a quite incredible book with beautiful writing. I loved the stories within the story itself. it was overall very powerful and I look forward to getting my hands on my own copy to read again.

This novel is exquisite. Taking as its central ideas discussions of power, gender and control, it quickly evolves into a poetic whirlwind of time travel, forgotten stories and love.

The novel is a tour-de-force of history, both real and imagined, and pushes the novel form to what it can do best- explore deep issues and create community, all while paying homage to the past.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This certainly was a very different read to what I normally pick up. It’s is very original and told so poetically. Jones who is the main protagonist , has a body covered in tattoos. She enters a parlour and asks the tattooist to join them up with her mothers blood. The year is 2233 and what follows is a series of stories about the tattoos. We go back in time and we go to the future, each visit called a remembering. Some of the stories focus on violence particularly against women. I thought it was such an absorbing inventive read. I was immersed in the language and imagery of each story. I particularly liked the story about the Lancashire pits., such brilliant descriptions of the claustrophobic mines and the fate of the people who went in them. It’s a book I recommend to anyone who likes something different.

A very different read, told in the future where a woman wishes to have her story told or inked across her body, we see the lives this woman has lived and visit many places to reveal the woman’s truth.

This is a truly extraordinary book that is beyond classification. It could be a drug-induced memoir or speculative fiction or fantasy of the future.

Its protagonist is very difficult to pin down as a definitive character. It’s never clear whose story is being told or by whom. This is a novel where the principal character not only time-shifts but also shape-shifts as tattoos seem to float and flow from body to body.

The action shifts from a dystopian future somewhere in 2233 back to 1996 where recorded music still comes from a cassette deck. It goes on to a Lancashire mining community somewhere in the 19th century. The narrator provides us with an ongoing reflection on the nature and methods of being tattooed. Sometimes they are implanted on the skin through hi-tech futuristic programmes, sometimes they are made through old-school steel needles in ink.

The imagery and visionary story telling are extraordinary. This is the first novel from an author who has a strong track record as a published poet and this is evident in the skilful use of language and imagery. The only comparison I can make is with James Joyce, a writer who also began as a poet before writing complex and multi-faceted novels. Like ‘Ulysses’, tackling this novel is a major undertaking and best done over months, not days, and preferably with pen and paper to hand for making copious notes.

Initially I found this novel captivating but regretfully I had to eventually admit defeat and quit after reading up to the 10% point. For all her vision and brilliant skills, the author has produced a book that for me, like ‘Finnegan’s Wake’, is unreadable. A shifting stream-of-consciousness might be successful as a novella but the continually shifting of place and narration becomes a challenge too far. But if you can commit to the analysis and note-taking required to navigate these shifting sands and shapes, then this stunningly ambitious work could just be the novel for you
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My thanks go to NetGalley who provided a complimentary copy of this novel so that I might make an honest review.

Absolutely breath taking. A really unique and beautifully written collection of short stories, with an incredible overarching narrative that connects them. Some of the themes tackled are gut wrenching, and your heart will be broken over and over again, but it's worth it. This book is absolutely fantastic.

I don’t think I have the words to do this book justice. Stories told and time travelled by a story of tattoos; all emotions raw and touching. Exceptionally written.

Wow! This was not what I was expecting at all! Completely original. The prose is different to their poetry - it has quite a surreal feel to it as the main character journeys through the stories. Surely Joelle Taylor now has a brilliant prose career ahead as well as prizewinning poet! I love the time travel element, set in 2233 but reimagining the past landscape and critiquing the culture of that (our) time. Each narrative wholly different and bizarre. Can't wait to see it published!

The Night Alphabet is a lyrical and painful exploration into the life of our main character, Jones. Unlike anything else I’ve ever read, Jones’ story is told through a series of interwoven stories of the lives into which she literally falls through her inherited ‘rememberings’. Our story begins with Jones going into a tattoo parlour to get one final tattoo. The remainder of the book follows the stories Jones goes on to share with the artists about each of her tattoos.

There are a lot of difficult topics addressed within this book, with a large focus on violence against women and at times children, often from unsettling perspectives. Please be sure to check content warnings. I have added these to my StoryGraph review.

