By Megan Thomas
I won a copy of Tobi Lakmaker’s debut novel with nb magazine. I go into any book recommended by nb with very high expectations and have yet to be disappointed…
The protagonist, Sofie Lakmaker, is giving us a first person account of their journey from existential uncertainty to self acceptance (or at least as much as anyone has as a Complex Human Being). It reads like it could be a memoir based on the intense realism and matter of fact prose. I felt really vindicated when the character mentions reading Catcher in the Rye, because up until that point I was enjoying the symmetry to the narrative style of this famous coming-of-age novel and how Sofie is talking to us, the reader, as if telling us a story at the local pub. Sofie’s tales are hilarious and tragic in equal measure and while so much of the discord is rooted in her particular struggle with her sexuality, all of the anecdotes are astute and relatable for any reader (particularly those who have dated unsuccessfully).
The History of My Sexuality made me laugh out loud, whimper in sympathy, tut in empathy, curse in mutual irritation and mutter in agreement throughout – so all in all a real noisy experience for anyone sat near me on the plane/beach. I gobbled it up over the course of a couple of days in Italy and immediately passed it on to my holiday companion for their turn.
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