What an amazing storytelling!

The book is divided into three parts and the first one is unhinged. A lot of show and a little tell (just the way I like it). The characters move the plot trough their decisions and we get to see the mythologization of a person when what happened to them is more important than what they are.

I don't want to give away details of the plot because I think is better if you experience it without knowing what's the big deal, because it was a big surprised for me and made this novel have one of the best plot points/plot twists that I have read in a long time.

I enjoyed all the symbolism and the parallels between creating fiction within fiction and creating fiction in the real world (what is a real world? It was amazing).

My least favorite part was the third, because although is necesary for the cohesion of the story and to know what happened next, I feel like it was a little slow and dragged down the great pace of the previous parts. Despite this, it's a great work of fiction that doesn't seem like it is (fiction). I'll definetly continue to seek out Eugenie Montague's work in every genre she decides to write about.

This was quite a ride.

The first third of the book had me hooked— especially towards the ending. I could not stop reading after the first twist. The next third was very strong as well, but unfortunately I did not enjoy the last third as much. I will admit I struggled a bit towards the end. The whole purpose of this novel is to explore different narratives and I just feel that the last one didn’t work so much for me. However, I do commend Montague’s ability to write three distinct voices and play with the narrative form like this.

Ultimately, it was enjoyable and quite interesting. I would recommend this to a friend.

Like many readers, this book was not what I was suspecting. Just when you think you've got a handle on what it is...it changes, (which makes it difficult to do justice in a review.)

The first story is about Jane and it is purposefully repetitive, echoing the rut she's in, her compulsive behaviors, and how her life feels. It also introduces the reader to Jane's work, which provides a through-line for the rest of the book.

Because I work heavily in social media, I found Jane's digital storytelling job (and the firm she works at) fascinating. She's building an imaginary story for an imaginary person online (along with a writer, Jeremy) but Jane herself feels almost as paper thin as the imaginary narrative.

Just when the repetitiveness of Jane's story starts to become tiring, the story changes entirely (a switch that I thought was both shocking and brilliant) and then changes again (a shift I was less into). The third section is through the lens of a character I didn't really like, but I found it full of the most quote-worthy writing.

I can't really go into much more detail than that.

I think this quote from earlier in the book really encapsulates this story: "how many moments do people live through together that are experienced so differently by each of them, it's almost like they didn't experience something together at all?"

This book continues to shift perspectives and add layers of "realness" to the story. Even firsthand accounts seem almost dreamlike with people plugged into the moment as different "characters" (i.e. themselves as they are on the inside, themselves as they are to the outside, their creator/seeker persona, their collaborative self etc.) With so many layers, how can we ever really know who someone actually is? How can we ever know what exactly is true?

Overall, I thought this was a highly compelling, original book (just didn't love that final third quite as much). Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

TRIGGER WARNING: Eating disorder

After struggling a bit to get into this at the beginning, I ended up really, really loving this uniquely structured book that I think ordinarily I would have not liked. The author accomplishes something difficult here - writing in an extremely disjointed way, without a clear plot line, in a way that somehow feels both purposeful and engaging.

Told in three parts, all in different distinct styles, the book is part murder mystery and part reflection on identity. Like most other reviewers, the first section was my favorite, almost exclusively because of the writing style and how the structure was used to mirror Jane's thoughts and routines and struggles. Even though the first section felt like a standout to me, the book is so strongly written that each section really shines for its own reason (even if that reason is giving us all a collective experience of HATING on Jeremey's unbearable personality for 50+ pages).

This book/story would have typically left me feeling annoyed at several points - the second section, where we spend 100-some pages feeling like we're in a whodunnit, wrapping up in a single matter-of-fact page, the last section being so focused on truly, madly, deeply, one of the most annoying male character I've ever read, the ambiguity of what we're really even supposed to be taking away from the story.

The fact that I was *not*, in fact, annoyed at any of this and could barely put this down after I got over some initial slowness speaks volumes to the quality of writing and storytelling.

I found this book a little confusing when I first started, I went in with little information about it and just let the story unfold as I read it.
The repetitiveness of the first part confused me and I had to stop and reread from the beginning to fully comprehend what was happening but in the end I found the repetitiveness and the mundane of the reading relatable. In the end, I understood it and the narrative choice. The characterization was well written, and between the three main characters I felt that I was able to connect with them. I appreciate the interconnectedness between the characters and how their relationships intertwined with one another.
I enjoyed the novel well enough, and may read it again in the future to pick up some more bits of it that I may have missed in my initial reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

Swallow The Ghost is a story told in 3 parts, making it feel fresh as no part lingers too long. I went into this book not knowing much and think that’s the way to go. The topics are heavy but the perspectives are interesting.

The ending leaves something to be desired but I also think it does that purposefully. People who love mysteries and thrillers, true crime podcasts and stories about people who are far from perfect will find Swallow The Ghost worth reading.

