This book was intriguing. Following the life and struggles of 1 of 2 daughters of a prestigious writer. We learn that the writer's health is deteriorating as he is trying to write his memoir, and his daughter Hillary becomes responsible for telling his story.

She goes back on forth on what to tell, what to be honest about. She is still struggling with grief over her sister Pauline's death. Pauline was her father's favourite, and it is inferred that there is at least some inappropriate touching and relationship between them. The book though doesn't really zone in or focus on any actual abuse. The major theme for me was the fallibility of memory.

There was plenty of suspense and conflict in this book, but it felt like we never really reached a climax. The main character is so timid and nonconfrontational, still desiring her father's approval that she never fully gets the closure she needs or outs him fully for his past. Unfortunately this book just spoke in too many memories and remembrances that only the main characters knows and didn't let the audience in enough.

3/5
Fiction, 248 pages
No Spoilers Review

This book was certainly not what I was expecting, and I struggled to get much enjoyment or satisfaction out of it.

The premise had a lot of promise, and there were a lot of interesting plot points included, but in the end, these just weren't enough for me.

I had an almost constant sense of discomfort reading this book, and the writing style, while certainly unique, just didn't resonate with me. In fact, I feel like it was a distraction, and took away from the overall experience.

The book did succeed in making me feel empathy toward the main character, Hillary, and I was able to relate with her on a very low level, which was definitely a plus.

Overall, I just expected more, and it never came. I feel like some of the story arcs were left incomplete, on purpose, and that robbed me of a sense of completion/closure when I reached the end of the book.

Things I liked:
The general plot ideas
The perspective of the story
The position Hillary was put in and all the difficult decisions it forced her to make
Things I didn’t like:

The writing style
The unfinished story arcs
The lack of consistency/flow
The distractions brought on by the intentional grammatical errors

I would be very selective of whom I would recommend this book to - I know a few people who would appreciate it, but feel that most would have the same mixed feelings as I do!

Pitched as a book for fans of My Dark Vanessa so, I was sold on that. I was approved for an e-ARC of this book and I rated it 3.5 stars.

It definitely has some of the same themes as My Dark Vanessa, but rather than dual timelines piecing a characters experience and trauma together… this one is just a stream of conciousness from a woman who isn’t even sure if what she remembers is true or whether it was something she dreamed up.

Our main character, Hilary, steps in to help her famous author father write his final piece of work - a memoir of his life. In doing this, Hillary unlocks a number memories about her childhood, her sister and their relationship with their father. She just can’t decide whether or not to reveal those memories and ruin her fathers reputation. She also can’t talk to him about them…because he is slowly slipping away from himself due to Alzheimer’s.

I appreciate that the author carefully approached these dark, tough topics and how some people deal with their trauma without needing to dwell too long on the details of what caused the trauma.

This next note is just a personal bias, but I really love that it was set in Toronto and the regions surrounding. The author spoke of parts in the city that I know and even the Big Apple off the 401 towards to Kingston, which I’ve been to with my own family a number of times. I always like something different from NYC … which seems to be a lot of the books I read.

It was a quick read and I really felt immersed in Hilary’s day to day, even if at times she seemed to sway in and out of reality and could appreciate that she was torn on how to tell her fathers story without Incriminating him or… maybe that’s exactly what she wants to do.

I rated this one a 3.5. For context, since we’re comparing, My Dark Vanessa was a 5⭐️ read for me. A lot of very similar themes, but I struggled with the delivery and lack of clarity with how it ended.

Would I recommend it?
Sure. If you this kind of story telling.

Would I read it again?
Probably not. Unless another reader pointed out something I might’ve missed that could change how I read it.

I found this book quite confusing to read. And maybe that was the point of it all.
Hilary is caring for her father, Baby, who is a writer that is currently writing a memoir while dealing with Alzheimers.
It's a heavy book that deals with suicide, child abuse, grief, and more. But because of the way it was written, I couldn't enjoy it or let myself get fully immersed in the story. And like I said, maybe it was written in a way that sort of mimics someone with Alzheimers mind.

The following review was posted today, Sunday, May 1st, 2 days before publication. It will be shared on Twitter and Instagram between today and the publication date (Tuesday, May 3rd), but the review has already been posted on Goodreads. The blog post includes links to pre-order the books and to its Goodreads page, so readers can add it to their to-be-read books.

“It’s as though the more he forgets the more I remember.”

Genre: Fiction, Mysteries and Thrillers
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Content Warnings: Dementia, insinuations of incest and child molestation, explicit pet death,

Hillary Greene is left with some hard tasks: take care of her senile father and write his memoir. Her father is a renounced author and, after years of writing, is losing himself and all the secrets he tried so hard to bury. Hillary, on the other hand, is an aspiring author and is grieving the loss of her sister. She is left with a choice: share, through the memoir, who her father really was or cover it all up so his legacy as a writer can live on.

