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Universality
Remember—words are your weapons, they’re your tools, your currency: a twisty, slippery descent into the rhetoric of power.
Late one night on a Yorkshire farm, in the midst of an illegal rave, a young man is nearly bludgeoned to death with a solid gold bar.
An ambitious young journalist sets out to uncover the truth surrounding the attack, connecting the dots between an amoral banker landlord, an iconoclastic columnist, and a radical anarchist movement that has taken up residence on the farm. She solves the mystery, but her viral exposé raises more questions than it answers. Through a voyeuristic lens, and with a simmering power, Universality focuses on words: what we say, how we say it, and what we really mean.
The thrilling novel from one of the most acclaimed young writers working today, Universality is a compelling, unsettling celebration of the spectacular, appalling force of language. It dares you to look away.
Late one night on a Yorkshire farm, in the midst of an illegal rave, a young man is nearly bludgeoned to death with a solid gold bar.
An ambitious young journalist sets out to uncover the truth surrounding the attack, connecting the dots between an amoral banker landlord, an iconoclastic columnist, and a radical anarchist movement that has taken up residence on the farm. She solves the mystery, but her viral exposé raises more questions than it answers. Through a voyeuristic lens, and with a simmering power, Universality focuses on words: what we say, how we say it, and what we really mean.
The thrilling novel from one of the most acclaimed young writers working today, Universality is a compelling, unsettling celebration of the spectacular, appalling force of language. It dares you to look away.
152 pages, Hardcover
First published March 4, 2025
521 people are currently reading
27493 people want to read
About the author
Natasha Brown
2 books861 followersNatasha Brown is a writer who lives in London. Assembly is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,014 reviews
June 21, 2025
writing a book that blows me away and then not publishing anything else for a million years is cruel and unusual.
high expectations can be a curse.
assembly, the author's debut novella, came out 4 years ago, and my anticipation for its follow-up have only grown since. that book is compelling and clever, vague as a means of rendering complete a story that feels sharp and specific. it's been years since i read it, but i think of it often.
this book is very dissimilar.
it crams a lot of details into its 176 pages: many washed-up and amoral journalists, several wannabe hippies, one or two half-formed aspiring movements, a quasi-mystery, a viral article. it's mixed media and multi-perspective, but its extreme level of specificity barred me from learning a lot from it. we all know about political "perspective" in the news, the rising voice of the malcontent white middle class the world over, the suffocating tide of income inequality. this book felt like it didn't give me more to consider, but fictional examples of the same. there were moments i really enjoyed, but the biggest pro and the biggest con of this for me were how realistic it felt! it didn't come together in the way fiction can, but all of it felt astonishingly real.
maybe it's because i'm not british.
bottom line: feeling slightly disappointed by things you're excited for builds character.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
high expectations can be a curse.
assembly, the author's debut novella, came out 4 years ago, and my anticipation for its follow-up have only grown since. that book is compelling and clever, vague as a means of rendering complete a story that feels sharp and specific. it's been years since i read it, but i think of it often.
this book is very dissimilar.
it crams a lot of details into its 176 pages: many washed-up and amoral journalists, several wannabe hippies, one or two half-formed aspiring movements, a quasi-mystery, a viral article. it's mixed media and multi-perspective, but its extreme level of specificity barred me from learning a lot from it. we all know about political "perspective" in the news, the rising voice of the malcontent white middle class the world over, the suffocating tide of income inequality. this book felt like it didn't give me more to consider, but fictional examples of the same. there were moments i really enjoyed, but the biggest pro and the biggest con of this for me were how realistic it felt! it didn't come together in the way fiction can, but all of it felt astonishingly real.
maybe it's because i'm not british.
bottom line: feeling slightly disappointed by things you're excited for builds character.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
September 1, 2025
Longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize
Finalist for the 2025 Orwell Prize
'We're open to everyone,' Indiya agrees. That said, the Universalists are a noticeably homogeneous group: young, middle class and white. 'This lifestyle takes a leap of faith,' she explains. Intentional living requires a step away from the 'activism myopia' that can ('Understandably!' she stresses) afflict marginalised groups.
Natasha Brown’s Assembly was a brilliant debut and one of the finest novels of 2021, shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize and a finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.
Her sophomore novel, Universality, due out in 2025, is also destined to be a contender for major prizes. While it ostensibly is more conventional stylistically, in its impact it is even more challenging to the literary and political status quo.
It’s a novel about the power of words and stories – the stories we tell about others, the stories we tell ourselves and want to be told about us – and about privilege and about diversity, and the assumption that it’s others who benefit from both.
The first quarter of the novel is , an extended article, originally published in Alazon Magazine in June 2021, a New Journalism style investigative piece entitled “A Fool’s Gold”, based on an odd incident during lockdown when an illegal rave ended with one person being rendered unconscious, struck by a 400 ounce gold bar (current bullion price, close to £800,000). As the article’s author explains:
Unravelling the events leading to this strange and unsettling night is well worth the trouble; a modern parable lies beneath, exposing the fraying fabric of British society, worn thin by late capitalism's relentless abrasion. The missing gold bar is a connecting node between an amoral banker, an iconoclastic columnist and a radical anarchist movement.
The novel then moves on to the author of the piece, Hannah, a previously struggling journalist, who is hosting a dinner party with her friends to celebrate the news that the story is being turned into a TV story, although a fictionalised version with details changed to make it even more resonant (e.g. a key character becomes black)
The truth, more often than not, benefited from the techniques of fiction. Every hack knew that.
Although as we learn how Hannah came to write the article, we realise this adage applies as much to her original piece.
The next section takes us to the story of the aforementioned “amoral banker”, Richard, original owner of the gold bar, whose life, to him entirely unfairly, has been ruined by the story.
