Universality

Hardback Published on: 13/03/2025
Price: £14.99
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Bookseller Reviews

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Universality
An excellent, witty dissection of modern race politics from one of our finest writers
How to explain UNIVERSALITY and do it justice? As with her brilliant debut, Assembly, Natasha Brown's second novel is extremely insightful and penetrating,... READ MORE
Martha - Trafford
Universality
Stomach-churningly English
A scathing indictment of the media racket that underpins modern British life. A Gordian knot of the most infuriating kind of punditry; everyone working to ... READ MORE
Benny at Barnet
Universality
Frustrating in the BEST way - a short read that packs a powerful punch
A man gets clobbered by a gold bar outside a hippie rave at a rich man's disowned farm - why? Because of woke capitalism of course! I loved this! It's a s... READ MORE
Ross at Glasgow Sauchiehall St
Universality
Thought-provoking writing
Universality is a small but brutal dissection of the power within the written word. From the opening with a journalistic article detailing an incident ... READ MORE
Victoria at Aviemore
Universality
Clever and Slippery
Natasha Brown is absolutely the master of a portrait in a couple of pages, the characters she writes leap off the page here in uncomfortable and unlikeable... READ MORE
Lore at Stratford
Universality
Smart and confident — a reader’s reward
Reading Universality did not feel like reading a novel at all. Its cast are very much in the social spotlight, and how they respond is to make or to break ... READ MORE
Phill - Waterstones Bookseller
Universality
A great little book, with a big message.
Universality delves into different narratives across several parts of the book. Each character is a clever character study from social dynamics that are e... READ MORE
Cordelia, Manchester
Universality
Short, sharp, scockingly good
I was absolutely blown away by this exquisitely plotted, pin-prick sharp and eminently readable work of cultural satire. Brown masterfully unpicks and inte... READ MORE
Faye Keegan
Universality
Like a brick to the head (complimentary)
This is the type of book that, once you finish, you immediately want to read again to catch all the details you may have missed the first time round. It is... READ MORE
Bethany at Woking
Universality
Brilliant and cutting
Beginning with an investigative journalism piece on the events that led to an attack and subsequent theft of a gold bar from a Yorkshire farm, I was instan... READ MORE
Faria at Blackburn
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A young journalist sets out to uncover the truth behind the brutal attack of a man on Yorkshire farm. Her viral longread exposé asks more questions than it answers, questioning the very meaning of truth, and the power of language. Thrillingly intelligent, this is the hugely-anticipated second novel from one of the most talented storytellers working today.

Top Ten Reads for March 2025

Synopsis

In the new novel from the author of Assembly, a viral longread exposé raises more questions than it answers.

Remember - words are your weapons, they're your tools, your currency.

On a Yorkshire farm, a man is brutally bludgeoned with a solid gold bar.

A plucky young journalist sets out to uncover the truth surrounding the attack, connecting the dots between an amoral banker landlord, an iconoclastic columnist, and a radical anarchist movement. She solves the mystery, but her viral longread exposé raises more questions than it answers.

Universality is a twisty, slippery descent into the rhetoric of truth and power. Through a voyeuristic lens, it focuses on words: what we say, how we say it, and what we really mean.The follow-up novel to Natasha Brown's Assembly is a compellingly nasty celebration of the spectacular force of language. It dares you to look away.

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Faber & Faber
  • ISBN: 9780571389018
  • Number of pages: 176
  • Dimensions: 216 x 135 mm
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

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Universality
The ultimate power of words..
The novel starts with an article written about an incident during lockdown. A person was hit with a solid god bar at an illegal rave. Using the god bar ... READ MORE
Emine at Bromley
Universality
Fabulous Writing
Thank you to the publishers for this early review copy. Absolutely loved the read, the writing is simply fabulous. Broken up into three sections each one... READ MORE
Fiona Sharp
Universality
Small but mighty
A complicated novella that is divided into two parts. The first is a journalist article written by Hannah that investigates the bludgeoning of a man with a... READ MORE
Daren Kearl
Universality
Can you believe everything you read?
I loved Assembly and already had this book on preorder since last year. When there was a chance to read an eARC I had to request. I then have received ... READ MORE
Ange
Universality
Not what I expected, but an interesting read.
Universality is a good book: I'll get that out of the way first. It's well written, it's articulate, it's intelligent; Brown is obviously a talented writer... READ MORE
Kim S.
Universality
A bit of a
I struggled with this brilliant book, and I am certain the deficiency is mine. I feel like an outsider surrounded by brilliance, but I just don’t feel l... READ MORE
WendiReviews
Universality
Murky and brilliant
Natasha Brown's second short novel, Universality, challenges the status-quo-double-standards of media, politics and economy. Written in multiple parts, ... READ MORE
Immy Smith
Universality
Four stars!
Universality by Natasha Brown is a thrilling exploration of language, power, and the complexities of truth, set against a dark and unsettling backdrop. The... READ MORE
The Secret Book Review
Universality
Quite slight
I am clearly in the minority as I found this book to be well written but quite slight. The different narrative voices are distinctive and their language an... READ MORE
JanL
Universality
Not for me
I enjoyed this at first but as it went on liked it less and less.I found it a bit..obvious? Going for all the themes of modern media discourse but not real... READ MORE
Kirsty