‘Cynthia, the simpering, scheming, covetous emotional sinkhole of New Zealander Annaleese Jochems’s assured debut novel, Baby, is alive and squirming; a memorable addition to the growing coteries of unapologetic antiheroines (dis)gracing the pages of contemporary fiction … There are echoes here of Megan Abbott, Emma Cline, Zoë Heller and Miranda July: writers drawn to the intricacies and ferocious possibilities of female friendship. There’s a dollop, too, of Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley; a dash of Lord of the Flies. What Jochems adds is a cloying grotesqueness. Baby is a novel of close-quarters living: of masticating mouths and human stink; of piss and vomit, sunburn and bruises, pimples and dandruff; of new fat expanding under the skin. A novel of bodies.’
Beejay Silcox, The Guardian
‘An original and accomplished first work.’
Helen Elliott, Weekend Australian
‘Dripping with cynicism and green-eyed lust, this suspenseful debut from a Kiwi author is driven by the compulsively off-kilter worldview of its 21-year-old heroine … Creepy and tense, with a blood-thirsty climax.’
Anthony Cummins, Daily Mail
‘Baby tells a bizarre story of obsession and desire and takes a satirical look at the millennial condition … However the cleverness of Jochems’ writing ensures Baby is not only a strange and claustrophobic book but also a pretty good one.’
Catie McLeod, The Saturday Paper
‘Whip-smart.’
The Telegraph
‘Sparse and tantalising in its unfolding, it never quite allows you to get your sea legs.’
Ruth Spencer, NZ Herald
‘Sultry, sinister, hilarious and demented, Baby blazes with intelligence and murderous black humour. Heavenly Creatures for a new generation.’
Eleanor Catton, author of Man Booker Prize-winning The Luminaries
‘This funny, sexy, unnerving novel challenges received ideas and delivers jolts of pleasure and disquiet throughout. Jochems, like her extraordinary creation Cynthia, is a force to be reckoned with.’
Emily Perkins, author of The Forrests and Novel About My Wife
‘Patricia Highsmith meets reality TV in this compelling debut. Jochems nudges up the tension until we can’t bear to look — and can’t bear to look away: thrilling, dangerous, and deliciously funny.’
Catherine Chidgey, prize-winning author of The Wish Child and The Beat of the Pendulum
‘Taut, savvy, biting, and at points piercingly beautiful — Jochems's sentences shift from deadpan humour to lyrical simplicity to emotional menace with deft, edgy style.’
Tracey Slaughter, author of deleted scenes for lovers
‘Jochems’ debut is witty and unique ... A promising new voice.’
Kirkus Reviews
‘[E]ngrossing … Dark and twisty despite its sun-soaked backdrop, this is perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty.’
Courtney Eathorne, Booklist
‘Cynthia doesn’t disappoint. As we meet her, she embodies everything a baby boomer has ever whinged about millennials in a newspaper or on talkback radio ... You could suggest that Jochems is doing some broad metaphorical work here, that Cynthia’s apathy is all of our apathy, that the consequences Cynthia must face are all of our consequences. But really, isn’t it possible that Jochems is just having a little fun?’
Emma Marie Jones, The Lifted Brow
‘It’s easy to see why this dark comic thriller has been compared to works by queen of the genre Patricia Highsmith.’
Elle
‘A dark satire of entitlement and the “me” culture.’
i
‘A savvy, excruciatingly funny, nerve-shredding debut.’
Rose Shepherd, Saga Magazine
‘This year’s best local debut novel.’
Metro
‘An amazing, fresh voice in New Zealand fiction.’
Jenna Todd, RNZ
‘In Cynthia, she has crafted a memorable monster. Creepy and subversive, Baby is a classy debut.’
Linda Herrick, NZ Listener
‘It's a heck of a read — intense and unsettling — and Jochems is quite the writing talent … There are a lot of themes weaving through what can seem like a rather simple storyline, adding layers and provoking plenty of thoughts. It's the kind of book that stays with you long after you close the final page. Jochems crafts an atmospheric, claustrophobic, sense of place and the unusual relationship between the two women and the other people they encounter on their adventure … This is not your typical read, but it's an intense, extraordinarily clever psychological thriller that has hints of the likes of Rebecca or The Bird Tribunal while being something quite original and all of its own. Give it a go and see what you think.’
Craig Sisterson, Crime Watch
‘Wow, what an amazing talent this young woman is … This novel is well and truly a modern urban cautionary fable, about that privileged and over indulged generation us oldies like to call entitled, how their perception of self is so out of whack, and the consequences when it all goes wrong … This is an amazing new voice in NZ writing, we should treasure and nurture her, she will go onto great things.’
Felicity Murray, Booksellers NZ
‘The novel is a murderous foray into the contemporary world — with a perfect flatness of delivery that is sometimes guiltily laugh-out-loud. It's a psychological story of obsession and revenge filtered through internet culture. Thelma and Louise meet Beavis and Butthead in the Bay of Islands … The claustrophobia of a shared cabin and bed, sexual fixation, a seasick dog, money problems, and the downsides of saltwater and sun, builds the tension towards an inevitable climax.’
David Herkt, Stuff
‘Baby is a funny, taut, relentless fever-dream of a novel. Buy it and read it now, and you can brag about it one day the way people who bought and read Emily Perkins’ Not Her Real Name in 1996 do today.’
Louise Kasza, The Spinoff
‘The deeper you delve, the more interesting it gets. If you love surreal books with an alternative narrative then you’ll love this.’
Roachie’s Reviews
‘Compelling reading.’
The Burgeoning Bookshelf
