This 2021 novel by Jasper Gibson has been on my “to read” list since publication. I have been nervous to start it because I thought I would have a strong reaction to it, one way or another. And I was right: I thought it was brilliant.

The novel is a first-person account of living with schizophrenia, set in present day leafy East Sussex. Our narrator, Tom, has a first-class degree in law, and also hears the distinctive voice of the “Octopus God,” Malamock. Malamock also has the power to cause Tom to feel sensations, sometimes painful and sometimes pleasurable.

The central portion of the novel concerns Tom’s admission to a mental health ward. A doctor attempts to recruit him to a drug trial, possibly convincing or possibly coercing him to take part. There is a lot to reflect on the challenges of consenting to research, and also the complex decisions psychiatric patients must make about their treatments. Not everyone wants the voices to go away.

And what are the side effects? I don’t want any more side effects. They’re not usually on the side, are they? More in the middle. Slap bang.

There was also quite a bit in this novel about the fine line between religion and mental illness—always fertile ground—as well as reflecting the paucity of social and financial support for those with psychiatric illnesses.

Doubt is an article of faith and not its opposite.

I had expected this to be a fairly reflective novel, ruminating on mental illness—but actually, it is plot-driven with lively writing and plenty of humour. It was much the better for this.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, and Tom and Malamock will live long in my memory.

Thanks to Newcastle University Library for lending me a copy.