And the final section is an interview at a leading Literature Festival of the “iconoclastic columnist” Lenny Leonard who by contrast, is a beneficiary, parlaying her notoriety into a new career as a crusader against woke capitalism and a move from the right-wing press to the Observer [as she mentions more than once, appearing alongside ‘Cohen’, an intriguing reference].
During that interview she explains her modus operandi and that of the paper, including quotes such as We tell you want you want to hear, while convincing you that it’s the truth, told as close to objectively as possible and Your readers come away believing they are aggrieved on someone else’s behalf.
And this is where the novel’s power lies.
Whereas Assembly gave us the single narrator’s searing perspective on everything she saw around her (including, to an extent, checking her own privilege as an Oxbridge-educator city worker), here, with the multiple perspectives, everyone sees themselves, and those like them, as the victim.
And the reader’s sympathy is then naturally drawn to those with who they identify – for me, far from being amoral, that would be banker Richard, at least for his professional (if not personal) life. I found myself nodding along with his lament when even an attempt, in GQ Magazine, to tell his side of the story turns into a hatchet job:
Richard couldn't quite understand what it was about him that rankled these people so much. Hadn't he simply done what he was supposed to do? He'd taken the eleven-plus, made it into the grammar school, and simply followed that life path to its inevitable conclusion. He didn't hurt anyone, he didn't exploit anyone. He tried, as much as was possible, to work hard and fair. After the crash, he'd moved into regulatory risk ... working to prevent another crisis. And, as the divisional head, he'd ensured that there were women in senior roles, along with a broadly diverse management team. Indeed, he now had a network of colleagues who credited him as a friend and a mentor. He was proud of that legacy. His was not the monoculture of commoditised socialism, with its vague, moralistic promise to end discrimination. He was actually doing his part by hiring qualified candidates and giving them the same chance at success that he himself had received. All these 'writers' did, as far as Richard could tell, was spread gossip for fun and profit, stoking outrage and discontent without actually fixing anything.
Inspiring stuff, at least to this reader. But that’s because as a white male (ex) banker from a working-class background, that’s not dissimilar to the story I tell myself as well – or indeed, of course, the story that Lou in Assembly told himself.
And at the novel’s other end, are the “radical anarchists”who, as per my opening quote, have moved, in their view, beyond the ‘activism myopia’ of more marginalised groups, to an oddly exclusive worldview for self-proclaimed Universalists.
So perhaps it is Lenny who is actually the one character who is most self-aware If anything, I’m a misanthrope. An equal-opportunity hater.
Or is Lenny the least self-aware character of all?
A novel which will provoke some fascinating and challenging discussions next year, and another brilliant novel from an author who, rightly, was named as one of the 2023 class of Granta Best of Young British Novelists, part of the 'A Fool’s Gold' piece featuring in the magazine.
A resounding 5 stars. Thanks to the author, via my twin, aka Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer, for the ARC. A taster here of further content.
Finalist for the 2025 Orwell Prize
'We're open to everyone,' Indiya agrees. That said, the Universalists are a noticeably homogeneous group: young, middle class and white. 'This lifestyle takes a leap of faith,' she explains. Intentional living requires a step away from the 'activism myopia' that can ('Understandably!' she stresses) afflict marginalised groups.
Natasha Brown’s Assembly was a brilliant debut and one of the finest novels of 2021, shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize and a finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.
Her sophomore novel, Universality, due out in 2025, is also destined to be a contender for major prizes. While it ostensibly is more conventional stylistically, in its impact it is even more challenging to the literary and political status quo.
It’s a novel about the power of words and stories – the stories we tell about others, the stories we tell ourselves and want to be told about us – and about privilege and about diversity, and the assumption that it’s others who benefit from both.
The first quarter of the novel is , an extended article, originally published in Alazon Magazine in June 2021, a New Journalism style investigative piece entitled “A Fool’s Gold”, based on an odd incident during lockdown when an illegal rave ended with one person being rendered unconscious, struck by a 400 ounce gold bar (current bullion price, close to £800,000). As the article’s author explains:
Unravelling the events leading to this strange and unsettling night is well worth the trouble; a modern parable lies beneath, exposing the fraying fabric of British society, worn thin by late capitalism's relentless abrasion. The missing gold bar is a connecting node between an amoral banker, an iconoclastic columnist and a radical anarchist movement.
The novel then moves on to the author of the piece, Hannah, a previously struggling journalist, who is hosting a dinner party with her friends to celebrate the news that the story is being turned into a TV story, although a fictionalised version with details changed to make it even more resonant (e.g. a key character becomes black)
The truth, more often than not, benefited from the techniques of fiction. Every hack knew that.
Although as we learn how Hannah came to write the article, we realise this adage applies as much to her original piece.
The next section takes us to the story of the aforementioned “amoral banker”, Richard, original owner of the gold bar, whose life, to him entirely unfairly, has been ruined by the story.
And the final section is an interview at a leading Literature Festival of the “iconoclastic columnist” Lenny Leonard who by contrast, is a beneficiary, parlaying her notoriety into a new career as a crusader against woke capitalism and a move from the right-wing press to the Observer [as she mentions more than once, appearing alongside ‘Cohen’, an intriguing reference].
During that interview she explains her modus operandi and that of the paper, including quotes such as We tell you want you want to hear, while convincing you that it’s the truth, told as close to objectively as possible and Your readers come away believing they are aggrieved on someone else’s behalf.
And this is where the novel’s power lies.
Whereas Assembly gave us the single narrator’s searing perspective on everything she saw around her (including, to an extent, checking her own privilege as an Oxbridge-educator city worker), here, with the multiple perspectives, everyone sees themselves, and those like them, as the victim.
