A Kind of Intimacy Author:Jenn Ashworth Annie moves into her new home bringing little else but her cat and a collection of cow-shaped milk jugs. She's hoping for a clean slate, but there's something familiar about her next door neighbour - she's convinced she's seen him somewhere before. Annie is morbidly obese, lonely and hopeful. She narrates her own increasingly bizarre attempts to... more » ingratiate herself with her new neighbours, learn from past mistakes and achieve a 'certain kind of intimacy' with the boy next door. Undeterred by her target's hostile girlfriend, she searches for guidance by obsessively studying self-help literature and romance novels. Though Annie struggles to repress a murky history of violence, secrets and sexual mishaps her past is never too far behind her, finally shattering her denial in a compelling and bloody climax. A quirky, character driven and darkly comic debut in the tone of "Notes on A Scandal", "A Kind of Intimacy" is an offbeat and ironic study of misunderstandings. It traces the dark possibilities of best intentions going awry and gives an unsettling glimpse into a clumsy young woman who has too much in common with the rest of us to be written off as a monster.« less
This book was an incredible psychological thriller/case-study. Annie's past unfolds slowly throughout the book, but this only serves to build anticipation and press you to read more. I read this book so quickly. I highly recommend it!