I don’t exactly know how to describe this book. A murder mystery? told in three parts, by three different characters, I’ve honestly never read anything like it. And you know what, it was phenomenal. A provocative take on violent crime in the age of the internet. A contemplative analysis of death in the age of the internet, where everyone gets to tell their side of the story, changing our perception with each tale.. Beautifully written and hard to put down, Swallow the Ghost was a captivating read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Mulholland Books, & Eugenie Montague for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Swallow the Ghost" is a uniquely structured novel, weaving together the lives of its characters across three distinct interconnected parts. The journey begins with Jane, an almost-writer turned content creator, whose life is an unsettling tapestry of rituals, mental illness, and intricate relationships. Jane is Extremely Online in a way that millennial and younger readers will relate to. She’s juggling two men, one of whom she works with in a co-creator/content manager capacity.

The narrative then shifts to Jesse, an investigator delving into the heart of a murder mystery. Like Jane, Jesse wanted to be a writer and has settled for a more practical career to pay the bills – he’s taking care of his mentally declining mum – while his friends judge him for selling out.

In the final act, the focus turns to Jeremy, a murder mystery author entangled in a real-life accusation of murder. In Q and A transcript format, Jeremy is interviewed about how being accused of murder caused him devastating writer’s block (in case you forgot who the real victim is * eye roll *).

In common with a lot of reviewers, I was immediately hooked on Jane’s section. The Groundhog Day section in which each day begins the same, and only the end begins to slowly change lets the reader know straight away that this novel is going to be playful and disorienting in form. It’s slowly revealed by action that Jane is suffering from an eating disorder, and this is interestingly paralleled by her use of the internet:

<blockquote> “The impulse to continue down her feed feels yawning, insatiable, like an emptiness but also a pressure. Sometimes Jane thinks this is the only feeling she recognizes. She returns for two more croissants and eats them, breaking off big chunks and stuffing each one in her mouth while she is still chewing the previous bite.” </blockquote>

I loved this recognition that what drives binge eating and what drives compulsive social media use is often the same impulse. The need to fill a metaphorical hole is so powerfully evoked here.

The abrupt switch to Jesse was shocking, but in a way that was appropriate for the subject matter, and it’s almost as engaging as the first part. Jesse has moments of being a noir-esque sleuth in the Philip Marlowe vein, with the caustic asides to match:

<blockquote> “If it was meant to distract me. If I could infer from it a certain coldness, the brutal pragmatism of the policy wonk.”

“Being around Roger was difficult. Like sleeping on top of a cheese grater, every second with him.” </blockquote>

Jeremy’s part isn’t quite as strong, but that feels intentional, as he’s not intended to be a likable or strong character. He is guilty of the classic solipsism of being the main character in your own life, and assuming you play that role in the lives of others as well. The murder? Only relevant in how it impacted him.

"Swallow the Ghost" skillfully dissects life, identity, and the blurred lines between reality and the personas we craft. The novel's exploration of social media, art, and miscommunication is particularly relevant, posing the question of where the genuine self ends and the fabricated begins. Its character studies are rich and thought-provoking, with each part of the narrative offering a unique perspective on the characters' intertwined lives.

i can sincerely say i have never read anything like this before—the POV shifts were so unbelievably smart while at the same time infuriating. i finished this novel with so many questions. which, to be fair, was most certainly the author’s intent. if you do choose to dive into this one (it’s out in august, so you have a bit of a wait) know that the opening of is structured in a strange way. i promise once you get into it, you’ll be more impressed than turned off by this seemingly redundant storytelling method. please text me once you finish because i’m dying to discuss this with someone—it’s a novel worthy of deep, literary dissection.

This book was kind of hard to get through because it was a bit confusing at times. With the different storylines going on, it was hard to follow. I also found parts to be repetitive. I understand this was because of Jane's routines but I thought it was a bit much. I was also hoping for some type of resolution in Part 3.

It is important to note that most of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the book's subject matters & those detailed in my review overwhelming. I suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters that contain reflections on violent crime, grief, murder, distorted body image, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual-based violence, clinical distress, the death of an animal, & others.

Ample are the parameters, definers, symptoms, & faces of grief. The altruistic nature of the sentiment prevents the shadow of emptiness from hovering over a future horizon, perhaps never to be met by the sufferer. The quotidian rhythm of existence promises grief in the rise & fall of all that we do; there is no way to avoid loss. However, grief is not simply a loss. In its own beautiful way, grief speaks to something unknown; a splinter in the beast itself. Culture will define grief & will prevent it from growing tall; nipping it at the heels with the poignant hymn of truth. Yet, one must ask; What is the truth?

When I requested this book I knew not what to expect. This is perhaps a silly statement. Rarely do I endeavour into books that gift me a clear idea of what they wish to present. I have always been a reader who prefers the silent miss-matching of story & mind. The ambiguous clarity provided by a synopsis is one I usually forfeit altogether; I have done this too long not to read the shaded colours & stencilled shapes on the wall. In this particular case, I was glad to hold my ignorance. The format of the story is adopted primarily to sequester a reader in what might be a primal stance; to be victim, victor, or vanquished.

In essence, this story is about Jane. It appears trite to say that the story relies upon Jane’s disorders to reel the reader into submission but, this is the truth. The story opens with Jane’s redundancy. Her mornings see the consequence of dread filling her lungs after a night of being caught in the riptide of her illness (Bulimia Nervosa). She runs the city, scours her room, rides the train to work, eats a salad, occupies every free second with her best friend, hitchhikes her way home through pizza joints & doughnut shops, & repeats her dissociated dance of online activity & purges evidence of nutrition into the bellies of the toilet bowl.

