A Little Bit Bad by Cassandra Neyenesch review – a sparkling, subversive debut

The Lead

A Little Bit Bad, a debut novel by Cassandra Neyenesch, is a subversive and sparkling story about a 39-year-old woman who falls for a 25-year-old Chicano roofer, exploring themes of societal injustice, politics, and human connection.

The Event Details

The plot of A Little Bit Bad sounds like the setup for a joke: “Like, this white lady lusting after her hot Chicano roofer?” Perdita Jungfrau, the narrator, is describing her own situation. “Yuck.” It’s 2009 and Perdita is 39 when she meets 25-year-old Nando, who is working on next door’s roof. “Burned out” after a decade as a hospital social worker, she’s a stay-at-home mother to a toddler, and pregnant again (though she doesn’t know it yet).

The Character Analysis

Perdita and Nando should make an odd couple, but they don’t. They’re both raw and fragile, and they share a sense of delight in the abyss. Their attraction feels real – there’s a sense of something tense and secret between them when they’re alone. When their differences come between them, that also feels realistic.

The Impact Analysis

A Little Bit Bad is more interested in societal injustice. The military-industrial complex, the “good Obamaverse” and the carceral system all feature. At its sharpest, the novel poses questions about the structural violence of a culture that privileges the normative nuclear family.

The Prediction

With its careering plotline, flying between the everyday drudgery of mom-life, and a heightened, surreal or imagistic mode, A Little Bit Bad is a compelling read. The central couple are sparkling and adorable, and the touch of satire pulls the story back from the abyss, making it a enjoyable and thought-provoking read.