And the reader’s sympathy is then naturally drawn to those with who they identify – for me, far from being amoral, that would be banker Richard, at least for his professional (if not personal) life. I found myself nodding along with his lament when even an attempt, in GQ Magazine, to tell his side of the story turns into a hatchet job:
Richard couldn't quite understand what it was about him that rankled these people so much. Hadn't he simply done what he was supposed to do? He'd taken the eleven-plus, made it into the grammar school, and simply followed that life path to its inevitable conclusion. He didn't hurt anyone, he didn't exploit anyone. He tried, as much as was possible, to work hard and fair. After the crash, he'd moved into regulatory risk ... working to prevent another crisis. And, as the divisional head, he'd ensured that there were women in senior roles, along with a broadly diverse management team. Indeed, he now had a network of colleagues who credited him as a friend and a mentor. He was proud of that legacy. His was not the monoculture of commoditised socialism, with its vague, moralistic promise to end discrimination. He was actually doing his part by hiring qualified candidates and giving them the same chance at success that he himself had received. All these 'writers' did, as far as Richard could tell, was spread gossip for fun and profit, stoking outrage and discontent without actually fixing anything.
Inspiring stuff, at least to this reader. But that’s because as a white male (ex) banker from a working-class background, that’s not dissimilar to the story I tell myself as well – or indeed, of course, the story that Lou in Assembly told himself.
And at the novel’s other end, are the “radical anarchists”who, as per my opening quote, have moved, in their view, beyond the ‘activism myopia’ of more marginalised groups, to an oddly exclusive worldview for self-proclaimed Universalists.
So perhaps it is Lenny who is actually the one character who is most self-aware If anything, I’m a misanthrope. An equal-opportunity hater.
Or is Lenny the least self-aware character of all?
A novel which will provoke some fascinating and challenging discussions next year, and another brilliant novel from an author who, rightly, was named as one of the 2023 class of Granta Best of Young British Novelists, part of the 'A Fool’s Gold' piece featuring in the magazine.
A resounding 5 stars. Thanks to the author, via my twin, aka Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer, for the ARC. A taster here of further content.
September 11, 2024
brilliant & brutally british. LOLed and SMHed IRL multiple times while reading
July 29, 2025
Now Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2025
Frankly, this starts out rather lame, as the first chapter is a mock-journalistic piece about an activist group illegally holding a rave in the country house of a finance bro, until one of the organizers, Jake, strikes down radical activist Pegasus with a gold bar stored on the premises. The language is an imitation of mediocre magazine writing, the story plays on cheap "eat the rich" impulses, white middle class Che Guevaras, and of course an ideologically flexible rage bait queen feeding on the digital attention economy.
But then the story unravels: We learn how the article's author, freelance journalist Hannah, struggles since COVID hit and how social class and a changing media landscape impact her social and professional life - and what she does in order to survive, and we see disgraced banker Richard pressured between the expectations of his upper-class (ex-)wife, the relentless dynamics of the market, and the moral superiority of the media (which at the moment makes you think of the CEO who was caught cheating at the Coldplay concert - is the way he is getting humiliated all over the world a sign of the moral integrity of those who turn his family's misery into content?). We meet Lenny, who plays the attention economy like a fiddle, cynically thriving on the audience's impulses, because it's us who make people like Milo Yiannopoulos, and her whacky son Jake, you know: the one who attacks people with gold bars. And then there are the activists, wrapped up in their self-righteousness, far from reality.
Brown refuses to give easy answers, to show a marketable good vs. bad dichotomy that appeals to the sense of righteousness on the side of the readers: Who doesn't want to feel like they are standing on the correct side of the cultural wars? But maybe the mediatized war is in large parts a scam to sell rage and fear, to keep us from talking about issues like class disparity and financial injustice, hence: to cement the status quo? In "Universality", there is no sense of coherence and solidarity anymore. People are leaving their jobs in the public service sector because they are disillusioned (understandably) and join well-paying genetics start-ups instead (less understandable), they lie about their heritage while claiming to reveal publicly relevant truths to secure their survival, they try to control a system that isn't even affected by any of their actions, they have stopped seeing how their perspectives are connected.
This is a challenging read that defies easy interpretation, and it points way beyond post-Brexit Britain. Should be on the Booker list to get people talking.
Frankly, this starts out rather lame, as the first chapter is a mock-journalistic piece about an activist group illegally holding a rave in the country house of a finance bro, until one of the organizers, Jake, strikes down radical activist Pegasus with a gold bar stored on the premises. The language is an imitation of mediocre magazine writing, the story plays on cheap "eat the rich" impulses, white middle class Che Guevaras, and of course an ideologically flexible rage bait queen feeding on the digital attention economy.
But then the story unravels: We learn how the article's author, freelance journalist Hannah, struggles since COVID hit and how social class and a changing media landscape impact her social and professional life - and what she does in order to survive, and we see disgraced banker Richard pressured between the expectations of his upper-class (ex-)wife, the relentless dynamics of the market, and the moral superiority of the media (which at the moment makes you think of the CEO who was caught cheating at the Coldplay concert - is the way he is getting humiliated all over the world a sign of the moral integrity of those who turn his family's misery into content?). We meet Lenny, who plays the attention economy like a fiddle, cynically thriving on the audience's impulses, because it's us who make people like Milo Yiannopoulos, and her whacky son Jake, you know: the one who attacks people with gold bars. And then there are the activists, wrapped up in their self-righteousness, far from reality.
Brown refuses to give easy answers, to show a marketable good vs. bad dichotomy that appeals to the sense of righteousness on the side of the readers: Who doesn't want to feel like they are standing on the correct side of the cultural wars? But maybe the mediatized war is in large parts a scam to sell rage and fear, to keep us from talking about issues like class disparity and financial injustice, hence: to cement the status quo? In "Universality", there is no sense of coherence and solidarity anymore. People are leaving their jobs in the public service sector because they are disillusioned (understandably) and join well-paying genetics start-ups instead (less understandable), they lie about their heritage while claiming to reveal publicly relevant truths to secure their survival, they try to control a system that isn't even affected by any of their actions, they have stopped seeing how their perspectives are connected.
