'Two Lumps of Sugar for Mr Anxiety' is a hidden gem, not only of literary fiction, but of mental health representation also. An incredibly affecting first few chapters is only the start of the emotional depths the author goes with this novel - soon sending its lead protagonist to India for work, leading to more exploration of mental illness, relationships, and the culture of India. It's immediately clear how fully Eli Wilde understands everything he is writing about.

By casting anxiety (both the emotion and the mental illness) as a character - Aftab - Eli Wilde does for this abstract ball of terror what Terry Pratchett did previously for Death. Taking a purely conceptual idea that people both hate and fear, and turning it into a lovable character only there to help, in his own way.

This decision makes it easy to empathise with the unrelatable, to understand 'The Thing' and allow anxiety sufferers like me to approach their own struggles with a greater understanding, and perhaps a greater toolset. Simultaneously, I can see this book allowing people who don't suffer from anxiety to gain a greater understanding also.

Not merely a book about anxiety however, this story also provides an equally entertaining and powerful narrative, with excellent characters, a fantastic level of depth, and a touch of powerful, thought provoking worldbuilding through the setting and characters that India provides.

In short, 'Two Lumps of Sugar for Mr Anxiety' is the next must read.

[Advanced Reader Copy provided by the author.]

I really enjoyed this story. I have read it twice because I wanted to get a good feel for the characters especially Aftab. I liked the visual representation of anxiety in Aftab. I think this is a good book in representing and raising awareness of mental health and how difficult it can be for people to face their anxiety and know how to get help.

I look forward to reading more from Eli Wilde.

I’m not sure why this gets such mixed reviews. I enjoyed the writing style and everything flowed naturally. The ending was something I wasn’t expecting at all. A total literary sleight of hand. The mental health topics were interesting and I enjoyed learning about some of the anxiety methods. Do they work? Who knows. They seemed to help Jed a bit. I do hope he gets to go back to India.

By the time you finish the book, it feels almost haunting and ethereal. I took some time to ponder and realised this is really a good novel. The mental health condition is the main setting and liked the writing.

It was funny and it had nice ideas about anxiety and mental health. The protagonist and his mysterious new friend brought me a story like no other and I was fascinated by what happened.