I think when I first read Universality by Natasha Brown (thanks @faberbooks via @netgalley for the review copy) a couple of months ago, I didn’t read it for what it was - a satire on some of the most prominent topics of conversation today. The opening section, which is written in the style of a long form article of investigative journalism about a man who almost bludgeons another man to death in the midst of the Covid lockdowns at an illegal rave (and pans out to explore those connected to the event: a banker, a radical anarchist movement - the Universalists, and a controversial newspaper columnist), is somewhat bland and moralistic. I know this was probably a stylistic choice but it really made me disengage with the rest of the novel which then splinters into short encounters with the freelance journalist, Hannah, who wrote the piece and subsequently shot to success (albeit temporarily), the banker whose gold bar it was and Lenny, the vocal and unpredictable newspaper columnist.

However, after hearing Natasha Brown in conversation at Waterstones Deansgate I vowed to reread Universality. It is such a short book - around 170 pages - and took a few hours at most. Again, I found the first section even more jarring second time around but enjoyed the subsequent sections more. The excruciating dinner party that Hannah hosts for old university ‘friends’ now that she has experienced a modicum of success in her career is well wrought. The dialogue really brings to life the tensions between their differing views and bubbling just under the surface is the chasm created by their class differences.

The final chapter really does crescendo into a big face off between one of Hannah’s ‘friends’ - a well-respected and successful cultural critic - during his interview with the news columnist and author, Lenny, at a literature festival. Again, Brown lays bare the slipperiness of words, how they can be used to gain power, the upper-hand, and used to subvert the truth. I can’t say I liked or really rooted for any of the characters, which isn’t really the point. But where I initially found them to be more like caricatures, on a second reading I began to see that maybe it’s the zeitgeist of our current times - and the language we use to talk about issues such as politics and identity - that is an inhibiting factor in many of the characters Brown portrays. I’m not entirely sure I’m clever enough to understand fully what Brown is getting at, and I’m still not entirely sure if it is genius that she is able to pack so much into such a slim volume, but I’m willing to concede that my I got a lot more out of Universality on a second reading so I’m very glad I took the time to revisit it.

I really wanted to read this book but when my request was accepted it had no archive date. It was only when I went looking for it today to download that I realised it had been suddenly archived. It would be useful if we could be notified when an archive date has been changed. Thank you

This book had everything to be a new favourite. And yet it really wasn’t it. Why is that?
Well, the main reason is that it felt so hard to connect to the story and the characters. Throughout the narrative, I felt so distant from what I was reading… and I understand what the author was trying to do, but I don’t think it was done the way I expected it to. This is not necessarily bad, mind me. It kept me on my toes with sharp writing and bold ideas, which I enjoyed. I like books that challenge the way I think and perceive the world. But this didn’t pack the punch I was hoping for. It is witty, satirical and deeply ironic, and I enjoyed Lenny’s pov. However, I don’t think this is for me.

Loved Natasha Brown’s previous book Assembly so was very excited to read this, especially as it’s set in that awkward pandemic time that I find so fascinating to explore. It’s only a short 150 pages in which we follow a host of characters involved in an illegal rave that result in a man being bludgeoned by a gold bar.

However, this is a difficult one to review as I felt slightly too dumb to really get it, clearly Natasha Brown is mad intelligent and I could tell that this was a scathing take on the current socio economic landscape. But it didn’t quite land for me, and that’s mostly on me I reckon and not getting all of the subtext. I think it maybe could have benefited from being bit longer to have more time for a bit of an emotional investment and really drive its points home. We also cover quite a wide range of characters for such a short book and it felt hard to really connect with any of them.

What did really resonate with me was the gravitas given to the power of words and how different people perceive them, and how our media is so often distorted to fit a certain narrative rather than portraying the truth. This book also felt like a warning with strong hints that the UK’s is really following the dark murky path we are watching America go down. I was most interested in the journalist covering the story and how the story was manipulated by the different characters and their wildly different takes on what had happened, and the scope of views covered was impressive in such a short book. But I would have personally liked to have seen some of them explored more in depth.

Having adored 'Assembly', I was very excited to read Brown's latest book, and I greatly enjoyed how she is able to hold up a mirror to the various corruptions and complications of modern political life and discourse. In this book, her ability to focus on the logical flaws and inconsistencies in various political arguments and movements, as well as characters who can exploit all ends of it, was riveting.

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

4.5 out of 5

This was my first Natasha Brown novel and I’ll certainly be picking up Assembly in the future.

