Bad Fruit: An astonishing, gripping new crime thriller debut novel from a hot literary fiction voice of 2023

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This is the story of Lily and the abuse she's been dealt by her neurotic and cruel Singaporean mother. We see a story of family and memory told through the protagonist, college-bound Lily, while living with an abusive narcissist, as she transitions from the place of Golden Child to Scapegoat. The synopsis explains: “Dark, reading group fiction at its best, Bad Fruit is an explosive portrayal of generational trauma. It tells the story of 17-year-old Lily Clarke who knows exactly how to calm Mama when she’s in a rage; she arranges her teddy bears, lays out her best lingerie and pours her a glass of perfect, spoilt orange juice. But when memories of her mother’s childhood in Singapore start to surface, Lily unravels the harrowing history casting shadows on her family, and the shattering secret threatening to unleash a darkness in Lily herself.” However, the foundations of their relationship are crumbling and we’re right there with Lily as she finds out exactly why… The story is absolutely messed up and often very messy, which the author captures perfectly in writing, managing to still portray each and every one of the characters in a relatable way, even at their craziest, which is no mean feat and makes this a masterpiece of storytelling.

The dysfunctional (and abusive) relationship between Lily and her mother is the focus, but the rest of her family doesn’t fare well either. In addition, other hidden issues surface during the course of the story. Despite the heavy subject matter, the novel, at least initially, is prevented from feeling truly gloomy by Lily’s narration and her support network. This book totally destroyed me on multiple levels, and I know it will haunt me for a while to come!I found the book disturbing, especially the whole drinking sour orange juice and the weird coercions the mother put Lily through. It was truly some bizarre stuff. It just makes you wonder how trauma can affect someone so much that it’s passed on through the generations. Another really engaging thread to this book is Lily’s interest in etymology. As a parallel to exploring her own roots, Lily’s love of the origin of language is woven throughout by giving us lovely descriptions like this: 'The Latin root for ‘hallucinate’ is irresistibly beautiful, alucinari, something you would name a Victorian child.' Such an impressively written psychological and literary plot to me— the twisted element in its conflicts were so darkly addictive that I think this would be the most damaged group of characters could ever existed in a plot. Interesting on how the ‘bad fruit’ that specifically related to spoiled orange juice in this story could represents the unpleasant ‘acidity’ of its character’s relationships as well. 4 stars to this! true that the mother-daughter relationship was nuanced, as were the main character's other relationships, and the author excels at writing the duality and complexity of their dynamics. yet, it still did not pull me into the story. i was not invested at all, which was probably why i was able to fall asleep three times. really, i don't have anything particularly bad to say about the book because i was simply bored. it just didn't do it for me. The story builds to become one that you just can't stop reading. I was walking around the flat, feeding the cat, making my lunch, brushing my teeth and my Kindle was with me while I just had to keep reading.

I wish to express my gratitude to Astra Publishing House via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this debut novel. All opinions expressed are my own.Peranakan dishes are associated with family trauma. Lily, making kueh kapit to welcome her mother home, imagines the iron biscuit press as a weapon to sear a pattern on a cheek. Lily is such a moving protagonist, even when she is trapped under her mother’s thumb. We spend the novel following her attempts to change the status quo and undo the cycle of violence, as she tries and fails. First of all I just want to say how well written this was! The author creates such a tense and claustrophobic atmosphere throughout the book that makes you feel like you’re right there with Lily trying to navigate the unpredictability of her mother. This book was so easy to fly through and extremely hard to put down. There’s something about difficult mother-daughter relationships that really interests me and this was an incredible exploration of those bonds full of tension, anxiety and the sense of impending doom. This story is about one of the most dysfunctional and toxic families it would ever be your misfortune to meet. Let’s meet the family:

Despite the heavy subject matter, the novel, at least initially, is prevented from feeling truly gloomy by Lily’s narration and her small support network. It’s the summer holidays, and Lily is waiting for the fall when she’ll commence her first year at Oxford. Until then, she must continue to single-handedly manage her mother’s erratic moods since her father and siblings are incapable of doing so. From preparing her mother’s favourite Singaporean meals to altering her appearance to look more like her, Lily will do just about anything to avoid her mother’s wrath. Our main character Lily is on the brink of attending her dream college in the fall. She only has two remaining months to survive her mother’s moods and catering to her demands. She wants and needs to get away! Emily: You developed the first three chapters of your novel with Spread the Word – can you tell us a little bit about this opportunity and how you found the process? Ella: I’ve always wanted to write a novel but it wasn’t until I was on maternity leave that it began to take shape. There’s something about looking after a baby that pulls you into your own interiority. I’d walk around pushing my pram, observing my surroundings but also thinking about my volunteer work with womens’ charities. The collision of those two aspects (which essentially formed the setting and theme of Bad Fruit) was electric, suddenly, I knew what I wanted to write about. Any time my daughter fell asleep, I’d throw myself down on the nearest bench and write.Ella King won the Blue Pencil Agency pitch prize in 2019 with the first 500 words of her debut novel 'Bad Fruit', an accolade which I am pleased to say is supported by the absolute quality of the entire novel. The ability to launch a story in such a powerful way is just one of the reasons why King's novel is a stunning masterclass in writing a deeply affecting psychological thriller. Having finished this book several days ago, I find myself haunted and moved by the dark events King presents, the representation of intergenerational trauma and the power of memory both skilled and engrossing for the reader. If you’ve struggled with abuse relationships of any kind then be wary before diving into this masterpiece, this could be triggering for you. Overall, this is an incredibly well written novel that has you full of questions from the start and you do get answers. The pace is pitched extremely well and I genuinely couldn’t put it down as this is a psychological thriller that has you in its grip throughout. Highly recommended. Ella: 17 year-old British-Singaporean Lily knows exactly how to manage her volatile mother, May. She arranges her mother’s teddies. She wears pink. She pours her a glass of perfectly spoilt orange juice. But as May spirals out of control, Lily starts to uncover her mother’s disturbing childhood in Singapore, and the shattering secrets at the heart of her own.

Beautiful, disturbing, impossible to put down. Bad Fruit heralds a seriously impressive new talent in Ella King’ CHRIS WHITAKER I also really appreciated how the side characters including Lily’s siblings were fleshed out alongside the main characters and you really got to experience this family’s dynamics and relationships with eachother.Just graduated from high school and waiting to start college at Oxford, Lily lives under the scrutiny of her volatile Singaporean mother, May, and is unable to find kinship with her elusive British father, Charlie. When May suspects that Charlie is having an affair, there's only one thing that calms May down: a glass of perfectly spoiled orange juice served by Lily, who must always taste it first to make sure it's just right. The story also sees Lily develop a friendship with an older man, Lewis, who lives near her. On paper, this is the dangerous relationship but Ella King subverts what is expected when it comes this, heightening the impact of Lily’s relationships with her family. A peaceful valley in Idaho is the setting for Matt and Harrison Query’s Old Country. Photograph: Panther Media GmbH/Alamy wow. a book about complicated familial relationships and generational trauma?? say no more, i'm sold. This is a novel about a complicated mother-daughter relationship and everything that goes with it. The trauma, the abuse, the doubts and the guilt. But also the difficulty to see things realistically when you’re part of it. It is sometimes so subtle and sometimes so loud, the author really nailed the complexity of it.