The only thing that seems to be true is that if you tell yourself something enough times you will grow to believe it. This novel is a true examination of what it means to be a celebrity, and how we put them upon a pedestal. Sam doesn’t have a public and a private persona: she generally believes in her reality, and that is fascinating.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. In this, her third adult novel, Louise tackles the subjects of wellness and influencer culture, abuse of power, sexuality, consent and the Me Too movement, trial by social media and cancel culture. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. Once again I find myself wrecked by Louise O’Neill’s ability to tell stories about how our society messes up women and girls. Amid the pain is confusion, too: “I don’t understand why she’d say something like this; it doesn’t make any sense.But as women in their late thirties, I thought some of their actions were unconvincing and petty, leaving me unsure as to what demographic this book is written for. I found it a worthy point that what we might adamantly claim to be "our truth" may not be the actual truth but merely our own perception of what happened, we're complex beings and often our feelings don't bear any relation to the facts, our life experiences, insecurities and triggers all affect our perception of a situation. As an author I am envious of the incredible achievement IDOL is, but as a reader I am so thankful for the three days of page-turning reading it provided. After all, it’s standard practice for publishers to give out free copies and digital copies aren’t exactly going to cost anyone anything.

This book is a fantastic take on truth and memory, as well as how one can warp the truth/memory for their own gain. Well written, with interesting (though not always likeable characters) Idol demonstrates the problem of reinventing oneself, and it will make you shudder! Sam is a complex character, projecting a public persona while feeling completely differently inside, her self-centredness concealing profound fragility and loneliness.Ultimately, to me, this does a huge disservice to everyone who has ever been the victim of sexual violence. Sam is a successful “wellness” influencer/grifter who, after being accused of rape by her childhood best friend, must scramble to save her career in the age of trial by social media. She has her audience (young, mostly white and female) in the palm of her hand, this is the power of the cult idol with over 3 million social media followers.

You won’t pay any more for your purchase but i will get a very small commission which goes towards paying for the running costs of this blog. The underlying critique of modern society, and social media/influencer culture especially, was very on point, sparking a lot of additional questions, thoughts and reflections for me. Miller is absolutely obsessed with her past and her relationship with her best friend Lisa and ex-boyfriend. I hope to introduce new features during 2022 and join the Bookstagram community on Instagram properly, so come and follow me there too!She’s an oracle, telling them how to live their lives, how to be happy, how to find and honour their ‘truth’.