At first, this felt like I was in an aural exhibit at a contemporary museum (I read the audiobook). Mainly in the sense that I had no idea what was going on but intuitively knew that this was art (the kind that no one understands).

But, little scratch is actually so much more accessible than it seems at first glance. Watson’s depiction of mental health and trauma deeply resonated with me and I was simultaneously miserable and overjoyed listening to this. Not only does she perfectly encapsulate the stream of consciousness in a granular but compelling way, but her storytelling is unbelievably unique.

A major content warning—there is graphic reference to SGBV and it can be discomforting/disheartening to follow such a close-up portrayal of mental illness but WOW. If you can stomach the very, very heavy content, I would recommend this book to everyone. I’m genuinely astonished by Watson’s creativity and brilliance.

(Small nitpicky thing… The story takes place over the course of one day [which only adds to its sharpness] but the character’s only real relationships are: their significant other, their mother, and their ancillary relationships with co-workers that barely know them. Do you they not have friends? Other loved ones? It just seems unusual to isolate the character so much. But maybe that’s the point.)