The State of Me

The State of me, by Nasim Marie Jafry and published by The Friday Project (an imprint of Harper Collins), is a thoroughly enjoyable read.

So I suppose it is now going to seem a bit strange when I explain that it is about a woman's journey through illness!

Somehow, as I read this painful story about a victim of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), Nasmin managed to wrap her words around me and whisk me away on a merry dance. Almost against my will I realised that I was enjoying myself. I don't know how Nasim did it but it happened, time and time again, chapter after chapter.

I know of many readers who are forever raving about how dialogue is what makes a book great but for me it is descriptiveness that brings the story alive. The prose in The State of me is wonderfully descriptive.

Nasim paints images with words:

'A man with a staircase of fat from his neck to his groin was eating ice cream at the next table'.

'A woman with an arse like a shelf was wedging herself into the seat in front. She hated me from the start. I accidentally dunted her seat and she turned round and glared with shark eyes'.

'We lay like spoons and he put his arm round me. I could feel him breathing on my neck. It was like agony iced with hundreds and thousands'.

Two pages into the book I thought 'This is perfection on paper'. Then I had to put the book down for a while as I felt faint with jealousy.

Warning...this book is best read in between the writing of your own novels not during...

For a more traditional book review on The State of me, you can click on either of the following links : Sally Zigmond's book blog or Caroline Smailes's

I strongly recommend that you make this book one of your must reads for this year.