This is a challenging read that defies easy interpretation, and it points way beyond post-Brexit Britain. Should be on the Booker list to get people talking.
August 20, 2025
Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2025! My current favourite 💗
A journalistic investigation turns into a sharp, satirical portrayal of modern day England. Very well done and confirming Brown as one of the most exciting new authors
Had she ever truly opposed capitalism, or merely her own disenfranchisement?
Loved Universality, 4.5 stars and while very different, in my view as good as Natasha Brown’s debut Assembly!
Illegal Covid-19 rave culminates into someone being clubbed (It looked like a fucking Toblerone but it hit as cricket bat) with a gold bar in Queensbury, a village that is a plaything to London elites per the narrator.
Stockbroker Spencer is the owner of the gold bar, which is now missing. Jake Leonard, the suspect who lived on the farm of Spencer, has a mother who is an anti-woke sensation. And then we have an Occupy activist turned into extinction rebellion leader called Pegasus, head of a commune and marijuana growth.
Interesting but effective choice how the first part of the book seems to be told from the perspective of a journalistic investigation. We then see the ramifications of the article in the lives of multiple of the characters.
Chapter 3 is a dinner party following the succes of the journalist and the woke adoption of her investigation. Class plays a crucial role in Universality - very on point with The Economist running an article this spring on the increasing importance of inherited wealth versus merit.
While capturing a lot of important themes and playing meta games with the reader and the characters, the book is also genuinely funny: this deranged mouse article being quoted in Edmonton is so brilliant and an illustration of the principles mentioned in part 1 of the novel.
The last part of the novel is told from the perspective of the hit writer of Woke Capitalism, Miriam “Lenny” Leonard, who has an acerbic narrative voice. She is a force to be reckoned with, using all kinds of methods to draw people into her anti-woke messaging: You hear how I speak, I sound like a normal person, because I am.
It is scary but Lenny speech at the end is so well delivered we feel pulled to vote for her if she would ever run for public office.
Quotes:
I am doing this for the greater good.
She didn’t have the right identity for identity politics
I actually like it. The area is vibrant and diverse.
That is a lot of euphemisms for bad.
At the end of the day it’s just data - on a genetic test to Minority Report profile people’s capabilities, a slippery slope to eugenics
The truth is ambiguous
The truth, more often than not, benefited from the techniques of fiction.
The problem was that she was just so exhausting
Who deserved England?
Words are your weapons, they’re your tools, your currency.
A journalistic investigation turns into a sharp, satirical portrayal of modern day England. Very well done and confirming Brown as one of the most exciting new authors
Had she ever truly opposed capitalism, or merely her own disenfranchisement?
Loved Universality, 4.5 stars and while very different, in my view as good as Natasha Brown’s debut Assembly!
Illegal Covid-19 rave culminates into someone being clubbed (It looked like a fucking Toblerone but it hit as cricket bat) with a gold bar in Queensbury, a village that is a plaything to London elites per the narrator.
Stockbroker Spencer is the owner of the gold bar, which is now missing. Jake Leonard, the suspect who lived on the farm of Spencer, has a mother who is an anti-woke sensation. And then we have an Occupy activist turned into extinction rebellion leader called Pegasus, head of a commune and marijuana growth.
Interesting but effective choice how the first part of the book seems to be told from the perspective of a journalistic investigation. We then see the ramifications of the article in the lives of multiple of the characters.
Chapter 3 is a dinner party following the succes of the journalist and the woke adoption of her investigation. Class plays a crucial role in Universality - very on point with The Economist running an article this spring on the increasing importance of inherited wealth versus merit.
While capturing a lot of important themes and playing meta games with the reader and the characters, the book is also genuinely funny: this deranged mouse article being quoted in Edmonton is so brilliant and an illustration of the principles mentioned in part 1 of the novel.
The last part of the novel is told from the perspective of the hit writer of Woke Capitalism, Miriam “Lenny” Leonard, who has an acerbic narrative voice. She is a force to be reckoned with, using all kinds of methods to draw people into her anti-woke messaging: You hear how I speak, I sound like a normal person, because I am.
It is scary but Lenny speech at the end is so well delivered we feel pulled to vote for her if she would ever run for public office.
Quotes:
I am doing this for the greater good.
She didn’t have the right identity for identity politics
I actually like it. The area is vibrant and diverse.
That is a lot of euphemisms for bad.
At the end of the day it’s just data - on a genetic test to Minority Report profile people’s capabilities, a slippery slope to eugenics
The truth is ambiguous
The truth, more often than not, benefited from the techniques of fiction.
The problem was that she was just so exhausting
Who deserved England?
Words are your weapons, they’re your tools, your currency.
May 19, 2025
I think this book had some smart, intriguing ideas about class and race and people who weaponize language about social justice culture. I found the first section of Universality, about a man who’s assaulted by someone wielding a gold bar, tightly written and experimental in a positive way. That said, the rest of the novel felt a bit too intellectual for the sake of it for my taste. It was interesting to read though lacked deeper characterization or a central narrative for me to get emotionally invested in. An okay read but not one I’d necessarily recommend unless you’re okay with a book built on ideas as opposed to a linear, character-driven narrative.
April 16, 2025
Natasha Brown’s debut novel “Assembly” was a scathing critique of race, class and society. It was delivered through the voice of an upwardly mobile twenty something black woman on the cusp of heretofore unimagined success. Brown’s follow-up novel “Universality” considers the same themes through a different lens asking how language creates cultural myths and influences perceptions.
The novel’s first section is an investigative magazine article exposing the consequences of a rave on a Yorkshire farm during the COVID lockdown. A young man has used a gold bar to assault the leader of the Universalists, a youthful political group intent on fostering an alternative lifestyle on the farm. The article, entitled “A Fool’s Gold,”is a thinly veiled amalgam of investigative journalism laced with sociopolitical overtones and inferences.