This was an extremely depressing and disturbing read. Let’s start with the fact that the daughter—and caregiver—calls her dad Baby? We then find out why that is, but it still made me uncomfortable at times, even if it was a nickname.

Personally, I think that the most devastating part of this book was how, through her endeavors, she uncovered truths that were there all along, not only about her father, who the memoir is about, but of her dead sister as well. I can’t say I agree with all the actions Hillary took throughout this book, but at the same time I could mostly see where she was coming from.

I would highly recommend this book, especially if you’re fond of dark stories. If you read and liked “A Little Life” by Hanya Tanagihara or “My Dark Vanessa” by Kate Elizabeth Russell, then “What We Both Know” is for you.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: May 03, 2022

“They say a man becomes a man when he loses his father, but what does he become when he loses himself?”

I found the beginning extremely confusing. Who was Baby? Was that her father? It wasn't explained until chapter six. Because I spent so much time trying to figure that out, I might have missed who Catherine was. So that relationship felt strange and undeveloped. Actually, the whole book felt a bit strange. Sort of like reading the thoughts of someone with Alzheimers, not just the daughter of someone with Alzheimers.

This is a dark, intense, and uncomfortable read. I was familiar with Parker's writing before reading this book, but the narrative voice in this text still surprised me––it's very unique. The pace of this story was a bit slower than I would have preferred, but overall, I was impressed with how Parker handles the complexity of the themes brought up in "What We Both Know." I do wish the ARC had been an e-pub file, rather than a PDF––it was definitely more difficult to read in this format.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: May 3, 2022
Hillary Greene’s father is a respected author and public figure, known throughout the literary world. Now he is struggling with memory loss, and trying to keep it a secret from his fans, his publisher and the writing community at large. Hillary, an aspiring writer herself, decides to help her father keep his secret, screening phone calls and fielding interviews in her father’s stead, even agreeing to help him pen his memoir. But as his memory continues to steadily decline, taking his ability to write along with it, Hillary must assume the responsibility of writing her father’s memoir herself. But what side of the story does she present- the story her father has told to his adoring fans for years? That of a loving father and husband? Or does she portray her father as only his close family knows him, and by doing so, reveal his truth but sever her relationship with her father forever?
“What We Both Know” is the dark and disturbing new novel from author Fawn Parker. Dark family secrets, and whether or not to reveal them to the world, lie in the hands of a bitter and neglected daughter, torn between the love of her family and the truth.
This story has been compared to “My Dark Vanessa”, in regards to its subject matter, but that, in my opinion, is where the similarities stop. The writing has a very strange style and format (intentional, however still very distracting) and it made the novel difficult to read. Punctuation and grammar were intentionally done incorrectly, and the storyline jumped back and forth with no specific distinction.
Hillary is a likable enough character, and as her family’s dark secrets reveal themselves, the reader can’t help but empathize with her. The novel centres on Hillary and her taut relationship with her father, referred to in the novel as “Baby” (which is uncomfortable and disconcerting in its own right). There are a few other characters that make an appearance (such as Hillary’s estranged mother, and an adult female who appears to be either Baby’s past love interest or Hillary’s current one?) but they simply serve as background.
This novel had a lot of promise, and Parker appears to have the talent, but the writing style, meant to be “hip” and “creative” was challenging. The plot did not flow well, and Parker did not really provide any solid conclusions to any of the plot lines (I was never a fan of “Choose Your Own Adventure” novels. I do not want to make up my own ending with my own assumptions). However, this novel will definitely appeal to readers who are braver than I and are willing to take the chance with a strange writing style.

What We Both Know follows Hillary Greene, the daughter of the famed Canadian writer Baby Davidson, encharged with writing his memoir as his mind deteriorates from Alzheimers. Coping with the loss of her sister to suicide and dealing with her ailing father while trying to parse his life together, Hillary is faced with the traumatic flooding of memories and feelings of growing up with a father like Baby, and the impact he had on Hillary's sense of self, her perception of her family and her sister Pauline's existence in the middle of it all.

