‘Pip Finkemeyer turns the genre inside out in her debut, which follows Kim, a delusional 27-year-old Australian expat in Berlin, for a year as she tries to write a novel. Kim’s ennui is revealed to the reader through her relationships – with her pregnant best friend, with her therapist, with denizens of the literary world – and her unreliable inner monologue. Both inhabiting and deconstructing the genre, it’s meta and twisty, with a wry narrative voice.’
— GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE MONTH
‘Take Hannah Horvarth's endearing naivety and Kirstin Wiig’s loveable kookiness and you have the hilarious new protagonist Kim - you can't help but root for her. Unique and smart with wry humour that will make you laugh out loud. I enjoyed following (and re-living) the trials and tribulations of being a 20-something writer desperate to prove herself to the world.’
— EMMA GANNON
‘Pip Finkemeyer has drawn such a unique, funny and painfully astute character in Kim. I could keep reading her inner monologue forever. It is rare to pick up a novel so simultaneously hilarious and moving. I loved it.’
— LAURA KAY, AUTHOR OF THE SPLIT
‘A humorous, heartfelt novel about finding one’s identity and purpose, the expectations held against you, and following your dreams even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone.’
— READINGS BOOK OF THE MONTH
‘A captivating novel . . . Finkemeyer has an irreverent voice that will have you reaching for a pen to underline every second sentence. Sad Girl Novel will appeal to literary fiction readers who enjoyed Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation and Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You.’
— BOOKS + PUBLISHING
‘What a voice - weird, witty, wonderfully unique. SAD GIRL NOVEL will make you laugh and move you, too. A winning combination.’
— CHLOE ASHBY, AUTHOR OF WET PAINT
‘While Kimberley Mueller spends a lot of time wondering whether she's talented, Finkemeyer need have no such doubts. Finkemeyer's narrator--with her gift for both self-delusion and self-awareness--is a stroke of genius. Sad Girl Novel achieves all we can ask of contemporary fiction: it mocks and sympathises in equal measure. I closed it feeling better able to laugh at myself.’
— DIANA REID, AUTHOR OR LOVE & VIRTUE
‘Told through the eyes of Kim, a twenty-something Australian navigating the complexities of love, friendship, and mental health in Berlin, this novel will have you laughing, crying and wanting more. A book about finding yourself, losing yourself and everything in between, Finkemeyer will draw you in with her stark realism and heartbreaking honesty.’