Universality is centred around journalist Hannah’s viral longread, exploring an attack with a mystery of a solid gold bar at the fore. After the success of her work, the novel then branches off to the various perspectives of those caught up in Hannah’s piece and the subjects of her research. The characters are revealed as rather complicated and often unlikable, yet it feels necessary for Universality’s story, where truth and personal opinion is under scrutiny. The novel offers a sharp yet humorous exploration of UK society, politics and the class divide, through the lens of the constantly-shifting British media. It’s short but packs a good punch and will leave you with a lot to think about.

Thank you again to @netgalley and @faber for my ARC in exchange for an honest review

This didn't quite stand up to 'Assembly' for me, but still a lot of enjoyable and interesting aspects. The journalistic style of the first act was great fun to read, but I felt that the sort of pulling apart of the various threads of the story and its characters afterwards didn't follow on quite as strongly, particularly as it wasn't quite clear to me why Hannah was involved at all, or why Lenny had approached her to write the article in the first place. The conclusion also felt a bit rushed. There was a lot of interesting social commentary though, both in what Brown's especially conservative characters say and how she writes them.

I enjoyed this novel, it was interesting and different. I liked the setting and main characters, and found the style and way the story was told.

This was a phenomenal book - a powerful and impactful read in a short amount of pages. It was a great look at class in British society and I thought that the multi-person viewpoint throughout the book worked really well and made it a wonderful way to examine the characters and their actions throughout the book. I did really enjoy Assembly, her first book, but this one was on another level - incredible!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

**Universality** is a smart and well-constructed novel with sharp commentary on language, media, and identity politics. Natasha Brown’s writing is impressive, and the way she layers different perspectives is clever. But I have to admit, some of it went over my head. I appreciated what it was doing, but at times I wasn’t sure if I was fully getting it. Still, it’s a thought-provoking read that sticks with you.

I'm left with decidedly conflicting feelings after reading Universality. I know how highly regarded Natasha Brown is, and how much love there was for her debut, Assembly. And without doubt, the abiding sense you get from her latest is that this is a very talented author. Her musings, via her characters, on the state of the nation and the growing imbalance of the classes is impassioned and painstakingly considered. But at times it felt as though I was reading non-fiction.

Various personalities and arcs are patched together which results in a cluttered reading experience. And owing to the shortness of the book, it was all over before I really had a chance to get properly invested in things. I am certainly keen to see what she does next, but considering my expectations were high going into this, it left me feeling quite flat.

This is an impressive follow up to the character study that was "Assembly".

In an interview, Natasha Brown referred to this as an “ensemble novel”. For a book that is just 176 pages long that sounds absurd, but in this case it isn't.

Her unique gift for language means she can distill more nuance in a broader range of characters than most novels achieve in four times the length.

A gripping read about the power of language, privilege, and "truth".

Thanks to Faber and Faber Ltd and NetGalley for the eARC.

I've heard so much about Natasha Brown and I can understand the hype after reading this unique book. The different forms and perspectives added a lot of detail and covered a lot of ground. A really sharp and thought provoking investigation into British media and wider society.

I loved Assembly and already had this book on preorder since last year. When there was a chance to read an eARC I had to request.

The start of the novella is an article written by a journalist, Hannah, about a gathering on a Yorkshire farm where a man was attacked my a gold bar.

We then follow the people linked to this story through Hannah as a journalist as their stories unfold.

Natasha Browns language plays with your perception of the situation, with twists along the way, as the people share their side of the story. With themes of class, power and politics, stereotypes are challenged and questions around do we really know people or do we only know what they show us.

I love how Natasha Browns can build such complex characters in a short narrative.

Thank you NetGalley & Faber for the eARC for an honest review

⚜️ REVIEW ⚜️

Universality by Natasha Brown
Release Date: 13th March 2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

📝 - On a Yorkshire farm, a man is brutally bludgeoned with a solid gold bar. A plucky young journalist sets out to uncover the truth surrounding the attack, connecting the dots between an amoral banker landlord, an iconoclastic columnist, and a radical anarchist movement. She solves the mystery, but her viral longread exposé raises more questions than it answers. Universality is a twisty, slippery descent into the rhetoric of truth and power. Through a voyeuristic lens, it focuses on words: what we say, how we say it, and what we really mean. The follow-up novel to Natasha Brown’s Assembly is a compellingly nasty celebration of the spectacular force of language. It dares you to look away.

💭 - I’m going to be completely honest here… I’m not sure I’m smart enough for this book and did actually read some reviews after finishing it to get a deeper sense of what I had read. It delves deep into politics, truth, power, and class, with an interesting style of each part being told from another point of view. It is definitely a thought-provoking read, warranting reflection on how the truth of a situation can still be subjective through everyone’s personal interpretations, and how everyone loves to see themselves as a victim no matter their privilege or status. Natasha Brown is an evidently talented writer, as the book moves between journalistic styles and different points of view, interweaving discussion of race and class throughout. I do know that @lit_laugh_luv has also raved about this one and I can fully understand why - it is a provocative and as he’s said, warrants discussion. And, if you read it and do end up slightly baffled, well, you can join the club!