This book offers a vivid exploration into the generational and societal trauma of humanity, specifically relating to violence against women. The dystopian and poetic depictions of how collective memory remains within us individually and how this becomes entrenched into wider society, are absolutely genius.

The Night Alphabet is truly unlike anything else I’ve ever read. This story is so much more than it seems on the surface and though some of the ‘rememberings’ were haunting and even at times shocking, most left me with a sense of pride in the women I had only just met.

I did at times find myself feeling a little lost in the lyrical language and metaphor but this would very quick dissipate only a few sentences later.

This book is one that is definitely meant to be read more than once. I am already so aware of so much of the nuance and magic that was lost on me along the way. I look forward to receiving my physical copy so I can annotate and immerse myself further and deeper.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

Many thanks to NetGalley and riverrun for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

This book is not an easy read, but it is worth the effort needed to parse each sentence's meaning. It demands your full attention, through its worldbuilding and its lyrical, metaphor-heavy sentences. So many lines in this book had me marvelling at their construction and the meaning within. I get the feeling they will continue to unravel upon a reread, so I may have to get myself a physical copy upon its release.

I was hooked from the opening line. It was unnecessarily brilliant - it was so agitating to ever have to put it down. Admittedly, I did not expect such an incredible novel after the blurb - interesting, sure, but I wasn't mentally prepared for something mindblowing. It's touching, it's complex, it's a book that leaves your mind touched with it - like tattoo ink. I cannot wait to get myself a physical copy to pore over each page with even more concentration.

I adored this book. I read it exclusively at night and felt like I'd been transported into it, unsure if I'd ever climb out. It's incredibly inventive, bold, thought-provoking and just gloriously written,

This was an excellent book with absolutely gorgeous writing.

It starts out with a woman going to a tattoo parlour and from there, tells us the stories of the different lives she has been in: some from a dystopian future, some in the past, each of them give us a glimpse of a different world and the depth of the characterisation and story that is told is incredible considering they are effectively short stories. I'm already looking forward to rereading this.

I definitely recommend reading it and I'm looking forward to reading whatever Joelle Taylor does next.

Well this was something 😍👌.
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The tattoo was a reclamation, a flag we mounted in the centre of our own landscape.
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When you read the blurb of this book, you get some sort of idea what it's gonna be. So I thought I would like it. But I never imagined that I would love this so much. I expected touching story about women's lives and the terrible things that sometimes happen. What I got is heartbreaking tale about all the wrongs that have happened to women, that are happening to women and that will happen to women... a poetic book full of uncomfortable truths and things to think about. I was more and more engrossed in Jones' rememberings with each one she mentioned. Some were more interesting than the others, some were more uncomfortable, but all of them were unique and worth of your time.
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Parts of this book take us to the past, parts are really dystopian, but both are equally fascinating and terrifying. Sometimes Jones falls into a woman, sometimes a man, sometimes being oppressed and sometimes being the oppressor. The "good" and the "evil"... But the story is always mainly about women.
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"Why do you only talk about women, though? Why are these stories all about women?"
I turn to face her, implacable. I am getting bored. It has been a long day, an endless day. The same day.
"Would you ask that of a fucking man?"
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I can't believe it was That good y'all. I feel like I need to read it again, annotate the whole story and think about it for a few days. Because this book is worth it. I haven't read many books with so much feminine rage (="an ancestral and inherited response to the struggles, oppressions, and wrongdoings that women have been subjected to") as was in this one, but I definitely need to now. And you need to read this once it's out (15 February 2024)❤️

Joelle Taylor’s novel The Night Alphabet is a phenomenal debut. Through mapping the tattoos and stories on Jones’ body, Taylor calls attention to violence against women and girls in the past, the present and in the future. From coal mining, to Incels, to dystopian visions of women fading into oblivion, each story forces the reader to consider how far any of these events are dystopian in nature. Taylor raises a question too often ignored or stigmatised; what are we doing to protect women and girls? More importantly, how are we protecting women and girls without putting the onus on them.

In many of Jones’ ‘rememberings’, in which she experiences the lives of others, the women and girls must save themselves or are not saved at all. The Night Alphabet is as much about women as it is about men, about how patriarchal society endangers us all. It is because of this discourse that means The Night Alphabet should be an award winner in 2024.

