Literary translator Polly Barton enters the fiction writer’s circle with her debut novel, What Am I, A Deer? In it, we follow the narrator as she navigates moving to a new city to embark on a new role as a games company translator in Frankfurt. After a chance encounter on the tram with a colleague we get to know as ‘umbrella man’, she embarks on an obsessive fantasy. Lasting a whole year, it inhibits her entire conscious and identity as she begins to reframe her way of being led by her imagination and karaoke booth visits, ultimately putting a strain on her current relationship.
The internal musings of the protagonist display the disconnect between how she believes she should live to how she is actually living. It appears significant that her love of music and karaoke is weaved throughout the story, with snippets from different songs to demonstrate her thoughts and feelings. There’s also plenty to ponder with anecdotes about the social work dynamics, culture and the experience of living in different cities.
There are elements of the plot that lack substance as the novel progresses, but it doesn’t detract from the lyrical language. Intense, atmospheric and often humorous, there’s much to enjoy in this deep and fragmented tale of unrequited love.