#universality #natashabrown #bookreview #netgalley #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyreview #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #2025release

Universality is a good book: I'll get that out of the way first. It's well written, it's articulate, it's intelligent; Brown is obviously a talented writer. It just wasn't for me. I went in not really knowing what to expect, and while I stuck with it to the end, I was glad when I hit the last page.

If you're not familiar with Brown's work, you might, like me, be fooled by the book's description:

"Late one night on a Yorkshire farm, a man is brutally bludgeoned with a solid gold bar.

A plucky young journalist sets out to uncover the truth surrounding the attack, connecting the dots between an amoral banker landlord, an iconoclastic columnist, and a radical anarchist movement. She solves the mystery, but her viral longread exposé raises more questions than it answers."

I expected violence, investigation, thrills - the trappings of a crime novel. There's none of that. The "bludgeoning" itself feels largely glossed over, with Universality flicking between multiple characters, all supposedly related to this crime at the centre of the book, but there's little real direction. Brushing on politics and ideology, most of Universality is surface level. There's little story here and there's little room to walk away with a meaningful message, either.

There are glimmers of greatness. Lenny is a fantastic character, and I'd have loved to learn more about her, warts and all. I enjoyed Hannah's section, too; perhaps the most grounded of all segments of the book. But everything here feels too fleeting. The first chunk of Universality, about 50%, reads like a journalistic essay about the event on the Yorkshire farm, although details are glossed over in lieu of the people involved. The rest of the book is split into several short chapters, each from the perspective of a key player. But to say anything cohesive and meaningful comes from it would be a stretch.

I'm glad I read this: it's nice to step outside of my comfort zone once in a while. But this wasn't for me; I feel like I've read something I shouldn't have, and now I'll tiptoe back over to my own bookshelf where I can get lost in the pages of a thrilling narrative.

A tightly written novella filled with sharply drawn characters and biting satire. Although this book didn't grip me quite as much as Brown's debut, Assembly, it's a timely and thought-provoking read that deserves to be widely read.

The first third of this novel is a news article, the rest of the novel is an exploration of all the characters who were mentioned in the aforementioned article.

I honestly don't know where to begin describing this novel. It's part critique of modern day journalism and it's focus on click-bait, another part discussion on the UK class divide, gender and race politics. And to fit it all into a 170 something page novella is extremely impressive, and jam packed. There's so much to unpack, it would be a fantastic book club discussion.

I feel like this will be one of those Marmite books. Some will absolutely love this but as with the food, Marmite is not my mate, and Universality and I never quite found common ground enough to make friends. There was the initial rush of infatuation with its journalistic style but sadly as it goes with infatuations, it is almost always the very thing we are at first infatuated with that ends up finishing the relationship. The initial pull of someone being bludgeoned with a gold bar had me seeing stars in my eyes, but quickly started feeling like swipe right clickbait, as the chat no longer sounded unique and it was hard to tie this slippery plot down to anything concrete or real. Universality started to feel like a fickle mistress that lacked any emotional maturity. I am trying to remember that words are my weapons and I don't want to unleash a brutal attack so I would like to end things here "It's not you, it's me".

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for setting me up with an advance reader copy of Universality in exchange for my honest review.

On a smartly written novel that explores the complexity of our sociopolitical issues and the way stories are interpreted by the media. I never actually read ‘Assembly’, Natasha Brown’s first book, but I’m aware of all the buzz it generated at the time, so when I saw Elizabeth Day talking about her new novel, for how much Brown has been able to pack in such a slim volume, I was very intrigued. Thank you for this ARC copy!
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It starts with a story of how a man was attacked with a solid gold bar on a farm in Yorkshire, during an illegal lockdown rave. Hannah, a journalist, tries to investigate the incident further, and soon we get to read about the connections between the characters, including the wealthy banker and his partner who writes about ‘woke capitalism’. As you would expect, the book goes to explore topics such as politics, class, privilege and so on. It makes you think about different versions of truth and how truth is so easily manipulated. A truly clever book, for sure.⁣
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I haven’t fully made up my mind about this book - I do agree that it’s incredible to be able to pack so much substance in 176 pages. There are a lot of twists and there’s so much about it that makes you think of modern British politics and capitalism - that’s probably why some people found it more relatable than others. I’m never too big of a fan of political satire, so perhaps you would enjoy it more. Thought-provoking writing nonetheless.