In subsequent sections of the novel, the story is retold from the perspectives of the article’s author as well as the views of the disgraced banker who owned the gold bar and the thoughts of a controversial columnist.Each telling casts doubt upon the reliability of the other accounts. Gradually, the novel challenges the reader to sift through conflicting versions of “ truth.” There are no reliable narrative voices and the novel becomes an exercise in detection and evaluation of society and politics. The role of language as a driver of questionable facts is pivotal for understanding how political metaphors influence social narratives and sway group perceptions.
“ Despite her cavalier talk, Lenny’s views are often nuanced and well considered; she doesn’t adhere to a single side for every debate…”
“ Still, Lenny retains her characteristic style: heavy on aphorisms without wasting time on citations or justifications..”
Lenny in the above passages is Miriam” Lenny” Leonard,a well known columnist and social influencer.This description of her style appears in the investigative article and reflects Lenny’s flexible relationship to facts and accuracy. Her jaundiced style is shared by many as Lenny herself notes saying,” The truth, more often than not, benefited from the techniques of fiction. Every hack knew that.”
“Universality” is a subtle and sophisticated novel that merits close reading.As each section unfolds, more complexities arise regarding the role of language, deception and political realities.Years ago, one of my political theory professors constantly emphasized that words are fists.Throughout this novel, competing individuals and groups are subtly assaulting each other through the media , attempting to create narratives that will lead to influence and profit. The gold bar used in the assault is a symbol of the glitter and avarice prevalent in our political structures.
Ultimately “Universality “ examines the ways that media controls perceptions and fosters either alliances or enmities among disparate social groups. Although the novel’s political milieu is set in Britain, the concerns resonate worldwide.In the United States, for example, we are witnessing segments of the population becoming marginalized and dispossessed as political narratives of questionable accuracy gain traction. This well conceived novel combines provocative observations with uncomfortable truths about the direction of our social and governmental institutions…Outstanding.
The novel’s first section is an investigative magazine article exposing the consequences of a rave on a Yorkshire farm during the COVID lockdown. A young man has used a gold bar to assault the leader of the Universalists, a youthful political group intent on fostering an alternative lifestyle on the farm. The article, entitled “A Fool’s Gold,”is a thinly veiled amalgam of investigative journalism laced with sociopolitical overtones and inferences.
In subsequent sections of the novel, the story is retold from the perspectives of the article’s author as well as the views of the disgraced banker who owned the gold bar and the thoughts of a controversial columnist.Each telling casts doubt upon the reliability of the other accounts. Gradually, the novel challenges the reader to sift through conflicting versions of “ truth.” There are no reliable narrative voices and the novel becomes an exercise in detection and evaluation of society and politics. The role of language as a driver of questionable facts is pivotal for understanding how political metaphors influence social narratives and sway group perceptions.
“ Despite her cavalier talk, Lenny’s views are often nuanced and well considered; she doesn’t adhere to a single side for every debate…”
“ Still, Lenny retains her characteristic style: heavy on aphorisms without wasting time on citations or justifications..”
Lenny in the above passages is Miriam” Lenny” Leonard,a well known columnist and social influencer.This description of her style appears in the investigative article and reflects Lenny’s flexible relationship to facts and accuracy. Her jaundiced style is shared by many as Lenny herself notes saying,” The truth, more often than not, benefited from the techniques of fiction. Every hack knew that.”
“Universality” is a subtle and sophisticated novel that merits close reading.As each section unfolds, more complexities arise regarding the role of language, deception and political realities.Years ago, one of my political theory professors constantly emphasized that words are fists.Throughout this novel, competing individuals and groups are subtly assaulting each other through the media , attempting to create narratives that will lead to influence and profit. The gold bar used in the assault is a symbol of the glitter and avarice prevalent in our political structures.
Ultimately “Universality “ examines the ways that media controls perceptions and fosters either alliances or enmities among disparate social groups. Although the novel’s political milieu is set in Britain, the concerns resonate worldwide.In the United States, for example, we are witnessing segments of the population becoming marginalized and dispossessed as political narratives of questionable accuracy gain traction. This well conceived novel combines provocative observations with uncomfortable truths about the direction of our social and governmental institutions…Outstanding.
August 6, 2025
Is a book written like a New Yorker article good literature? Yes. I was unsure at first, wondering if everything was only on the surface. But with every new chapter and shift in perspective - revealing who wrote the article, who commissioned it, and who is actually the villain - I saw a strong novel taking shape.
The theme of economic wokism is not as striking as the more familiar identity-based wokism (see Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte), but the message is important. The world becomes unsalvageable if we create villains based solely on race and gender. Instead of solving real problems, we end up feeding a destructive game of perception - one with dehumanizing consequences.
The theme of economic wokism is not as striking as the more familiar identity-based wokism (see Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte), but the message is important. The world becomes unsalvageable if we create villains based solely on race and gender. Instead of solving real problems, we end up feeding a destructive game of perception - one with dehumanizing consequences.
February 8, 2025
Some people will say this book is genius and others will say it’s trash. And here I am in the middle ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I think it had good ideas and an interesting concept. I think it fell into the “too smart for its own good” space from time to time, meaning it stopped feeling like fiction and felt more like a place to talk about big ideas with all tell & no show (think the emails in Beautiful World Where Are You).
But she’s a good writer and has a strong voice. I just don’t necessarily vibe with this brand of fiction. I didn’t love her debut novel either, but at least enjoyed this one a bit more? Not sure I’ll continue picking up her books though.
Thanks to Random House for the early review copy!
I think it had good ideas and an interesting concept. I think it fell into the “too smart for its own good” space from time to time, meaning it stopped feeling like fiction and felt more like a place to talk about big ideas with all tell & no show (think the emails in Beautiful World Where Are You).
But she’s a good writer and has a strong voice. I just don’t necessarily vibe with this brand of fiction. I didn’t love her debut novel either, but at least enjoyed this one a bit more? Not sure I’ll continue picking up her books though.
