Body Friend
 | |
| Author | Katherine Brabon |
|---|---|
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Ultimo Press |
Publication date | September 2023 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Pages | 272 |
| ISBN | 9781761151781 |
Body Friend is a 2023 novel by Katherine Brabon. The novel is about a friendship between two women experiencing chronic illness. It was shortlisted for the 2024 Stella Prize and the 2024 University of Queensland Fiction Book Award at the Queensland Literary Awards.
Plot summary
[edit]A 28-year-old woman who experiences chronic illness is released from hospital after a major operation. She begins swimming in a hydrotherapy pool as part of her recovery, where she meets Frida (named for Frida Kahlo),[1] another women experiencing chronic illness. Later, she meets another woman suffering from chronic illness named Sylvia (named for Sylvia Plath)[1] in a park. She forms a friendship with both women, who each encourage a different kind of relationship with her body and illness. Frida encourages the narrator to resist her pain and to push through it by continuing to swim, while Sylvia encourages her to rest through her pain.
Publication history
[edit]Brabon was inspired to write the novel by her own experience of rheumatoid arthritis, saying in an interview in the Sydney Morning Herald that she "wanted to capture the experience of a body in pain and the mental processes the person goes through in that state and how they can be very changeable".[2]
The novel was first published in Australia by Ultimo Press in September 2023 (ISBN 9781761151781).[3] It was published in the United States by Bloomsbury Publishing in July 2024 (ISBN 9781639734511).[4]
Reception
[edit]The novel received generally positive reviews. In a review in The Saturday Paper, Fiona Wright wrote that Body Friend was a "deeply interior, thoughtful book", and praised its language for being "startling for its poetic tendencies – it is rhythmic and observant, and liltingly musical – as well as its clarity and sharp concision".[1] Sarah L'Estrange wrote for ABC News that the book had "an intimacy to its measured observations that will propel you to its concluding remarks".[5] Writing in The Conversation, Julianne Lamond described it as a "hypnotic, uncomfortable novel about chronic pain and female friendship" and commented that its "structure is cyclical and the pacing is slow, but it is gripping nonetheless".[6]
Reviewers particularly praised Brabon's poetic use of language. In a review in the Sydney Morning Herald, Vanessa Francesca wrote that the book made her feel "an intense awareness of the presence and beauty of language",[7] while Alison Huber praised Brabon's "careful and artful prose" in a review for Readings Monthly.[8] A review in Meanjin described Brabon's voice as "contemplative and lyrical" and wrote that the novel was a "sensitive narrative about grappling with a sick body and the difficulty of balancing movement and rest".[9]
Awards
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Stella Prize | — | Shortlisted | [10] |
| Queensland Literary Awards | University of Queensland Fiction Book Award | Shortlisted | [11] | |
| ALS Gold Medal | — | Shortlisted | [12] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Wright, Fiona (9 September 2023). "Body Friend". The Saturday Paper. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ^ Steger, Jason (4 April 2024). "Diagnosed with arthritis at 21, she struggled to find words to describe the pain". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ^ "Body Friend". Ultimo Press. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ^ "Body Friend". Bloomsbury. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ^ L'Estrange, Sarah; Smyrk, Katherine; Heath, Nicola; Fry, Declan; Tan, Cher (3 April 2024). "'Visceral', 'provocative' and 'assured': The six books vying for the $60,000 Stella Prize". ABC News. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ^ Lamond, Julieanne (1 May 2024). "Unruliness, activism and emotional intensity: your guide to the 2024 Stella Prize shortlist". The Conversation. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ^ Francesca, Vanessa (20 October 2023). "This piercing novel is a paean to living with chronic pain". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ^ Huber, Alison (September 2023). "Body Friend by Katherine Brabon". Readings Monthly. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ^ Perse, Elena. "In Sickness and In Health". Meanjin. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ^ "Katherine Brabon – Body Friend". Stella Prize. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ^ "History of the Awards". State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ^ "ALS Gold Medal 2024 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 6 June 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2025.