Overview

In Hex, Rebecca Dinerstein Knight introduces us to Nell Barber, a gifted but recently expelled PhD student in biological science. Cut loose from her academic path, Nell becomes consumed by two parallel fixations: poisonous plants and her former mentor, the brilliant and distant Dr Joan Kallas.

As Nell narrates her story from a place of reflection, she retraces her years in the lab, her hunger for approval, and the slow slide from admiration into obsession. The novel unfolds as a close study of ambition and desire within the sealed world of academia.

Writing & Voice

We found Knight’s writing sharp and immersive, blending scientific language with emotional intensity. Botanical facts sit beside personal confession, creating a voice that feels precise yet unstable.

The tone often feels cool on the surface, but underneath it hums with fixation and longing. The result is a reading experience that feels both controlled and quietly unsettling.

Characters

Nell is a compelling and difficult narrator. She is intelligent, self aware, and deeply unreliable when it comes to her own motives. Her relationship with Joan Kallas, both mentor and object of desire, drives the emotional core of the book.

Joan herself remains partly opaque, which mirrors Nell’s inability to see her clearly. Friends, lovers, and colleagues circle the story, reinforcing the sense of isolation and imbalance that shapes Nell’s inner life.

Themes

Hex explores power, obsession, and the blurred lines between mentorship and control. It asks how knowledge can become intoxicating, how ambition reshapes intimacy, and how the academic world can magnify desire as much as it rewards discipline.

Poison functions as both subject and metaphor, reflecting how fascination can nourish and corrode at the same time.

What Worked

• Distinctive voice – The combination of science and confession feels fresh and deliberate.
• Psychological focus – The novel stays tightly centred on Nell’s interior world.
• Academic setting – Campus life is portrayed with clarity and tension.

Minor Quibbles

• The scientific detail may feel dense for readers less interested in botany.
• Some secondary characters remain lightly sketched compared to the central relationship.

Final Thoughts

Hex is a smart, unsettling novel about knowledge, desire, and the dangers of wanting too much from one person or one discipline.

Rating: ★★★★☆ / 5