timeline of events as it jumped around quite a bit. The writing was very punchy and I found left me flabbergasted more than I thought, but I think that was its strength. 

Rana Sulieman

The best way I can think to simplify my description of this book is if a woman thought-vomit in her Notes app of her hyperfixations that ranges from obsessing over her lover’s lover, patriarchy, creativity, ambition, of self, and of everything that crosses her mind really.

The chapters were all really short which feels like a perfect pick-up if you’re a busy girlie in need of some quick literature to consume. As someone who hyperfixates on things quite a lot—especially the little things—, I relate to the narrator so well. Though she is as unrealiable and unlikable as she comes, the way she describes of her obsessions and hyperfixations reminded me of me in some ways. I admit I’m not a saint, I’ve never claimed to be a good person. I am that very unlikable narrator. But I stick to my truth no matter how dark it is.

I have seen this book circling around my community of readers for a while now but what drove me to pick it up was Lauren a.k.a bigbooklady’s TikTok in which she listed I’m a Fan as one of her favourite reads in 2023. So I thought, what a perfect time to finally pick it up right here right now and indeed what a fast read it was.

Think of this book as your erratic consciousness splattered on paper, all vibes no plot. So highly recommending it to people who are searching for all the vibes and no plot type of books, I think you would enjoy it immensely!

“I pay attention to things that most people ignore.” — Olivia Rodrigo

Allie

There is a whole other storyline unfolding with two main characters and I am merely the short subplot to aid the trajectory of their love story. I am not a main character in this ensemble romcom of betrayal, I am a supporting act. He is in no danger of falling in love with me. I am usurpable in my own life. I am on a lower social strata to the two of them and in this way they are equals and are better matched. No one would think to invite me to a private view at the Royal Academy—I am no one. I’m a fan and because of this, I can be cut out.


The best way I can think to simplify my description of this book is if a woman thought-vomit in her Notes app of her hyperfixations that ranges from obsessing over her lover’s lover, patriarchy, creativity, ambition, of self, and of everything that crosses her mind really.

The chapters were all really short which feels like a perfect pick-up if you’re a busy girlie in need of some quick literature to consume. As someone who hyperfixates on things quite a lot—especially the little things—, I relate to the narrator so well. Though she is as unrealiable and unlikable as she comes, the way she describes of her obsessions and hyperfixations reminded me of me in some ways. I admit I’m not a saint, I’ve never claimed to be a good person. I am that very unlikable narrator. But I stick to my truth no matter how dark it is.

I have seen this book circling around my community of readers for a while now but what drove me to pick it up was Lauren a.k.a bigbooklady’s TikTok in which she listed I’m a Fan as one of her favourite reads in 2023. So I thought, what a perfect time to finally pick it up right here right now and indeed what a fast read it was.

Think of this book as your erratic consciousness splattered on paper, all vibes no plot. So highly recommending it to people who are searching for all the vibes and no plot type of books, I think you would enjoy it immensely!

“I pay attention to things that most people ignore.” — Olivia Rodrigo

Hannah

“I want to gain immortality because of my brain and not because of the potential of my womb”
I AM A FAN 
This book says a lot about social media and power structures and race and really touches on a lot of profound subject matters. The sense of obsession you get from the narrator is so well written and overall I would say this is a real good multi dimensional read
kind of a jarring ending but I thought it suited the book well

Alejandra 

No plot just vibes (of toxicity in relationships and observation on the misogyny and racism in society).
The protagonist reminded me of the Yellowface protagonist if she were focused in a toxic relationship. 
Really great.

YIKES. Incredible writing. Here’s to more unlikable female characters. More unlikeable characters in general. More Sheena Patel, please. 

I'm a Fan

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