A New Kind of Clean by Iain Reid & Ellie Foumbi

From the opening pages of A New Kind of Clean, the forthcoming novel from bestselling author Iain Reid and award-winning filmmaker Ellie Foumbi, there’s a feeling that something isn’t quite right.

We meet Missy Djalo, an aspiring actor, as she arrives for yet another audition. She’s spent years chasing her dream, moving from one audition to the next, rarely hearing anything back. When she’s not auditioning, Missy picks up shifts working for a security company. She lives alone and hasn’t spoken to her mother for years. Instead, she has spent the last decade trying to become someone else, both on screen and, increasingly, in her own life. Her exhaustion is palpable, and it feels as though she’s already been pushed beyond her limit.

Then, during a shift, Missy receives a call from an unknown number inviting her to audition for a commercial. It'‘s the opportunity she’s been waiting for, the one that could finally change everything. From here, the story takes a turn, the pace quickens, and the feeling of unease starts to intensify.

While this isn’t necessarily the kind of book I veer towards, I was completely hooked. I recognized the same qualities I loved from Reid’s previous book, We Spread. His writing has a way of really getting under your skin, and here in collaboration with Ellie Foumbi, that feeling is just as wrong. The scenes unfolded so clearly in my mind that moving from page to page felt like watching a movie.

As I was reading, I kept thinking about the world we live in. Social media, the versions of ourselves we present to other people, our increasingly virtual lives, and how willingly we part with our data. How much of ourselves are we prepared to share, or give up, in exchange for something we want?

At its core, A New Kind of Clean is the story of a lonely character, plagued by memories of her mother, her father, and the homeland she left behind. It’s strange, unsettling and compulsively readable. Yet perhaps the most unsettling part is how close to our own reality it feels.

I’m still thinking about it.

A New Kind of Clean by Iain Reid & Ellie Foumbi is on sale October 6th and is available for pre-order now in hardcover, e-Book and audiobook. Check Bookshop.org to support an indie bookseller near you.