A delicately written book about mental illness. I am sure many will enjoy it but I found it too intense for me.

I love reading about mental health in fiction, so finding There's Nothing Wrong With Her, that deals with the subject in such a unique way, was an unexpected treat. I was met with a moving, sharp and occasionally funny story that managed to change my perspective on women's health. It was, I think, the experience I was expecting from My Year Of Rest And Relaxation, the protagonist here is far more sympathetic, the scenarios presented are less disgusting. It all makes for a more palatable reading experience overall.

It helps that Vita Woods is different from other protagonists in the "sad girl" genre, dealing with a renaissance ghost on top of the list of traumas and health issues. This magical realism lends a touch of the tongue-in-cheek and the goldfish, amusingly named Whitney Houston, serves as a surprisingly vivid character in her own right. What struck me most was the vulnerability that comes through. In the introspective first person narration, Weinberg vividly depicts the frustrations of a body working against you and the frightening isolation of it all. Most effective was The Pit, a metaphysical destination she finds herself drawn down into when she is overcome by her symptoms.

Although I'd not heard of Weinberg before this, It came as no surprise to find she's written several news columns about her experience with Long-Covid. It has allowed her to write incredibly authentically about the experience here. From an outsider's perspective, it made me consider the relationships that we have with chronically ill people, when there’s little that can be done to help. There's a lot of frustration and fear bubbling beneath the surface relationships, which lends a real potent energy to the climax.

I find it a bit tricky to make many complaints. My main issue was that the key relationships can tend to feel a little underdeveloped. Had we spent more time with Jesse and Mrs Rothwell I think some of the emotional moments would have an even greater impact. Although I'm not sure if that's just what I had expected from the book. It is categorized as a romance on Storygraph and I think that's a mistake, since romance readers won't get the Happily Ever After that's so much a part of the genre. However, I think that's an issue with the website rather than the book itself.

As a whole, There's Nothing Wrong With Her will be relatable for people living with chronic conditions, and necessary reading for those who love them.

Gosh, this hit hard. Chronic illness, love and lusting, loss and grief, mental health, and being a woman in pain fighting to be heard. Not an easy read, but one that resonated.

A book that really captures the zeitgeist.

Many people with chronic illnesses and mental health issues will find this a very relevant book. Warm and well-written.

There’s Nothing Wrong With Her
by Kate Weinberg

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Literary Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction

I was really intrigued by the premise of this but....for me it was a fail.
I really couldn't get “in” to the story, didn't empathise with the characters and felt the story just dragged on, and on, and on with nothing actually happening. I think my problem was I just didn't understand what the story was trying to tell me, I was looking for information that just wasn't there.
As always, reminder: we all enjoy different stories, what makes this not for me could be just what you;re looking for in your next read.

Stars: Two, sadly not one for me.

ARC supplied by netgalley and publishers

Unexpected but very good. Deals with a lot tough topics but so so in tender careful manner. A well written book on the mental health and its struggles that will stay with and make you think

A great portrayal of illness, grief and trauma. Very heavy topics covered well and a unique and interesting read. I’m not a huge fan of an open ending which is why it’s not higher but that’s a personal preference and made sense for the story. Romantic aspects within the book but wouldn’t describe as a romance. Would recommend

Struggling with an illness that no medical professional is able to diagnose, we follow the internal monologue of Vita, who is bed bound and struggling with her past trauma. This book weaves together present tense and past tense, memories and fabrications, and the struggles that come along with mental illness.

The story didn’t go the way I expected, and this was both a little disappointing but also entertaining. I enjoyed reading from Vita’s point of view, although the other characters seemed a little one dimensional. There is no real answer to Vita’s illness, and the book ends rather vaguely, I was hoping for a more definitive ending. However, still a thought provoking and compelling commentary on identity, trauma and mental health.

I devoured this book mainly because there were so many points in the book that felt relatable to me especially in the current climate.