Thanks to Random House for the early review copy!
August 31, 2025
I didn't enjoy this as much as Assembly. I found most of the characters in this unlikable and extremely arrogant.
I appreciated the unusual way the book was written and felt it helped the book flow better. But ultimately, with all the politics being rammed down my throat, it felt like a manifesto at times.
Slightly disappointed but I do think Natasha Brown writes beautifully but I didn't enjoy this as much as I was expecting
I appreciated the unusual way the book was written and felt it helped the book flow better. But ultimately, with all the politics being rammed down my throat, it felt like a manifesto at times.
Slightly disappointed but I do think Natasha Brown writes beautifully but I didn't enjoy this as much as I was expecting
December 21, 2024
Another sharp and slim read from Brown. Very different from ASSEMBLY, though it also considers questions of class and success. The beginning is a longform piece of journalism, and the remaining parts show us the writer and her subjects through a different lens. It lets us ask questions about the state of media, about criticism and commentary, about how politics can infuse the way stories are told even when it doesn't seem like it on the surface.
I don't know British media well enough to know if there are specific figures Brown is basing these characters on or how much it resembles the larger picture, but there is enough that is familiar for it to really hit. There are questions here of messaging, of who is using who, of what the message behind a story actually is, and which stories get told.
It strikes me as a little strange that we haven't had more novels about media given the upheaval its had in the last twenty years and the now-constant question of bias. Would love to see more if they can be as smart and savvy as Brown can.
I don't know British media well enough to know if there are specific figures Brown is basing these characters on or how much it resembles the larger picture, but there is enough that is familiar for it to really hit. There are questions here of messaging, of who is using who, of what the message behind a story actually is, and which stories get told.
It strikes me as a little strange that we haven't had more novels about media given the upheaval its had in the last twenty years and the now-constant question of bias. Would love to see more if they can be as smart and savvy as Brown can.
November 30, 2024
Editing to 1 star because I realise I really didn’t like this book.
Adored Brown’s first novella so was slightly disappointed by this one. The beginning is an article-style piece of writing about a man who bludgeons another man with a solid gold bar and it goes into depth into how this came about and the circumstances surrounding the event, revealing a situation where things came to a scary boiling point.
The rest of the book follows a number of different characters in the story but the entire thing felt really disjointed. I missed the shocking feel of the first part of the book and although it was all centred around the one event it felt completely plotless and like it wasn’t moving forward at all. The ‘reveal’ at the end just wasn’t as shocking as it should have been, and the book seemed to be slathered too heavily with social commentary for it to feel like it was in any way entertaining.
If it wasn’t for how much I liked the first part I would have given this a lower rating, but it was certainly an experiment and a type of novella I’ve never come across before.
Adored Brown’s first novella so was slightly disappointed by this one. The beginning is an article-style piece of writing about a man who bludgeons another man with a solid gold bar and it goes into depth into how this came about and the circumstances surrounding the event, revealing a situation where things came to a scary boiling point.
The rest of the book follows a number of different characters in the story but the entire thing felt really disjointed. I missed the shocking feel of the first part of the book and although it was all centred around the one event it felt completely plotless and like it wasn’t moving forward at all. The ‘reveal’ at the end just wasn’t as shocking as it should have been, and the book seemed to be slathered too heavily with social commentary for it to feel like it was in any way entertaining.
If it wasn’t for how much I liked the first part I would have given this a lower rating, but it was certainly an experiment and a type of novella I’ve never come across before.
March 5, 2025
Late one night on a Yorkshire farm, in the midst of an illegal rave, a young man is nearly bludgeoned to death with a solid gold bar. An ambitious young journalist sets out to uncover the truth surrounding the attack, connecting the dots between an amoral banker landlord, an iconoclastic columnist, and a radical anarchist movement that has taken up residence on the farm. Unquote!
The opening "chapter", if you will, is very long but I was interested in the story of how "Pegasus" came close to death after being bludgeoned with a gold bar. The book itself consists of a series of short stories, all interconnected, and supposedly "focuses in on what we say, how we say it, and what we really mean". Unfortunately I don't think I'm the right reader for this book. I don't feel that I understood what it was all about and was left scratching my head. I really enjoyed "Assembly" by this author and this one is also well written but just not for me. There are many excellent 4- and 5-star reviews you should check out if you're deciding whether to read this.
My thanks to Random House Publishing, via Netgalley, for offering me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novella. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: March 4, 2025
The opening "chapter", if you will, is very long but I was interested in the story of how "Pegasus" came close to death after being bludgeoned with a gold bar. The book itself consists of a series of short stories, all interconnected, and supposedly "focuses in on what we say, how we say it, and what we really mean". Unfortunately I don't think I'm the right reader for this book. I don't feel that I understood what it was all about and was left scratching my head. I really enjoyed "Assembly" by this author and this one is also well written but just not for me. There are many excellent 4- and 5-star reviews you should check out if you're deciding whether to read this.
My thanks to Random House Publishing, via Netgalley, for offering me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novella. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: March 4, 2025
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July 13, 2025how do u rate a book where you didn't know what it was supposed to be about but enjoyed the writing lol
April 16, 2025
I loved the structure of this. Exploring race, privilege, and class in a candid way. Asking the question: who are we really, and how do we want the world to see us? Told through five chapters, each one revealing a little more dimensionality to what we initially thought we were reading.
A social critique and a political satire intended to provoke. Although it’s a short read, it packs more of a punch than books twice its size. Characters who are either misguided, misinformed or deliciously monstrous. I blew through this thing because it had an addictive quality to it. Also, it made me tense because it embodies a world that I sadly recognize.
I loved Brown’s debut ASSEMBLY, but I loved this one even more. This was all-consuming. Literary rage-bait.
