Study for Disobedience
Review of the Daunt Books paperback edition (April 22, 2021)

Bernstein has had to adjust to the accolades. Her first book, "The Coming Bad Days," received little attention, perhaps in part because it was published during the first half of 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the usual publicity events that surround a book launch.
"The only two events that I did were over Zoom," she recalled.
The plaudits for "Study for Obedience" came as something of a surprise, she said, because it isn't very different from her debut. Both examine separateness and femininity, and neither is particularly plot-driven.
"It's a style of writing that people are encountering that they may not have encountered before, because it's less focused on narrative," she said. "That doesn't tend to be the case with books that have a wide readership." - excerpt from an interview with Sarah Bernstein in The Toronto Star by Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press, November 6, 2023.

With Sarah Bernstein's recent win of the 2023 Giller Prize and her shortlisting for the 2023 Booker Prize for Study for Obedience, the above interview made me curious to read her first novel, which had been mostly ignored at the time of its release.

I actually found The Coming Bad Days to be more approachable with its academic setting as opposed to the more surreal world of Study for Obedience. There was more humour to it as well, even though there was an overall atmosphere of oppression and disaster which loomed at every turn. I think the dark humour combined with the sense of dread shows in the status update quotes which I noted along the way (which should be available below this review).

I managed to source a copy of the original Daunt Books (UK) paperback release. I wonder whether after the breakthrough success of Study for Obedience that a wider audience may yet discover this first novel as well.

Other Reviews
I highly recommend Paul Fulcher's review on Goodreads which contains links to some interviews with Sarah Bernstein and one of her essays.
A Study in Unknowability by Lauren Elkin, The Guardian, June 3, 2021. ( )