What a Shame: The must read literary debut for fans of Emma Gannon, Holly Bourne and Caroline O'Dononghue
About this audiobook
'Absorbing and clever, I fell in love with Mathilda'
Cathy Rentzenbrink
The idea of a curse was divisive, but the assertion that I had, for some time now, been 'laden with something dark' was disconcertingly unanimous.
I wondered if this was something you also saw in me, if that was why you left.
There is something wrong with Mathilda.
She's still reeling from the blow of a gut-punch break up and grieving the death of a loved one.
But that's not it.
She's cried all her tears, mastered her crow pose and thrown out every last reminder of him.
But that's not helping.
Concerned that she isn't moving on, Mathilda's friends push her towards a series of increasingly unorthodox remedies.
Until the seams of herself begin to come undone.
Tender, unflinching and blisteringly funny, What a Shame glitters with rage and heartbreak, an offers up the joy of self-acceptance through an extraordinary rite of passage to overcome the prickly heat of female shame.
(P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
About the author
Abigail Bergstrom is a publishing powerhouse who has dedicated her career to extraordinary stories and championing new voices. She has written for national magazines and broadsheets including ELLE, Sunday Times Style, the Telegraph, Grazia and Refinery29, and she reviews books for Konfekt. She also writes the substack newsletter 'Something to Say,' offering writing advice and cultural commentary to thousands of readers worldwide. Her debut novel What a Shame was published to critical acclaim in 2022. She has represented Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling authors whose books have been nominated for awards and literary prizes. She has been listed in the 'The Bookseller 150' most influential figures, and she sits on the advisory board for Cheltenham Literature festival.
