Book Review

Acts of Service: Thought-provoking debut novel puts female desire centre stage

Lillian Fishman’s first novel presents questions around consent and freedom in a deep and intelligent way

Lillian Fishman’s debut novel, Acts of Service, is a book about female desire, in which the females (even queer ones) can only access that desire in the context of male need – or indeed, ‘service’

Acts of Service, the debut novel by New Yorker Lillian Fishman, appears at first to be a modern-day story of sexual awakening. Fascinated by her own beauty and “my purpose as a body”, our narrator – the biblically named Eve – posts nudes online. Eve is in a loving lesbian relationship, but when Olivia and Nathan respond to her internet post, she ends up pursuing a complicated affair with the pair.

The shape of Fishman’s ...