Sold as a book for readers of My Dark Vanessa and in lieu of the #MeToo and Time's Up movements, this book was not what I was expecting. I was anticipating more of a look into Baby's life and his perverse and prosecutable actions but it really came down to being about those that stand outside these atrocities, those who have to look in on those that have done the harm and those that have been on the receiving end of it. Having this perspective and showing the budding means of information grow as Hillary goes deeper into her memories made this quite an uneasy read, leaving me asking questions about things that didn't end up being answered or receiving answers to questions I didn't even think about in the first place. As much as I didn't like not knowing the nitty gritty details of certain things, especially about who Pauline REALLY was and what happened behind closed doors, I think the nuance or lack of information suited the narrative perspective really well and helped flesh out Hillary's own character identity and development throughout her learning and writing process alongside caring for the man who slowly becomes an even bigger monster than anticipated in her eyes. Seeing the way Hillary's mind .worked to try and deal with her unassessed trauma, especially through the use of significant trauma responses and intrusive thoughts was really interesting, if not completely disturbing, to delve into. At no point was this book comfortable but it left me wanting to dissect every word choice or anecdote to contextualize and round out each scene to something that was beyond itself (my English major brain really had a field day with this one). I can't say I necessarily enjoyed this, the same way I couldn't say it about My Dark Vanessa but in equally the same way, I feel that this book will remain in my mind for a very long time and will definitely be afforded a reread in the future, merely for trying to link the pieces together and see more into the dynamic of Hillary, Pauline and Baby that was kind of too jarring the first time around. Overall, this was a highly intimate, complex and intense read but one that I will definitely recommend in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and McClelland & Stewart for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I did not enjoy this read - but I wanted to stick it out for where it went. I was disappointed that the writing didn't make sense to me - and I left feeling too "stupid" to understand what was happening. Perhaps I don't understand the techniques being used.
Further, I didn't see where the book was going, nor understood what was happening while it was happening, nor enjoyed where it went. I felt like things were thrown in (like the dog dying) that had no bearing on anything else. I also didn't understand the pacing - sometimes it was moment to moment, sometimes it was day to day, and sometimes there had to gaps between that I didn't really understand.
I don't understand the link to My Dark Vanessa - this isn't that, nor in its ballpark. It's a story that goes very very differently, and only shares the sexual assault component - but it isn't even about her. It's about her dead sister. There's also no justice in this case.

I'm not sure where to begin with this book, so I will start with the writing. Fawn Parker is a brilliant author. I cannot say enough about the beauty in their written word. This book discusses a lot of deep and emotional things that so many people will be able to relate to, yet Parker does so in a way where I was compelled to keep reading. The way Parker is able to establish each character's persona, I felt like these were real people, doing real things. Parker's writing is in a league of its own and is up there with the best writing I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
This book is marketed as "for fans of My Dark Vanessa" - which I really don't agree with fully, this book is so much more. I loved My Dark Vanessa, but this book, although yes, deals with sex with a minor/child, What We Both Know speaks to caring for aging parents, parental sexual abuse against a child, drunk driving, memory loss, body image, infidelity, suicide, and death. This all sounds very upsetting, yet while reading What We Both Know, the writing is absolutely beautiful where you are able to push through these topics (partly because they are discussed in "passing by" vs. in My Dark Vanessa where the sex and relationship are discussed in detail) and really get to the root of what is going on - the relationship between father and daughter, or lack thereof.
I really want to thank Penguin Random House Canada and Fawn Parker for the opportunity to read this ARC. This book moved me and captivated me. It left me thinking of it every day. I still think about the characters and how horrific the theme is, yet how stunning Parker's writing is.
This is a fantastic book that I will recommend. I also really loved that it was set in Toronto and the GTA. I love reading books that are set in my backyard.
What We Both Know has easily moved into the spot saved for my most favourite books.

I loved My Dark Vanessa, so obviously when i saw the mention of it, i had to at least see the description. I know that publishers these days try to stir readers’ choices by mentioning other successful books that are oftentimes just tangentially related, so i wasn’t really expecting anything “just like My Dark Vanessa”.
Besides, the premise in itself promised to have its own merit so i didn’t even want anything of the kind. That description gave so much promise in itself.
Unfortunately the book didn’t deliver on that promise. The whole book you are expecting something, and then boom, book is over and there is nothing. You’d think that after excruciatingly long description of eggs and toasts you will get at least half such attention to more important pieces of the story but no, it’s easy enough to blink and miss it.
Some authors manage to achieve perfect flow with seemingly boring minutiae of everyday life, but unfortunately it didn’t happen for this book.
I don’t feel for any of the characters, noone felt like real people for me, especially so Hillary, who is not only the main character but also is the narrator. You’d think more attachment would develop through first person narrative but no. So all in all, it was a very promising premise that just didn’t come to life in any satisfactory fashion.

I thought this was a very interesting and well written look into a very serious and not often touched topic. It was quite slow paced which made it hard to get through but it’s written in a way that really makes you feel like you are in the narrator's head. You bear witness to her every thought and the way her mind works around the things she is finding out and trying to find an answer to it all. I personally felt like the book was very vague on the topic in a way that made it seem like maybe she was possibly making it all up in her head, that maybe was jumping to conclusions about things that she had nothing to back up, which I dont think was the point. I thought it was a very interesting point of view to tell this from, despite my previous criticism I think the point of the book still stands. The closeness of the relationship, between a daughter and a father, was interesting to see her reaction to finding out what he had done. It was definitely a very dark topic to tackle and it was done very respectfully, although I do think that it could have done more and said a solid take on the issue.

