The Most Normal Woman

Praise for The Disconnect

‘Gripping and fascinating’ – Andrew Marr, BBC Radio 4

‘Wildly impressive, interesting and entertaining’ – The Irish Times

‘This book is excellent’ – Amy Liptrot

‘A brilliant debut collection – unsettling, illuminating, and perversely fun – by a writer of extraordinary style and intellectual range.’ – Mark O’Connell

I began writing a book about trying to be beautiful. But the more I wrote, the more it resembled a book about trying to be normal.

In this dynamic new collection of essays, critically acclaimed author Roisin Kiberd dissects the business of attaining perfection – or even normality – through consumption and body modification.

Linking her personal experiences with Botox and eating disorders to broader phenomena, the author explores subcultures including the underground drag scene and competitive dog shows to better understand how differing groups define and judge excellence.

From Westport to Paris, Dublin to Berlin, Versailles to the Ringsend Recycling Centre, Kiberd takes us on a journey of obsession with an unanticipated answer to the question: am I normal yet?