Review: Slags

Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Narrated by Chloe Massey
Presented by HarperCollins UK Audio

An easy enough listen, but not quite the laugh-out-loud riot I was expecting.

The setup is simple: two sisters go on a road trip around Ireland.

There's a lot about how life separates family sometimes - as everyone becomes busy with their own lives, it's hard to keep in touch with every detail of a sibling's life. There's a little hostility in their relationship - quite natural, really - but for the most part this is about their catching up and deciding what's important enough to share.

It was an okay listen, but I did find it dull in some places and as a consequence tuned out a bit. I didn't really like either sibling, but I get the feeling we weren't supposed to.

A massive subject is the difference between a life with kids, and a life without. I'm getting a little tired of the black and white comparison, to be honest - there are plenty of happy couples that choose a life without kids, yet for some reason there's a stereotype that a woman without kids is one who refuses to outgrow her 'party' years. This explored that a little, but not really satisfactorily to me.

There are some funny anecdotes here and there but for the most part it fell a little flat for me. I feel like this is a particular breed of humour that I personally find very hit or miss; it reminded me a bit of Derry Girls (which I loved) but didn't quite match it for me - perhaps because the themes are more adult.

The narrator did a great job - she differentiated between the sisters well, and there was plenty of humour in her tone that helped the jokes hit. The pacing was great, and there weren't any strange pauses.

Ultimately, I feel this one just wasn't my style. I can see others really enjoying this, and particularly readers who understand the nuances of this cultural sort of humour. I found it easy enough and I did enjoy it for the most part, but it was mostly immemorable.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

View all my reviews