Universality
A novel
Checking Availibility...Description
Remember--words are your weapons, they're your tools, your currency: a twisty, slippery descent into the rhetoric of truth and power from a writer who "brilliantly illuminates the entrenched inequalities of our time" (The Guardian).
Named one of 2025's Most Anticipated Releases by The Times o Literary Hub o ELLE (UK) o The Guardian o Harper's BAZAAR o BBC
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, namely: Who wrote it? Why? And how much of it is true? Through a voyeuristic lens, and with a simmering power, Universality focuses in on words: what we say, how we say it, and what we really mean.
The thrilling new novel from one of the most acclaimed and incisive young novelists working today, Universality is a compelling, unsettling celebration of the spectacular, appalling force of language. It dares you to look away.
About this Author
NATASHA BROWN is a British novelist. She was named one of Granta's Best Young Novelists in 2023 and one of the Observer's Best Debut Novelists in 2021. Her debut novel Assembly was shortlisted for the Folio Prize, the Goldsmiths Prize, and the Orwell Prize for Fiction and has been translated into seventeen languages.
Reviews
"I think Universality is the book everyone will be reading and talking about in 2025. It provides a brilliant, unusual social x-ray of modern Britain, stylishly exposing our moral ecosystem. Brave, wry, cool, and thrilling, this is the kind of fiction that makes you sit up and feel alive." --Andrew O'Hagan, author of Caledonian Road
"Universality is smart and expansive, keen on the intricacies of language and class." --Raven Leilani, author of Luster
"I was riveted . . . piercingly sly and inspiring in its economy--and, perhaps most importantly, tons of fun. You could call it crime or you could call it literary fiction, but either way it outpaces its contemporaries in both genres with ease." --Jo Hamya, author of Three Rooms and The Hypocrite
"Terse, elegant and prompt, Universality holds up a mirror to Britain by examining, through slapstick violence and media parody, the 'social fragility' exposed by the financial crash and the pandemic, exploited by tergiversating populists weaponising a deliberate misdefinition of wokeness for 'clicks and shares'. Another sharp serve from a brilliant mind." --Paul Mendez, author of Rainbow Milk
"A breathtaking talent--Natasha Brown is probably my favourite young British novelist. Universality is a precise dissection of class, wealth and power, written with a spareness that elevates and electrifies her prose. It's both intelligent and very entertaining. I didn't think Brown could better her debut, Assembly, but--improbably--she has. Utterly phenomenal." --Elizabeth Day, author of Magpie
"A thrilling, cutting,wonderfully confident novel on the misuse and abuse of narrative. In sparse and impeccably precise prose, Brown draws a chilling portrait of contemporary British journalism, but does this so entertainingly it is impossible to not get utterly sucked in. Needless to say, I loved it." --Jenny Mustard, author of Okay Days
"[Natasha Brown's] second novel, Universality, more than delivers on the promise of her first. It is terrific; a pin-sharp, savagely funny tale of class, wealth and manipulation." --The Bookseller
"Ambitious and stimulating . . . Brown's narrative is less concerned with the crime than with astutely portraying the thorny, complex ways that class and race seep into news, information, and language itself--and how they can be utilized for personal gain. . . . A dizzying and fascinating tale." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Universality is a rare novel. It's bold and brilliant. The humor is wry and, at times, cutting. But more than that, it's an intelligent and humorous examination of class and wealth--and a real page-turner to boot. I will read anything Natasha Brown writes."--Molly Aitken, author of Bright I Burn
"Original, vital, and unputdownable."--Tess Gunty, author of The Rabbit Hutch
"[R]azor-sharp satire. . . . The author has a sharp, unrelenting eye for the tangled dynamics that simmer underneath the surface of social interactions." -The Independent
"A terrific second novel from the British author of Assembly, [Universality] examines what it means to be truthful-and who really benefits when facts come to light." --The Guardian
"Natasha Brown exploded onto the scene with her acclaimed debut Assembly, and we are so excited to shout about her next novel Universality, which cements her status as a sharp observer of contemporary society. . . . Incisive, darkly comedic and visceral, Brown continues to challenge readers with her concise prose and profound insights." -Glamour UK
If the product is in stock at the store nearest you, we suggest you call ahead to have it set aside for you, or you may place an order online and choose in-store pickup.
