Iris wants it all, but when she gets the promotion she’s worked so hard to achieve, she quits her job and descends into a depression that seems endless and all consuming. This newfound sadness and exhaustion makes life seem pointless, and no matter how hard her roommate George tries to care for her, there doesn’t seem to be anything which will return the light back into her life.
George is safe and caring and attentive, everything Iris should want in a relationship, but then she meets Patrick who is dangerous and could set her world ablaze, a feeling of urgency and devastation that she’s chasing. Just because something is good, doesn’t mean it feels right. There’s this tug of war, this backwards and forwards, between Iris’ affection for George and her lust for Patrick. Through a love affair between angel and devil, Iris is ever more conflicted with how she wants to live her life. In a hole she can’t seem to crawl out from, will it be comfort or danger which she chooses?
The way this novel reflects depression and mental health makes you sink into Iris’ unstable mindset and the book walks you through the reality many women face with being conditioned to be the best in the room, and how this pressure can burn you out and leave you empty. The slow pace, the repetition and the agonising way Iris self destructs is so raw and honest, it makes you feel angry about the state of the world and how woman are treated.
Review by Victoria.
Everyone I Know is Dying was published on 18/07/24 by HQ.
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