A social critique and a political satire intended to provoke. Although it’s a short read, it packs more of a punch than books twice its size. Characters who are either misguided, misinformed or deliciously monstrous. I blew through this thing because it had an addictive quality to it. Also, it made me tense because it embodies a world that I sadly recognize.
I loved Brown’s debut ASSEMBLY, but I loved this one even more. This was all-consuming. Literary rage-bait.
March 13, 2025
I neither love nor hate this. It’s a satirical novel exploring modern sociopolitical issues. The problem is, I felt like a duck in a foie gras factory being force-fed an endless stream of social commentary. While the message is clear and occasionally funny, its relentless delivery is pretty exhausting.
June 26, 2025
Another weird book where all is not as it seems.
I had to restart this countless times, (largely because my audiobook had no chapters and it was a little confusing at first whose voice we were using.
On the face of it, this is about an assault at a commune/squatter camp run by Universalists, largely made up of young middle class white people railing against activism myopia and “greedy pitiful men”.
It’s never entirely clear why Jake attacks Pegasus. But we see a snapshot of in yet perspectives from the main players - Hannah, Martin, John, Lenny, and Richard Spencer.
I’ll bet there is a lot of head scratching after reading the last page. Yes it’s clear that everyone has very different perspectives of reality and the identity and political contexts of their story. But what ultimately is the author’s intention here?
The book ends on the POV of Lenny who has a mixed ideological stance that sits her squarely in the “foreigners bugger off” camp, but she is written as unpleasant and manipulative, but a very odd way to end the story.
Overall, would require a deeper perspective and I’d very much enjoy others’ take on the book.
I had to restart this countless times, (largely because my audiobook had no chapters and it was a little confusing at first whose voice we were using.
On the face of it, this is about an assault at a commune/squatter camp run by Universalists, largely made up of young middle class white people railing against activism myopia and “greedy pitiful men”.
It’s never entirely clear why Jake attacks Pegasus. But we see a snapshot of in yet perspectives from the main players - Hannah, Martin, John, Lenny, and Richard Spencer.
I’ll bet there is a lot of head scratching after reading the last page. Yes it’s clear that everyone has very different perspectives of reality and the identity and political contexts of their story. But what ultimately is the author’s intention here?
The book ends on the POV of Lenny who has a mixed ideological stance that sits her squarely in the “foreigners bugger off” camp, but she is written as unpleasant and manipulative, but a very odd way to end the story.
Overall, would require a deeper perspective and I’d very much enjoy others’ take on the book.
August 4, 2025
Capturing the spectrum of viewpoints being emphasized in today's sociopolitical rumble - and especially focused on those actively seeking to dominate the global conversation - Brown gives the reader plenty to think about. What she manages to pack into 157 pages is impressive. She has made good on the promise shown when Assembly was published just a few years ago.
Most of those seeking influence through expansive media attention are, almost by definition, not representative of the common citizen. As such, the majority of main characters in this novel are hapless buffoons or selfish clowns. Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll recognize them all. Interestingly, Brown manages to humanize many of them, making it more difficult than usual to entirely dismiss those expressing opinions that differ from one's own. The thought exercise that results was bracing at times.
There's a lot going on here and I was fascinated by it from beginning to end.
4.5 stars
Most of those seeking influence through expansive media attention are, almost by definition, not representative of the common citizen. As such, the majority of main characters in this novel are hapless buffoons or selfish clowns. Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll recognize them all. Interestingly, Brown manages to humanize many of them, making it more difficult than usual to entirely dismiss those expressing opinions that differ from one's own. The thought exercise that results was bracing at times.
There's a lot going on here and I was fascinated by it from beginning to end.
4.5 stars
March 25, 2025
After really enjoying the power and resonance of Brown’s debut novel Assembly, I was looking forward to a similar experience with her second book, but I am still feeling rather ambivalent about this.
The core of the novel is about truth: our relationship with truth and how we can manipulate language to create versions of the truth, particularly in our current ‘post-truth’ era. I liked that it remained very British: it touches on class and race relations in modern Britain, and the journalistic culture wars we read every day, but unfortunately these themes weren’t explored in as much depth as I would’ve liked. Maybe that’s because the book is so short, maybe it’s because as someone who attended journalism school, a lot of the discussions in this book are ideas which I’ve written essays about and attended lectures on to the saturation point. Natasha Brown is a brilliant writer, but this one just sadly missed the mark for me!
The core of the novel is about truth: our relationship with truth and how we can manipulate language to create versions of the truth, particularly in our current ‘post-truth’ era. I liked that it remained very British: it touches on class and race relations in modern Britain, and the journalistic culture wars we read every day, but unfortunately these themes weren’t explored in as much depth as I would’ve liked. Maybe that’s because the book is so short, maybe it’s because as someone who attended journalism school, a lot of the discussions in this book are ideas which I’ve written essays about and attended lectures on to the saturation point. Natasha Brown is a brilliant writer, but this one just sadly missed the mark for me!
March 17, 2025
Prickly and dark. I think this is a masterpiece, but I know mileage may vary. Brown plays with identity brilliantly, evoking conversations and arguments being had by the intelligentsia both in the UK and the US. Every time you find yourself agreeing with a character, Brown makes sure to subtly remind us how vile so many of these people are: the characterization is top notch. I'm obsessed with the last chapter.
Natasha Brown is a genius.
Natasha Brown is a genius.
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May 27, 2025An essentially rather aimless, or plotless, work centring around an incident where someone hits someone else with a gold bar. It's not about that really, it's basically about the ghastliness of the British left-wing middle-class commentariat. Which, yes indeed, and it definitely skewers the tone of the 'I just say what you're thinking' / 'woke has gone too far' crowd, but it needed a lot more plot to make it a satisfactory novel rather than a satire piece.
