Bookseller Reviews
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Where do I belong?
Mongrel by Hanako Footman is STUNNING.
The style of writing is like sliding through butter. The characters are lovable, but not in a sickly way, they’r... READ MORE
Immediately one of my favourite novels!
Firstly, I need to thank Footnote Press for sending me a proof of this book when I asked. I knew from the synopsis that I would love Mongrel, but I was not... READ MORE
Lost for words
This is a difficult, vivid, heartbreaking, beautiful read. So worth investing some time to go through slowly. Footman is one to watch.
Breathtaking!
Beautifully written prose; it is not one of those easy reads but I mean this in the best way possible. It is a book that moves you. It is a book that makes... READ MORE
A major new talent
Mongrel is probably my favourite read so far this year. Whilst the content is absorbing, the stories heart-wrenching and the characters utterly fascinating... READ MORE
Enchanting!
What a beautiful book! The story of these three women, woven together over time, and the things that happen to them are lyrically beautiful.
From the ve... READ MORE
A dark but beautifully written novel.
The prose in this novel is beautiful and easy to crack, juxtaposing the tough experiences the three women narrators have to survive through. This is defini... READ MORE
Tapestry of Desire and Identity
In Footman's debut novel, 'Mongrel,' we are transported into a world where the intricate complexities of desire, identity, and grief are delicately woven t... READ MORE
Heartbreaking in the best way
A beautiful story full of lovely prose that requires a second reading just to fully realise all the tiny details that are littered in this story. This is c... READ MORE
Engrossing family saga
A lyrical, meticulously structured and deeply heartfelt debut following the intertwined stories of three women of Japanese heritage. Footman is unflinching... READ MORE
Stunning debut
'Listen.... The bamboo canes are singing.'
'Mongrel' tells the story of three women, connected in some way that slowly becomes apparent as the book prog... READ MORE
This Needs to Be on Everyone’s TBR
This is definitely one of my standout books in 2024 so far. The story was amazing and the structure was so well executed to create a plot that was impactfu... READ MORE
Full of belonging and hope
knew I was going to like this book before I had started it and I was not disappointed.
3 seperate narratives, Mei who had a Japanese mother and grew up in... READ MORE
Emotional and evocative
Mongrel details the lives of three women. Mei, half Japanese, half white, grows up without her mother in suburban England. Yuki leaves Japan for London whe... READ MORE
An Astonishing Debut
Three narratives, three powerfully interconnected stories - fractured yet still somehow conveying a strength that will resonate with many women. Beautiful ... READ MORE
Incredible story, heartbreaking and stunningly written.
Hanako Footman writes womanhood so well and in ways I haven’t read before. In ‘Mongrel’, through shifting perspectives, we see girls become women, sisters,... READ MORE
Achingly beautiful
It’s hard to believe this is a debut! It took me a while to get through due to some heavy themes, but I raced through the last 100 pages and fell completel... READ MORE
Beautiful
This is a deeply emotional, beautifully written novel following the stories of three connected women. This explores grief, identity and the struggle to fin... READ MORE
A Debut Captures my Inclusivity
First and foremost, I am lucky to thank Footnote Press for sending me a proof copy as requested. I initially asked for the proof simply because I had saw t... READ MORE
A search for home
It’s no secret that I love books with interweaving stories about women, and Mongrel, Hanako Footman’s wonderful debut is no exception to this general rule.... READ MORE
Dazzling.
Radiant and as tenderly beautiful as its cover.
Moving between three intertwining narratives Mongrel is a story about displacement and belonging, mothers ... READ MORE
A pitch perfect debut
I received a free copy of Mongrel as part of my reading for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize Shortlist. I knew next to nothing about it going in other t... READ MORE
Stunning
We follow the lives of three women (Mei, Yuki and Haruka). All three characters are exceptionally well-written. They feel authentic, with depth and flaws. ... READ MORE
MY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024
Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this novel.
MY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024.
I cannot express how deeply Mongrel affected me. Not only is ... READ MORE
Fabulous
This fabulous book beautifully weaves together three narratives. Every word, every sentence has been carefully considered and conscientiously placed to cr... READ MORE
Phenomenal
It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel. It's an astounding accomplishment, sweeping in scope, and so so intimate in nature. Footman's writing is s... READ MORE
Synopsis
Mei loses her Japanese mother at age six. Growing up in suburban Surrey, she yearns to fit in, suppressing not only her heritage but her growing desire for her best friend Fran.
Yuki leaves the Japanese countryside to pursue her dream of becoming a concert violinist in London. Far from home and in an unfamiliar city, she finds herself caught up in the charms of her older teacher.
Haruka attempts to navigate Tokyo's nightlife and all of its many vices, working as a hostess in the city's sex district. She grieves a mother who hid so many secrets from her, until finally one of those secrets comes to light . . .
Shifting between three intertwining narratives, Mongrel reveals a tangled web of desire, isolation, belonging and ultimately, hope.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd
- ISBN: 9781804440438
- Number of pages: 352
- Dimensions: 240 x 162 x 33 mm
- Weight: 573g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allIncredibly moving
Oh wow. Wow wow wow. This was a beautiful book from start to finish. As someone who is part Japanese and part British, reading about Mei made me feel like... READ MORE
Extraordinary!
An extraordinary book. The best I’ve read in so long. I cannot believe it is a debut novel!
Three women’s lives, across the UK and Japan, woven together i... READ MORE
Haunting and Enchanting
Advanced reader copy kindly provided by the publisher.
This book broke me. I tend to class a good book by a book that makes me think deeply or feel deep... READ MORE
Heartbreakingly beautiful
**There are spoilers here**
Mongrel is the book I wish I could have read growing up half Japanese, half British (Hafu) in London. The first half tells ... READ MORE
Stunning debut novel
Hanako Footnan has written a very beautiful novel, the writing flows so easily from each chapter and you feel absorbed by the story .
The three women tha... READ MORE
Superb debut
Thank you to the publishers for this review copy.
This is a superb debut, there is no doubt that I will be buying and reading whatever Hanako writes next.... READ MORE
A Beautiful Read
I really enjoyed this book. It takes its time. There is no rush to a predictable end. Instead there is the beautiful telling of the lives of three woman th... READ MORE
Beautiful and emotional fiction
This is a book that skilfully grabbed me and slowly dragged me into an emotional tale of three women, Mei, Yuki and Haruka, and told in their three voices.... READ MORE
A beautiful and moving read
A wonderful book, would strongly recommend.
Unique, beautiful and gripping …
I loved this book - the exploration of womanhood through three different characters, written in such a poetic way that really draws you into their raw emot... READ MORE
Three stories beautifully interwoven
Mongrel took me by surprise.
I didn't expect to be taken in by it. It was a 48-hour read page turner! Couldn't put it down!
It's a mixture of dark and... READ MORE
Belongings
Mongrel was one of those hauntingly beautiful novels that stays with you long after the final page has been read and the book closed. It was a story of wom... READ MORE
Beautiful
An absolutely stunning first novel with beautifully imagined characters that entwine as the story unravels.
extraordinary. do not wait
it took me 6 months to get through mongrel. not because it was boring or because i didn’t like it, but because of the emotional strength needed to get thro... READ MORE
beautiful and absolutely devastating
This was such a wonderfully written story, with pertinent message of hope and female strength in the face of oppressive social and domestic structures.