The Shot by Naima Brown

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Thank you, Pan Macmillan for my review copy

The Shot is the story of a reality television program, the woman who devised the concept and the subject she chooses to participate in the program. That’s the basic outline.

I would like to say from the start that I believe Naima Brown is the new Fay Weldon. That’s how good she is. She goes deep into the backgrounds of her two main characters, Mara and Kristy, and finds what has brought them to this point in their lives where Mara is able to convince Kristy to participate in her ultimate makeover program.

The story is told from the separate points of view of Mara and Kristy and they line up well against each other. They are both from the town of Puerto Segura although Kristy is from the trailer park and Mara is from the Lagoon area, and in cultural terms it’s pretty much never the twain shall meet. Mara is more complicated than she first appears which becomes evident gradually; Kristy has a problem which has been holding her back and which she becomes aware of with Mara’s help. They are both fascinating studies into the causes and effects of where you’re born, who you’re born to and whom you meet along the way.

Shot is a brilliant work of creative, contemporary fiction and I can’t recommend it highly enough to lovers of good books.

Published by Pan Macmillan