Bina has had enough and this novel is her warning. First of all, her name is Bye-na not Bee-na thank you very much. This is a character who makes you sit up and take notice right from the opening. She is an everywoman, scribbling her warnings on the back of old envelopes and she tells you quite categorically that just by stopping and listening, your world will get worse from here on in, The writer’s sense of injustice burns on the page, but she also displays compassion and empathy by the bucket load. She weaves a story of male violence and the status of the female voice in today’s world is so relevant in today’s world. Even though the material is dark, Bina tells a story with colour, life, and so much humour.
I like the fact that she isn’t telling her story to gain sympathy, she simply wants to let us benefit from her lifetime of experience, her struggles and the things she knows to be true.

It is interesting that I read this novel alongside Sarah Butler’s Jack and Bet. The themes around age and decline are very similar. Bina is lonely since the death of her friend Phil, isolated and, as we learn what has happened in her life, extremely angry. This is entirely character driven, and quite experimental in structure with fragments and lists that read like disjointed poetry. I enjoyed this but I think it might be a Marmite type of book - if you connect to or enjoy Bina, you’ll enjoy the novel. If you prefer plot over character then it won’t be for you.

Certainly a unique way to write a book; it was more like journal entries, a stream-of-consciousness style that does not really focus on the plot. Albeit being sometimes funny, sometimes touching, always artful, "Bina" left me wanting more.

I found Bina by Anakana Scholfield quite a frustrating read. I persevered hoping it would become more engaging but it's not one I really connected with.

Seventy-something Irishwoman, Bina, is troubled by her good-for-nothing ‘sorta son’, Eddie. More distressing is the request friend Phil has made of her: to assist Phil’s right to die.

This novel's extraordinary strength lies in its voice. The character of Bina – brusque, cranky and confused – jumps off the page. Her ‘warnings and remarkings’ are jotted down on the back of envelopes, receipts and any other scrap of paper that comes to hand.

Schofield’s spare, ambiguous prose and non-linear narrative demands the reader must work hard to make sense of the story.

Bina sings of the strength and solace to be found in female friendship. As a comment on ageing and isolation, the novel challenges and perturbs.

Includes a welcome turn by the spirit of David Bowie.

My thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group for the ARC.