Intense captivating book about the relationship dynamic between a daughter and her aging father. An absolute page-turner. It is riveting, I simply could not put it down because I wanted to see what choice the protagonist was going to make. Great read!

*Thanks to Penguin Random House & NetGalley for this Ebook in exchange for my honest review

I really didn't enjoy reading this. I felt completely lost the entire book, it felt like the paragraphs were constantly flipping around what was happening. I was really intrigued to read another book that was similar to My Dark Vanessa however other than the over arching theme being similar nothing else was. I kept waiting for a big reveal or something to happen and nothing ever did.. which made me feel like I missed something.

Thank you to netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished What We Both Know by Fawn Parker, and I’m really not sure what I just read. I went into writing this review with a very negative feeling towards this novel, but as I wrote down more and more thoughts, I can see just how well done this book actually is. The tagline “for readers of My Dark Vanessa” intrigued me, and I emotionally felt the same towards both books as I read through them.

While reading I could not see through my anger, but here I am on the other side realizing that this novel beautifully strung together many infuriating parts to make the reader feel as I did. If you choose to read this one, read all of it, then sit and be with your thoughts for a bit before reacting. My star rating increased from a two to a four-star review the more and more I thought about different aspects of this book.

I’m not sure how to share my thoughts while still being completely free of any spoilers or hints, so proceed with caution.

Sexual abuse was hinted at with such a light touch, which aided to the perversion, and also left many questions. As others have said, there was much anticipation for a big reveal, which never occurred, but I think that was the point. Characters came out of no where, with no true insight given to how they related to the story as a whole; the reader had to put the puzzle together from very disjointed pieces, and this added to the narrators confusion.

I want to feel emotions while I read, and I felt them in spades towards the main character and narrator, Hillary. I found her juvenile, annoying, lacking common sense and with psychopathic tendencies – this left me not connecting with her, but which was so intentionally done. I questioned the nature vs. nurture of Hillary’s upbringing throughout the book.

Hillary refers to her Dad as “Baby” 98% of the time, which clearly showed a lack of empathy towards him. It became repetitive and aggravating, but it showed more about her thoughts towards him than anything else. It is explained why Baby has come to have that name, and it feels extremely callous for his daughter to use it. The similarities between toddlers and a person who is losing their memory and understanding of self-preservation was not lost on me.

There are such large-scale questions put before the reader, one of them being how much personal autonomy those with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease should have. Another, if an individual doesn’t remember their crimes, should they still be held accountable. This is such a thought provoking novel, one of the better ones I have read.

As I wrote my thoughts down, everything that made me so incredibly angry towards this book, became the reasons I loved it. I can see this book being discussed in psychology classrooms, with heated debates occurring. This is the type of book that makes me wish I could have been a literary student.

💫 What We Both Know 💫
By Fawn Parker
Publisher: McClelland &Stewart
Genre: Literary Fiction

I don’t really know how to write this review delicately enough to not take away a writer’s words and yet acknowledge that a dark, disturbing piece of art this is.

I was offered this arc with the connection being “my dark Vanessa” like. And while I did think that book was also dark, the writing in that one, did it in a way that lifted a veil of secrecy that disgusts the reader but holds a grain of truth for any reader who has been a victim before.

With this one, I feel like I struggled. It wasn’t just the moral compass of a father & author with dementia who has secrets that are uncovered as his daughter finishes his memoir. I found that part of the novel, interesting enough to keep moving forward, but I have to stop right then. Because the distant narrator (the daughter) also has faulty morality standards. And seemed unreliable to be the voice of the book.

I won’t go into more details except to say that it was dark, disturbing and in my opinion (except the sexual abuse parts) nothing like My Dark Vanessa. There is also a lot of trigger warnings that must be included for sensitive readers that may struggle while reading it.

Thank you to the pub house for the gifted copy. Unfortunately not for me. I can appreciate the ability of an author to write with acknowledging that the subject and the way it was shown was not one I could positively recommend.

⚠️ suicide, animal harm & cruelty, child trauma, Dementia, abuse, prostitution, rape

A book I found difficult to get into, but I liked the topic of a daughter writing her fathers memoir, and publishing it in his name. She is torn between writing what he says he remembers, and her own memory, she knows the truth could be devastating for him and wonders what it would do for her own career. It reminded me of how often two close people can remember events very differently. The writing style is different and to me does not flow easily. But all in all a good read. I give it 3.1/2 stars..

Very deep and dark and sad.
Not my cup of tea, but if you enjoy psychological books with deeper meaning, maybe this is for you!

DNF at 34%

I am not criticizing the author, just writing what I feel. The protagonist has no emotions whatsoever. It feels like reading a droning monotone monologue. Reading random words on paper that don’t make any sense. I HATE that she calls her dad baby. It is so very confusing.

I am sorry