The triumph of Hannah Beer's 'I Make My Own Fun' lies in creating a truly compelling character out of its meglomanical protagonist, Marina: a women who is certainly selfish, conceited, cruel, and a liar, but written with enough restraint to avoid becoming cartoonish. Despite being a woman of extreme means (A-List Actor, 5-Time Oscar Winner) in extreme circumstances, her emotional life is convincing and grounded in a way many books in this subgenre fail to pull off:

Her apathy, giving way to cruelty as a means for her to feel anything at all; Her narcissism, projecting an image to protect her from any criticism or comment that would demand introspection; Her fear, marketed to women, trying to convince us 29 is not only middle-aged but geriatric.

Still, as familiar as a character like Marina feels, the book is a fresh perspective. It's current without entirely dating itself. It evokes other contemporary, "unlikeable female character" works, yet it stands out amongst its peers for its willingness to commit to portraying a truly disturbed perspective.

This book was a very fun, yet harrowing, read. I loved the "news" stories and social media clippings; they made the world more immersive and served as a pithy reminder to give up your parasocial inclinations and remember to touch grass. I laughed a lot.

It was the essential darkness of Marina's character that kept me up devouring this book. The tension it creates colors everything. It's Beer's skillful balancing act on the line between "woman as monster" and "woman as caricature", along with the masterfully executed ramp-up in intensity, that makes this such a delightful read. An impressive debut!

Readers of Eliza Clark, Chelsea G. Summers, Jen Beagin, Tara Isabella Burton, and CJ Leede will enjoy this! Thank you House of Anansi Press Inc and netgalley for the ARC!

i LOVE crazy women. i really appreciated that hannah beer committed to the crazy full tilt — in making her own fun via a series of increasingly wild actions, marina made a lot of fun for me, too. this book was quite short (clocking in at only 288 pages), but i felt like that was the perfect amount for the content. it was sharp and biting in a tiny package, and not a single moment was wasted.

when i say marina is crazy, please know that i 100% mean it. she is unrepentantly out for herself and herself alone, and does whatever she wants when she wants it — up to and including literally kicking puppies. she’s evil! and it’s for her own amusement! her growing obsession with anna as the book went along wasn’t exactly a surprise, but i still enjoyed reading it all play out. it felt like watching a car crash in slow motion — it’s horrifying and fascinating all in one, and i couldn’t look away.

3.5 stars.

Marina, an A+ list movie star is the actress everyone loves. But beneath her public persona…she’s truly awful. She’s set her sights on Anna, a London bartender and Marina will do anything to get what she wants.

This was a little fun, a little silly (Marina has five Oscars and she’s not yet thirty? That’s just dumb.) It’s always a joy to read about bad people doing terrible things. I’m not sure what that says about me but you got to dance with them that brung you.

In Hannah Beer’s debut novel, “I Make My Fun,” readers are introduced to Marina, an unreliable narrator and IT Girl. Marina becomes infatuated with Anna, a young person from Gen Z who is simply trying to make a living in London. What follows is a sort of reverse version of Misery, where the celebrity becomes the fanatic.

It’s a book that’s hard to put down, filled with an antihero and her erratic actions—like a train wreck you can't look away from. The story is dark, funny, and captivatingly twisted.

I highly recommend this novel, especially for fans who enjoy messy protagonists or unreliable narrators. If you liked Jen Beagin’s "Big Swiss," Emma Cline's "The Girls," Liann Zhang’s "Julie Chan is Dead," Hannah Deitch’s "Killer Potential," Kit Conway’s "Cat Fight," Swan Huntley’s "I Want You More," or Oyinkan Braithwaite’s "My Sister, the Serial Killer," you will likely appreciate this book as well.

Thank you to House of Anansi Press Inc., Anansi International, and NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.