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February 1, 2025Natasha brown is a genius tbh
March 13, 2025
2.5 rounded to 3. Natasha brown is an incredible writer and knows how to fit a lot of content in a short book. I really enjoyed her debut novel Assembly a lot, the perspective of a Black woman living in the UK struggling to find her independence and identity whilst examining racism, class, misogny — it stuck with me for a while after I read it. Unfortunately Universality was not really that for me, or at least not right now. I think a lot of folks are going to enjoy this one, as there is something there and I appreciate the message and the voyeuristic approach into each subjects chapter. It was interesting but sometimes seemed to go over my head a little bit. Sometimes I read things and it's just not the right time for me to read that book and I think that was the case for this one. Maybe I just need to think about it some more before I post my true thoughts! More detailed review to come. Thanks very much to the publisher for an advanced copy!
August 14, 2025
Natrpano, nerazrađeno, ne baš pretjerano bitno. Znate ono kad neko pokuša da mnoštvo relevantnih tema ubaci na malo prostora, uz minimum truda da ih uklopi u samu prirodu teksta? E to je otprilike ova knjiga. Jedini plus jeste priličan nivo stilske raščišćenosti, recimo to tako, i humora, koji s vremena na vrijeme zna i da zabljesne.
September 30, 2024
Immediately after finishing this book, I didn't think I'd enjoyed it very much. I open my notes & highlights, I've highlighted paragraphs on paragraphs on paragraphs - all of which still make sense to me, without complete context. That tells me I did, in fact, enjoy this. The first section, A Fool's Gold, was the standout to me; no surprise if you read my reviews often, as dissection of the 'mother' role is my kryptonite.
Across all sections of this book, Natasha Brown gives readers numerous opportunities to identify with the characters she creates. Written from a perspective of victimization, you navigate topics like sexism, classism, racism - a lot of the '-isms.
Admittedly, comprehension took a lot more effort than I'd anticipated. This wasn't a book I could coast through or give only partial attention to. That being said, I'm going to wait until I have a little more mental bandwidth before I dig into her debut, Assembly, Assembly.
{Thank you bunches to NetGalley, Natasha Brown and Random House for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!}
Across all sections of this book, Natasha Brown gives readers numerous opportunities to identify with the characters she creates. Written from a perspective of victimization, you navigate topics like sexism, classism, racism - a lot of the '-isms.
Admittedly, comprehension took a lot more effort than I'd anticipated. This wasn't a book I could coast through or give only partial attention to. That being said, I'm going to wait until I have a little more mental bandwidth before I dig into her debut, Assembly, Assembly.
{Thank you bunches to NetGalley, Natasha Brown and Random House for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!}
April 2, 2025
part news article and part novel, universality was a thought-provoking look at the language of the political vs. the personal and the way we talk about class, race, and privilege.
we begin with an article about a man who was bludgeoned with a gold bar at an abandoned farm that was being used as an anarchist communal living space. we then follow the author of the article, the banker that owned the farm, and another writer who was involved. a lot of the characters were unlikable, but i think it worked to the book’s advantage and made its commentary feel even more poignant.
i enjoyed the combination of forms and the fact that we got so many different characters’ POVs. the writing style was sharp and snappy, and i appreciate how much natasha brown was able to do in so few pages - i’d love to pick up her other novel assembly!
thank you to random house for sending me a copy of this book - out now!
we begin with an article about a man who was bludgeoned with a gold bar at an abandoned farm that was being used as an anarchist communal living space. we then follow the author of the article, the banker that owned the farm, and another writer who was involved. a lot of the characters were unlikable, but i think it worked to the book’s advantage and made its commentary feel even more poignant.
i enjoyed the combination of forms and the fact that we got so many different characters’ POVs. the writing style was sharp and snappy, and i appreciate how much natasha brown was able to do in so few pages - i’d love to pick up her other novel assembly!
thank you to random house for sending me a copy of this book - out now!
March 10, 2025
I was a big fan of Assembly, which was fresh, smart and surprising in all the good ways.
This one was a bit less convincing. It somehow manages to be simultaneously topical and outdated. It cares about all the right things people in London should care about, but in a somewhat predictable way.
It also creates an expectation at the start that it subsequently refuses to fulfill. It starts out as a plot-based novel, with a journalist investigating the disappearance of a solid gold bar after an illegal rave, but then does not follow up and morphs into something more like a pamphlet.
I wanted a good story, but this is a book you should read when you are in the mood for caring about the right things.
That being said, writing a second novel that is very different from a first, makes Natasha Brown an even more interesting writer and I will certainly read whatever comes next.
This one was a bit less convincing. It somehow manages to be simultaneously topical and outdated. It cares about all the right things people in London should care about, but in a somewhat predictable way.
It also creates an expectation at the start that it subsequently refuses to fulfill. It starts out as a plot-based novel, with a journalist investigating the disappearance of a solid gold bar after an illegal rave, but then does not follow up and morphs into something more like a pamphlet.
I wanted a good story, but this is a book you should read when you are in the mood for caring about the right things.
That being said, writing a second novel that is very different from a first, makes Natasha Brown an even more interesting writer and I will certainly read whatever comes next.
January 29, 2025
Arrrgghhh this was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it didn't really live up to expectations. There's nothing wrong with it and I quite enjoyed reading it but it's just a bit empty. Everything felt too easy, too safe. I agreed the fuck out of it. I nodded along with all the points she makes. But I kind of want my mind and my POV to be challenged, and this doesn't do it. Brown is undoubtedly a good writer but this felt like treading water after Assembly - I hope she does something that feels much fuller next.
August 1, 2025
Terribly smart book. These people drove me INSANE and that usually means the book is hard won if not great. Not just super enjoyable to read but i found it brilliant. The ending was perfect.
March 14, 2025
Another great novel by Natasha Brown. Even smarter than 'Assembly' , but very different in style and structure. A wonderful novel about class, privilege and capitalism.
Thank you Random House US and Edelweiss for the ARC.
Thank you Random House US and Edelweiss for the ARC.
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