The Most Normal Woman: Essays on Appearances Pre-Order Now
ROISIN KIBERD€16.00
PRE-ORDER NOW FOR DISPATCH FROM 25 AUGUST 2026
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 explores the many ways we change ourselves in pursuit of perfection – or simply normality – and the toll it takes on our inner lives.
Weaving critical commentary with personal experience, the author explores Botox, blondeness, exercise addiction, and subcultures including the underground drag scene and competitive dog shows to better understand how beauty is judged and defined.
From Berlin nightclubs to rural Mayo, from Versailles to the Ringsend Recycling Centre, Kiberd takes us on a journey of obsession led by the question: am I normal yet?
PRAISE FOR ROISIN KIBERD
‘I enjoyed following Roisin to extremes in the pursuit of beauty, revealing subcultures I have never before considered – from the psychology of selling designer handbags to the high absurdity of dog and muscle shows. The parts I do have experience of – Berlin, blondeness – rang true. The essay on perfume is a sensational piece of writing. This collection sits somewhere between Joan Didion and Louis Theroux, with its own digital-Euro panache. I recommend it for those of us who know that Botox is political.’ – Amy Liptrot
‘The Most Normal Woman is invigorating, stylish, deeply humane and endlessly fun to read. In all their variety and vitality, these superb essays combine into a beguiling and unnerving reflection of contemporary selfhood in the capitalist wilderness of mirrors.’ – Mark O’Connell
‘All I’d hoped for and exactly what I needed’ —Lisa McInerney
ROISIN KIBERD
ROISIN KIBERD has written essays and features for The Dublin Review, Winter Papers, The White Review, The Guardian and Vice. Her first book, The Disconnect: A Personal Journey Through the Internet, was published in 2021. She lectures in creative writing at the University of Galway and is non-fiction editor at The Stinging Fly.