Taylor’s work is powerful, uncomfortable (in the best way) and critical while still being moving, especially once we learn why Jones is at the tattoo parlour in the first place.

I chose to read The Night Alphabet after really enjoying the same author's poetry in C*nto and a couple of novels in poetic style. I can safely say this book is unlike any other I have read.

A dystopian story featuring Jones, a woman who along with her mother and grandmother, experiences 'Rememberings'. These are where she falls into the lived experience of a person in the past or future. She recounts her stories to two tattoo artists in the far future. Stories include working as a child in a cold mine, being an incel who murdered women and growing children in extracted wombs. The one story in particular I felt drawn to was The Quiet Men. Families fleeing London because they no longer met the cut of being 'British'. It had that Black Mirror element to it, where it could 100% be real in the future. I also liked the final story as a nod back to C*nto.

It is an excellent book if looking at it as a body of work by the author and her own experience. However, if you are looking for a dystopian experience of women from a broad spectrum of society, it's not that.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book

I didn’t know what to expect when going into read this but I thoroughly enjoyed it; the concept, the writing, the way it was executed, I adored every second of it!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review so in that spirit, let’s get into it.

Let me start by saying that I think this book is incredibly ambitious and entirely original. I predict it will become a cult favourite and resonate widely. The stories it contains are varied, interesting and show real storytelling versatility and format wise, it was a really clever and exciting way to weave together short stories.

Sometimes I found the language used a little off putting. It’s very prosaic in style and strays into being over complicated, favouring form over function and preferring prosaic language at the expense of telling the story. Often the narrative will interrupt itself with a complex yet irrelevant metaphor or an opportunity for the writer to show how clever they are, and it takes you out of the world of the book.

All in all, a great effort and a strong debut. Looking forward to seeing more long form storytelling from. Taylor, particularly if their writing style is refined in the process of writing more novels.

This is unlike any book I have read before. I would try and describe this book as a collection of short dystopian female led stories linked together by a girl called Jones, her mum, grandmother and two girls she finds working in a retro tattoo parlour. We follow the 3 women falling endlessly from their bodies and landing into strangers skins as they encounter their 'remembering's' . Each tattoo on Jones body is a door to a story and remembering. I am usually drawn to female character led books and I really enjoyed the writing in this book from Joelle. The language had a lyrical poetic flow which I loved. The book looked at lots of topics including sex workers, incel's, rape, chat rooms, men having babies and violence against women. It explored how all the different personalities, perspectives and differences make us whole. I will be recommending this book and looking for more from this author.

The Night Alphabet is a novel of interwoven stories, as a woman tells the stories of her tattoos to two tattoo shop workers. It is 2233 and in Hackney, a woman covered in strange tattoos walks into a tattoo shop, asking for them all to be connected together using ink and blood. As the tattoo takes shape, she tells the stories of these tattoos, each one a doorway to a 'remembering', another life that she fell into and lived in some way. Coal mining, gay bars, murderers, sex work, and more, the stories chart violence against women and different existences, all whilst our protagonist, Jones, reveals more about her history between the tattoos.

Unsurprisingly for a poet like Taylor, the writing really brings this book together, with each story feeling very different and yet still lyrical, never too repetitive. It keeps returning to the tattoo shop like waves on the sea and this gives the book a nice rhythm and pacing too. Some of the stories are more gripping than others, and some explore more nuance than others. One that stood out particularly was the one in which the narrator becomes an incel man who kills women, which has quite a different feel to a lot of the other stories about women being the main character and fighting for things, and it hinted towards interesting questions about perspective as well as forms of female revenge. The titular story also stands out as it is dark and powerful, giving a new form of voice to a group of women. Some of the more obviously dystopian stories were too similar to other 'what if something happened to all people with XX or XY chromosomes' stories for me, and the short length of the individual parts meant there wasn't much nuance to them.

Overall, I enjoyed the writing of The Night Alphabet and the clever way it wove together the stories into a novel, but I didn't feel like all of the stories were as interesting and nuanced as others, and I would've liked to spend more time in the messiness of perspective that Jones talks about at points, and what it means to understand too many sides to any story.