I was attracted to the blurb (and to the cover) because the theme of obsession, with a backdrop of academia, Covid and Cambridge seemed like ingredients for a cracker of a novel. There was a lot I liked about this novel, but the plot was obscured by too much overwriting, and too often I felt a need to say, out loud, 'Just get on with it'. When the writing flows, it's true, it flows well, and it's clear that Setton has the capacity to do this, but far too often, there were great patches of narrative that went on and on and on, for no narrative purpose, only, strangely for the plot to gallop to a close at the end. There's something wrong with the pacing, and I felt that the writer was working hard to crank up the word count rather than tell the story. This could, and would, have worked much better as a short novel because some of the threads were just left hanging, in fact, it felt as if there was a lack of editing about that. The resolution was bumpy, with some revelation about a character's son whom he'd never mentioned, and a sense that the writer themselves thought enough was enough. I'm being critical, I know. I also know how tricky it is to write a novel - it's a marathon - and this isn't a bad novel at all, but take a deep breath if you decide to read it because it is definitely longer than it ought to be. My grateful thanks go to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC.

There was a dark and menacing tone throughout the novel but I did actually find the twists and turns surprising. The narrator was unreliable which was helpful, although not deceitful to the reader. She was also not particularly likeable but also someone you could relate with to some extent. The descriptions of place and her work were jarring creating the tense atmosphere throughout and after the first quarter I began to fly through it. Due to the bleak tone it did feel heavy going at first.

Anna is a very bright student, just starting a PhD at Cambridge. She strains her wrist rowing, and meets Caden, a physiotherapist, and soon they are a couple. Not far in the background however is Caden's ex-girlfriend, a stunningly attractive French footballer, and Anna becomes obsessed about whether Caden is still involved with her. Its a terrific plot, well written, with a pretty dark ending

When Anna is accepted for her PhD at Cambridge, life is just about perfect. With busy lab work, an acclaimed Professor to impress and great girlfriends the only thing missing is an amazing boyfriend. When she meets Physio Caden everything seems to fall into place. But both University and lab are closed when Covid lockdown is put in place, and, reluctant to move back to her unhappy home life, she accepts Caden’s invitation to move in with him.
Plaything is a novel about obsession, set against the backdrop of Academia and Covid, who could resist? As it turns out, I should have. This is well written, but often long drawn out and not overly interesting for a lot of the time. I am not sure this will be a memorable experience for me.

Plaything by Bea Setton is set in a Cambridge university, but is not a campus novel, Its events take place against the backdrop of Covid, but it is not a Covid novel. Anna, our narrator, tells us this at the outset, immediately causing the reader to question what this and where it might go. It is an effective opening which leads to a narrative of a young woman becoming involved with a withdrawn man, Caden, whose ex-girlfriend Anna is still around. This is not a love triangle novel either. What this novel is, is a thrilling examination of love, loss, jealousy, and obsession. It drips with that hazy ooze of youthful passion. There are twists, and moments of violence, all held together by a narrator whom you will love and loathe in equal measure and for different reasons.

I have not read Setton's first novel, Berlin, but based on the strength of this one I shall be tracking it down.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.

This is my second book by this author and I throughly enjoyed Berlin but this was a bit of a let down. It sounded interesting but I didn’t enjoy the format.

If I had to describe this book in one word, it’d be ‘powerful’. I’ve read few books that are as vivid and atmospheric as this one. I was completely immersed in the protagonist’s life, and the unsettled feeling I got from this book stayed with me for a while after finishing it.

I can’t say that I enjoyed this exactly - some parts of the book are disturbing to say the least - but I appreciate its power and the sheer experience of reading it.

