A great piece of fiction with a compelling voice and interesting concept. Rosie Price delivers a real insight into her characters lives with a fierce examination of privilege and a class-obsessed society.

REVIEW
I don’t really know why but I thought that this book was YA, until I began reading it and I discovered that the genre listings were general adult fiction and literary fiction. I think I had read that the characters were at university and just presumed that would make the book YA or NA. The cover of the book is bold and has the title depicted in red and white. Had the book been a paperback version on a book store shelf I honestly would not have picked it up as I have a medical condition called Meniere’s Disease and certain patterns actually trigger it. However, as I read the e-book it didn’t really make any difference to me as the cover was easily avoidable.

The books main characters are Kate Quaile and Max Rippon who actually meet whilst they are living away from home at University. The pair become firm friends after Max locks himself out of his apartment wearing only a towel! To be honest I don’t think Max and Kate would have moved in the same social circles and would never have met and developed a friendship. Max is from a rather high flying, affluent family. His mother is a famous film director, Mrs Zara Rippons, aka Zara Lalhou and his father Dr William Rippons is a cardiovascular surgeon. One of the things that Max and Kate have is that they both have homes in Randwick area. Alison Quaile, Kates mum lives in a small dwelling, whereas the Rippons family have a rather grand home, Bisley House. Though Bisley House does actually belong to Max’s paternal grandmother Bernadette Rippons. Max ends up introducing Kate to his family and inviting her to parties and to stay over in the various Rippon residences. It’s during one of these parties that Kate is raped by Lewis, who is Max’s cousin.

I loved envisioning the scene when Max and Kate first meet. Max clutching a bath towel desperate for help to get back into his flat. Knocking on doors asking for help.
Obviously there is a rape scene in the book, which personally I think was well written, not overly descriptive or harrowing but non the less it is a rape scene, so reader beware!

I thought Kate and Max had a good and genuine friendship. Kate supports Max when his Uncle Rupert has a car accident. Unfortunately, the crash is the result of drinking and driving so yes, there is more than one awkward, perhaps taboo subject covered in this book. Kate is surprised to hear that Max’s mother is the famous director Zara Lalhou and is immediately in awe but makes sure not to ask too many questions about her or take advantage of her friendship with Max in anyway. At some times in the book Max and Kate grow further apart. Max enjoying the high life and easy drug culture with Elias for a while leaving Kate feeling a little lonely. Then when Kate starts a relationship, she is busy with her boyfriend, perhaps leaving Max a little adrift.

One character I adored in the book was Bernadette Rippons, the owner of Bisley House. Bernadette is used to things being her way or no way! I found one scene particularly funny when she purposely calls her daughter-in-law Sara rather than Zara knowing full well that it will irritate her.

Everything builds up to a kind of climax with Kate deciding she is ready to tell Max who her rapist was. Then she attends the premiere of Zara’s latest film that contains a rape scene. Zara has prewarned Kate that the subject of the film has a rape featured within in it as she knows about Kate’s rape, though not who the rapist is. As Kate watches the film she recognises more and more similarities between her rape and the one in Zara’s film. In fact it seems Zara has used some details of Kates rape within her film. It is at the end of the film that Max and his sister Nicole realise who Kates rapist was.

I did enjoy reading the book despite originally thinking it was YA/NA. I do think the older end of YA/NA could and possibly would read this book. The book was a mixture of light university life crossed with the more series and maybe a little more controversial subjects of drink-driving, drug taking and rape.
My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were that it had felt like a bit of an odd read for me. I don’t know how to explain it, I had mixed feelings reading it, hence the four out of five rating on Goodreads.

Enjoyed this book a lot and agree with a lot of the comparisons made . I would however assert that this books deals ( in a very sensitive, realistic way though sometimes graphic) some issues which people may find triggering.

I really liked that Rosie didn't go for the easy option of putting Max and Kate in a relationship - this would have been the easy thing to do.

I recommend this but it is a tough read in some places.

Today's read was What Red Was, which explores trauma and how we process it, along with privilege. Initially it reminded me a lot of Rooney, as there's a "will they, won't they" thread between the two principal characters, who also meet at university. But once the plot diversifies, it becomes a novel very distinct from Normal People, despite there being some clear influences. Some aspects feel a little foggy - there's Tinder, but no presence of social media throughout the novel and just a few references to smart phones - and I wished she explored Max's destruction more, but overall it was a good read which I am sure plenty will fall in love with.

'He had always thought he would be able to recognise a man capable of rape... he had never thought that a handsome man would need to rape anyone.'

Joining other recent books that have broken the silence around rape, non-consent and trauma, I applaud the intentions of this book but have to say that it's quite chaotic and messy as a novel. It feels unfocused, too much time spent on the family soap opera which ends up being the foreground rather than the context: as a result, the rape is almost marginalised, Kate's brokenness is one more wound amongst many, too many for my taste.

There are interesting ideas such as the one in the quotation above about how a man might think of rapists, who 'needs' to rape (er, no-one!) but it's never explored, just dropped in then the story moves on. Personally, I'd have liked less of the extended family stories and more about Kate's actions and reactions - but that's personal taste.

An important topic but an unfocused book.

What Red Was is thought provoking, long beyond the climax of the book. As in real life, Kate, the ‘victim’ is left to continue her life, whilst those around her consider the impact of realising who the perpetrator was, and what that means for their family. Self harm was dealt with sensitively and realistically, but could be triggering for some readers. A challenging read, it is easily digestible and due to the many complex themes and richly drawn characters would be great for a book club discussion - there’s so much to unpick!

Two university friends, Max and Kate, find their relationship changes when Kate is raped. She does not tell Max who assaulted her, however as we all know by now, these things have a way of coming out, and in this case, quite a public way.

The first part of the book reads like Mary Wesley; lots of glamorous young things in a stately home, a few random names and some old buffer uncles. It was a pleasant ramble, although I did query where it was all going.

Once the rape has taken place Kate, understandably, distances herself from the perpetrator. Her mental torment and self-harming made for a difficult read, all the more frustrating as those around her seemed oblivious to her distress.

At this point the book took a rather surreal turn with Max's film director mother taking justice into her own hands. I am still not quite sure what to make of this - I was not cheering her on as her motives appeared too self serving to be admired. An interesting book, but I can't quite make up my mind whether I liked it or not.

Wonderful engaging writing in the vein of Sally Rooneys “normal people” but In a more compelling plot.

Max and Kate meet at university and become almost instant friends. Kate, from a modest single parent background... Max from a wealthy film director mother and doctor father with a wealthy extended family. A truly vivid, raw, and devastating incident impacts their relationship forever.

Contemporary, timely, a powerful voice. This will sell well.

The rhythm of the prose along with the pacing of the story brings to mind Sally Rooney's "Normal People"; flowing and modern writing style, captivating characters and contemporary setting. As far as the theme of the story is concerned, it is extremely gritty and impactful; "What Red Was" deals with trauma, "aching" memory and courage to speak up.