Book Review: "Scaffolding" by Lauren Elkin

Sometimes, I spend too long reading samples on Amazon before buying the book, then I get to the end of the sample and think 'well, why has this ended?' because of course I do. It took a lot of back and forth in my brain to buy a book that costs (checks notes) 99p. Laugh if you will, but honestly I tend to just get books on Kindle Unlimited, it's easier, cheaper and I pay £8 a month for it anyway. I may as well borrow as many books as I can and make Amazon regret giving me access to their lending library, right?

Scaffolding starts with our protagonist in France, having a conversation with a woman named Clementine about all things happening in their lives, but our protagonist conveniently misses out her miscarriage. Clementine is an art student who doesn't know whether to pursue her studying past her M.A and our protagonist is a psychoanalyst. Both are in relationships which are epitomes of boredom and even though Clementine does seem a bit ditzy and stupid, she is still quite an intriguing character in some respects. Setting the novel up from the outset as being based on the outcome of this conversation is a wonderful way to draw the reader into the book. It makes them feel like they too, are part of this weird friendship.

We can tell that our protagonist's marriage isn't going particularly well. Her husband works in London whilst she lives in Paris. She spends her days musing on why her life is the way it is and thinking about the way in which her life led to this very point. If you're not one for lengthy internal dialogues and fine observations which take up paragraphs and pages then this one isn't for you. But I like that kind of writing and so, I found it quite enjoyable as a slow, steady read. I'm not going to compare it to other female-centric literature of discontent because that brings Ottessa Moshfegh into the equation and thus, this book just won't win.

After a while of this back and forth between her and Clementine, we get taken back to her relationship with a different man. They were both in their early-mid twenties. But as she goes on, we notice that she is 'a little in love with (his) father' as an infatuation and this boyfriend of hers is fairly jealous of her even talking to other men in politeness. Eventually they break up and even though it is not a great relationship, our protagonist is still heartbroken.

I'm going to make a comment here that not everyone is going to like. I understand that the middle-class white woman author is seemingly intrigued with writing monotonous fiction in which they use the same tone for 300+ pages and drawl on and on about past loves that very few people care about. But after a few of these complaints, I do have to say that it can sound rather whiny and entitled.

The fact that anyone thinks this sounds deep and profound is absurd to me. It is be no means a terrible way of writing but it definitely isn't ideal for the entire book. It doesn't make the author look intelligent, just unbearable. Changes in pace, tone and emotion are key to great writing. The monotony of this book really did take it down a few notches in enjoyment. After about a hundred pages, it felt as though it dragged.

As we get into Florence's timeline which is set in 1972, we realise it is very much more of the same thing. She studies under Lacan, lives in the same shoddy apartment in Paris and has the same regrets about marriage that she keeps to herself. By this point, I almost DNF'd this book I have to say, it got to the point where the voices and tones were so similar that I was losing the will to carry on. I know it is supposed to be this 'intellectual feminist novel' but honestly, I was just so bored by the end.

So, even though the book started off very interesting, including Clementine's involvement in a feminist group against femicide. It really dropped off and became a real drag to read. All voices sounded the same, the tone didn't change one bit and the story dragged to the point that I'm actually surprised I made it to the end.