Plaything is a novel about obsession, image and cruelty, as a Cambridge PhD student becomes entangled with a closed-off man with an ever-present ex-girlfriend. Anna moves to Cambridge to start her PhD, and soon finds herself top in her lab and with new close friends, even though she's haunted by a chance car accident when she arrived. She meets Caden, a physiotherapist, and is enthralled, but she also feels the echoes of his ex-girlfriend, who he will barely talk about, and Anna starts to become obsessed, as the Covid lockdown removes other distractions from her life.

Told from Anna's first person perspective, the narrative unfolds with a languid menace, an undercurrent of violence and a strange sense of unknowing because Anna doesn't really know much about Caden, even when you think she should. The actual plot is pretty straightforward, with a twist or two at the end that leave unanswered questions about guilt and blame that do seem to tie together some of the themes of the book in their unanswered nature. The book is full of unlikeable characters and that makes it compelling in wondering what they will do (and why, as there's a few random plot/character details that come out of nowhere and don't really go anywhere).

The narrative explicitly states it is not a Cambridge novel nor a Covid novel at various points, but what is quite interesting is how it is those things. Though the book is at its heart about a relationship between two people who weren't really connected to each other and about a clever twentysomething woman who should have it all but falls into a hazy world of obsession, it is also—despite Anna's protestations—a look at Cambridge and Covid. The Cambridge element, not just the setting but in Anna's position as a PhD scientist and elements like the cruelty of lab animals, catalyses the obsession, making her someone who needs to know, and it is interesting to think how much this is crucial to the narrative. At the same time, the book depicts the onset of Covid and the first lockdown, and that too feels crucial to the obsession and threat, and the choices people made during that time.

The central plot with Anna, Caden, and Caden's ex-girlfriend is perhaps less interesting to me than a lot of the other elements of the book, but I enjoyed the atmosphere of it and its occasional forays into questions about what violence people inflict on others. I find it funny how much it was explicitly not dark academia, when for me, it's the sort of thing dark academia should be, exploring how particular academic environments might cause violence and harm, and it's interesting to see this kind of narrative focused on a scientist.

This was a real page turner! I picked it up because the blurb on NetGalley sounded interesting, and it really was. Anna was despicable and so well written, she was flawed and had me wanting to scream at her. Caden was equally as unlikeable, and usually I struggle with so many unlikeable characters, but somehow this worked.

I found the middle of the book a bit of a drag to read through, but it was still entertaining. The plot twist at the end came out of no where and completely shocked me, making the entire book even more compelling.

Plaything by Bea Setton gives similar vibes to The Idiot by Elif Batuman and The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Setton's previous work - Berlin.

Plaything is wonderfully dark and always compelling. The plot set at Cambridge is intriguing from the beginning, and the writing is sublime throughout.

Sorry, but this just didn't work for me: the blurb sounds so enticing and the cover is fab - but the writing feels jumpy and doesn't flow, and the constant flashbacks are distractions. I couldn't see how the story comes together: there seems to be no connection between the central relationship, the PhD research and the onset of covid.

Cambridge is one of my favourite places and this novel transported me there: the author’s prose is so vivid that you yourself are strolling along the River Cam and watching the rowing teams, then stopping at the pub along the way and talking loudly with your friends about classes and the uncertainties looming in the future.
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At its core, this is a story about self-image and how insecurities always keep us on the edge, without truly letting us experience anything. Anna is smart, paradoxically seeing herself as a ‘low maintenance, self watering succulent’, so when she starts a relationship with Caden, she’s always expecting something bad to happen. The fact that Caden is super closed off and traumatised by a past relationship doesn’t help at all, making everything 100x more intense. His half-compliments are a direct hit that make Anna spiral and constantly feel in a competition with Giselle.
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What I loved about the story is that I had different expectations plot wise, I thought it was a messy love story set in an academic town, but it was much more profound, especially towards the end. Anna’s thoughts and family dynamics make you feel raw, as a powerless witness, but I also felt myself empathising with her struggles.
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Is this book on your TBR? I’m definitely reading Berlin soon!
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Thank you @doubledaybooks for the copy!