Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy review fear and loathing in New York

"Enter Anika Jade Levy's slim and sharp debut Flat Earth, which shares its title with a film made by a woman whom Avery, the narrator, identifies as her best friend. Frances is a rich and beautiful twentysomething who becomes a reluctant celebrity in certain circles after her film, an experimental documentary about rural isolation and rightwing conspiracy theories in the modern-day United States, premieres to critical acclaim at a gallery in New York."

"Avery, meanwhile, is struggling to write what she describes as a book of cultural reports. Frances's success isn't easy for Avery. The two women met as undergraduates, but Avery hasn't got family money. She maxes out her credit card and does occasional escort work to meet tuition payments. What makes her most resentful, though, is that Frances has dropped out of grad school to get married."

"A big thing, Levy has said when describing its editorial preferences, is style over plot. We really care about language. This approach is reflected in Flat Earth and some passages from the book are edited versions of stories that Levy wrote for the magazine. The prose is, for the most part, simple and precise, punctuated with bursts of imagery (I fluttered around the windowless room like a pigeon in an airport) as well as short extracts from what appear to be Avery's cultural reports,"

Avery narrates a fraught friendship with Frances, a wealthy, beautiful twentysomething whose experimental documentary about rural isolation and right-wing conspiracy theories wins critical acclaim at a New York gallery. Avery struggles financially without family money, maxes out a credit card, does occasional escort work to pay tuition, and resents Frances for dropping out of grad school to marry. Panic about prospects leads Avery to a string of nameless men and to a job at a right-wing dating app called Patriarchy. Prose favors style over plot, remaining simple and precise, punctuated by vivid imagery and brief cultural-report extracts that read almost like poems and apocalyptic visions.

Read at www.theguardian.com