Chrysalis

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Elliot, Bella and Susie need her, in surprisingly similar ways. They sound alike too, their language limpid and eerie, a queasy wellness blend of psychoanalysis and internet niceness that has them speak of transitional objects, optimisation, flow, authenticity, containment. The book as a whole made me think about how much we want to talk about ourselves, and how basic our resources are. It doesn’t have a particular thesis on online selfhood, though – it’s all in the telling, which is gripping and subtle. Small pieces of information are drip fed to the reader, each moment viewed and reviewed across the different narratives. It feels fizzy, with all these pops of observation on the move. It was interesting to watch these people latch onto this woman and her own seemingly unfeeling attitude toward them. Each narrator has their own idealized view of who she is, and they can’t compute when she doesn’t fit in that box. Things have changed a lot since that first day. She's kind of famous. Or at least, she has a lot of followers online. People admire her authenticity, her focus and determination. They say the way she holds her body is a kind of truth.”

An unnerving, compelling and utterly contemporary debut novel about one woman's metamorphosis into an online phenomenon, from a Sunday Times Short Story Award-shortlisted writer Her resilience becomes performative as she posts videos and launches a career as a cult figure who embraces solitudeChrysalis is a thrilling look at how we spin silk around ourselves by watching the world on our screens.”— The New York Times Book Review

A man who sees the woman in the gym and get a front seat view into how she transforms her body. He sees her on her first day in the gym and how she transforms both in the gym and in personal setting… because they start dating. This is such an intriguing, thought-provoking read that made me think a lot about ideas surrounding independence, selfhood, and perception. It's fascinating to view this character only through the lens of others; each of the three sees something different in -- and get something different out of-- their relationships with her. For her part, the woman comes across as unfeeling and aloof, and there is something almost distasteful about her. Of course, we never learn who she really is -- just how she is perceived by others -- and I thought that was such an interesting (and successful) narrative choice by Anna Metcalfe. Did I like this style? I’m not sure. This is a difficult book to distil, and I don’t know that I have actually understood its meaning or taken away its essence. I tried to grasp some philosophy but its like trying to cradle sand in your hands. WOW. I just devoured this. What a wonderful, painful, funny novel… It’s so beautiful and cruel, and summed up just perfectly by the ending – a flawless final sentence, one of the best I’ve ever read, it absolutely gave me chills’ Avni DoshiElliot is the first narrator. “At the point that we meet Elliot, he is meeting her,” says Metcalfe. “So, as a reader, and for me as a writer, I got to look at her from the outside before I knew anything about her, as Elliot does.”

She looked around, and when she couldn’t see what she was looking for she came to me. Her hips swayed as she walked. She moved slowly, holding my gaze. It’s about the different forms of isolation and the effects that come from it, including loneliness, solitude and sometimes, independence. Chrysalis is a savvy exploration of one woman’s desire to inspire others, and how self-presentation can tip into obsession. Although Metcalfe’s three perspectives offer a nuanced portrait of an online sensation, they are similar in tone. Her health guru rises from the ashes of an abusive relationship, but also discards those who’ve outgrown their use. Metcalfe is insightful about the world of contemporary influencers, voyeurism and the rise of narcissism, but it’s hard to warm to her aloof heroine. How well do you really know the people you love? What do they feel able to show you, and what do they feel compelled to hide? Is the version of a person you see, the real them, or are you projecting and just seeing what you wish to see? Metcalfe describes through three perspectives the transformation of a woman who has been traumatized. We meet her when she joins the first narrator's gym, and she is so sure of herself that he can't help but to be transfixed. She decides to bulk rather than slim down in an effort to take up space. We later get the perspective of her mother, who describes to us her manner of being as a young child through young adulthood. Finally, we see who she is through a work friend and flatmate, who describes the change before her abusive relationship and after.Jacqueline Alnes: This book seems so much about perception: how we view ourselves, how we view other people, the world. What about the novel allowed you to explore that? JA: In the gym, too, the themes of gender and power are introduced. I love that the main character wears a full-on blouse to the gym and is fine with it, and doesn’t move when the trainer encourages her to stretch on the mats. It was hard to be in the present, she said, but if her body were heavier and more in control, then her thoughts would clear and her mind would recover its power.

In the end, our main character decides to cut out all relationships and focuses on not just slow living but slow moving; she is able to hold a yoga pose for hours on end. Through her dedication and YouTube videos, she amasses a small cult following who follows her lead and rejects society--perhaps, in a way, the only way a woman can be truly safe in this world? Having suffered trauma growing up and an abusive relationship as an adult, a young woman sets out to radically transform herself via things like weightlifting and yoga. How extreme? Here she is, a gal I'll call Nicola, from the Greek, meaning “victorious,” as seen through the eyes of - Once again, I heard the receptionist point her in the direction of the changing rooms. Then, when Simon was finally located, he too asked if she wanted to change her clothes. up. Instead of working to take up less space in the world, she wants to take up more space; become bigger, stronger, more solid. The second and third narrators enable the reader to start to piece together the woman’s past. Metcalfe decided not to name her protagonist because “she’s rejected so many of her previous identities that a name would seem to pin her to a time that she didn’t belong to any more… it’s part of the erasure of her previous existence.” Deliciously timely... [ Chrysalis] raises questions about all sorts of themes including solitude, influence and agency. The big one is of course: how well do we really know anyone? [Anna] Metcalfe is a properly clever writer—she moves deftly between the voices of her narrators with ease, while her prose is assured, unforced and almost graceful.” — AnOther MagazineAM: I quite respect her artfulness in being able to put together these beautiful scenes. When I imagine the kind of content she’s producing, I imagine something that’s very artfully done, enjoyable to look at, considers things painters consider like where the light’s coming from, what the composition is. I think there’s a huge amount of skill in putting together a beautiful video. The book allows you to get this sense of there being troubled psychological reasons for her only wanting people to access a specific part of her life and a complete rejection of anything that is messy or difficult. It’s understandable, but problematic. The internal dialogue she has with herself of what is public and what is private and how she’s constructing her new self is reflective of the way in which people often use social media to become a different person. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read an ARC and give an honest review! Over the course of the novel it becomes clear that the woman is preparing for “the next phase” of her life where she will leave those who knew her behind, in favour of something else. The abandoned narrators watch the content that she creates and posts online: she is a wellness influencer of a sort and her strange videos are devoted to strength and stillness. “Variously all three narrators describe her as being made out of stone or carved from something, so it’s as if she becomes made of some natural material rather than a person. Something that’s more durable or more permanent than a person.” She put me in touch with parts of myself that I'd forgotten. She made me feel things again. I had started to love her, which itself was miraculous. I hadn't known I was capable of that.”