Author: Zoé Mahfouz

Publisher: ? NorthMeridian Press

ASIN: ?B0GZH5T4N3

ISBN-13: 979-8991952576

ADHD in D Minor grabs yourattention right away with Zoé Mahfouz’s sharp, fast-paced, andunapologetically cynical short stories. Mahfouz has a background instand-up comedy, television, and screenwriting, and she brings thatsame restless, biting energy to her writing. Instead of following atraditional plot, the book collects lively rants that follow her trekfrom performing on French stages to studying film in London, allwhile keeping her comic voice front and center.

The narrator races throughParis, London, and other cities, poking fun at social trends, theentertainment world, office life, and the messiness of contemporaryrelationships. Mahfouz grew up watching American sitcoms and foundthe French scene “a little small,” so she channels thatfrustration into a book that refuses to play by the rules. With sharpself-mockery and acute observations, she highlights the silliness ofmodern art, awkward auditions, irritating WhatsApp group chats, andthe flashy side of social activism.

The book stands out forits restless, unpredictable rhythm, expressing the feeling of a mindthat jumps from one thought to another but never misses a detail.This is especially clear in “Building a Neurospicy Fort,” whichis basically one long, unbroken sentence that moves from locking adoor to possibly saving someone from a fire to appearing on JimmyFallon. This breathless, associative style gives a real sense of ADHDthinking. “A Cover Letter from One Marginalised Soul to theCareer-Making Gods of Hollywood” pokes fun at how the entertainmentindustry turns trauma and identity into products, while “That Guywith a Failing Business Who Clearly Writes His Own Google Reviews”uses unreliable narration for increasingly self-incriminating comedy.

Mahfouz employs playfulformats throughout the book, including fake cover letters,tongue-in-cheek how-to guides, raw inner monologues, and punchylists. In “The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Unreleased Version,”she turns a classic children’s book into a conspiracy theorymanifesto, mixing innocence with paranoia in a way that’s bothfunny and disturbing. “Harvard Wasn’t Ready” combines a realHarvard online course with a long tangent about Greek yoghurt, foodscience, and microbiology, causing you to wonder if the digression isthe real point. In “I Am Sonic the Hedgehog, and This Is Why I’mBlue,” Mahfouz uses a video game character to explore addiction andself-medication, creating a story that’s darker than the rest andstays with you after the mirth fades.

Her writing is witty,sharp, and natural, filled with dark humour and long, breathlesssentences which match the narrator’s anxious energy. The prosemoves easily from highbrow references like Chekhov and Bonhoeffer toeveryday annoyances like Google reviews and social media rules. In“Welcoming the New Male Employees,” she flips workplace misogynyso that men are the ones being objectified and demeaned, using thecheery, institutional format of an onboarding guide to deliversubversive content. A similar strategy appears in “Look After YourMate,” where the gap between an official, helpful-sounding formatand the chaos underneath drives the comedy. Pop culture referencessaturate the collection — from Stranger Things to Family Guy to TheHandmaid’s Tale to TikTok trends — and that specificity comesacross less like a liability than part of the satire.

The collection also hascalmer moments. In “7 Days into the Week of a Childless Woman,”the mood softens, becoming more observational and even a bit wistful,though it stays funny. The story ends with the narrator calling herGP about having her uterus removed, balancing humour with realreflection on choosing not to become a mother.

Below her sharp, sarcasticstyle is a “Perfectionist-Anarchist”—someone who wants herintellect recognized but is still determined to challenge the system.She jokes about feuding with celebrities or finally getting a SohoHouse membership, but it’s clear Mahfouz writes to carve out herown space. For her, there’s no such thing as “too much”—only“not enough.” Published by North Meridian Press, with many piecesfirst appearing in over eighty literary journals worldwide, ADHD in DMinor shows that Mahfouz is a voice worth hearing, on her own termsand in her own restless style.

Follow Here To Read Norm's Interview With Zoé Mahfouz