Jane’s story is split into three parts. The first of which explores the first-hand experiences of Jane’s diligent & harmful cycle, as listed in the paragraph above. In between the sections that read like a malevolent tornado, Jane meets men; she sleeps with them, runs the pedestrian’s path with them, & works on literary projects with them. All the while, Jane remains essentially unknown to all the people around her. This first section is meant to act as both a cautionary tale & a reminder that the mundane sickness of life may not end us but, death is certainly around the corner. That is to say, Jane’s life is sad to take in.

Readers unfamiliar with the cycle of distress that accompanies an eating disorder may feel just as suffocated as readers who have felt the weight of horror in their bodies & bones. Montague works diligently to prevent the reader from forgetting who Jane is. Rather than stick to the mounds of dread, scratchy throats, & dirty bile; Montague reminds readers that Jane is a person misunderstood; she has likes & dislikes, passions & terrors. All the things that make the reader the essence of who they are also exist in Jane. This is what made her section both insightful & ruefully grievous. Through the pages of repeated daily activity, Jane becomes a person that the reader wishes to know. Some form of the fingers on the pages longs to intervene before it is too late.

Throughout this section, I found myself actively engaged in the anthropologist’s role. Would Jane be able to find peace? Which of the men in Jane’s life murdered her? Every morning run reminded me of the curious nature of life; our habits shape the day as we move through it, tedious as they sometimes seem. However, in so far as I found Jane’s section engaging, the narrative lost steam because we learned so little about her environment. This was most likely done intentionally.

Jane is the victim of a violent crime, her section could not be the length of a tome, she was nearing her final days & it was soon time that the reader shifted points of view to better understand the narrative at play. Regardless, I felt taxed as a consequence of a morbid existence, otherwise seen as being Jane’s life.

The redundancy of Jane’s life shifts to welcome a new character, Jesse. The second part of the story explores a tertiary point of view of the crime. The players the reader grew accustomed to seeing in the backdrop of Jane’s life become the villains; men with voices too loud to discern clearly.

Jesse’s role is as an investigator for the Defendant, Jeremy. In all sincerity, I preferred this section to the two others because it felt real in a way that is difficult to achieve in writing. Jesse’s life is flawed & hurtful; his days are wrought with anxiety & pain. His family life consists of hours spent guiding his mother through repetitions brought on by her Dementia & attempting to prevent her from losing hope in the darkness brought on by her mind. Jesse’s narrative was raw, earnest, pleading, ambitious, & genuine. His person brought realism to a plot that introduced the reader to people they might never understand & then, here came Jesse, a character who could also be their friend.

Notable in this section is how Montague wrote the turmoil of a terminal diagnosis alongside the finality of death at the hands of another. In both cases, for both women—Jane & Jesse’s mother—the end of their lives became a truth they were not privy to learning. While Jesse attempted to wander in the dark to find the pieces of his mother that might still exist in her mind, he also attempted to find the truth in the void left behind by Jane’s murder. The links between both women are ample & a diligent reader will piece together the ropes that tie them to one existence; that of a woman without agency.

I found Jesse to be amiable & warm. His earnest pursuit of the truth among all the shaded groves of different people & their experiences, helps the plot move forward but it also grants it the girth that it needs. In many ways, both the first & the third sections do nothing to speak to the reader & rather seek to isolate them from the narrative at play.

At times, the secrecy behind an intentional intellect—think a philosopher without any lived experience to rely on—confounds this story into a heaping waste of time. The legal aspects are not explored in the first & third sections; the grainy details of the crime of homicide are not brought forward by any of the characters & rather, these sections poise the characters to make everything about their person, forgetting the societal implications of selfishness.

This is, as I have said many times in my writing, not meant to be cruel. Rather, the author allows the reader to deduce that the real storyteller is Jesse. He is the driver of the story, the hero, & victor throughout all the chaos caused by two people who were egotistically overly involved in themselves.

This truth made Jesse more appealing. The links between the deterioration of the brain & the body as well as the reality that horrors succeed without humanity being capable of concluding rationales is the crux of what is bulbous, overwhelming, & distressing both in life & in fiction. However, upon reflection, I wonder still about the reality of the case.

Jane’s cell phone was found in the dumpster at her office building. Jane was having an affair with her boss, Tom, & she knew that he had the business appraised for an obscene amount of money. By the end of the second section, we learn that Tom was accused of the crime but was acquitted. Why is that?

It will not come as a surprise to anyone who knows their way around the legal system that the processes are not always correct nor are they efficient. If Tom did not murder Jane, who did? How would Tom have known where Jane ran? How would Tom have known that Jane would have heard him calling to her in the alleyway? Had Tom met Aaron? Did Tom know that Aaron usually met Jane down the laneway from where she was murdered? Had he accounted for the fact she might not be alone or that other people were awake during this hour of the morning?

There are so many variables that could & should be analyzed before concluding that the murder was committed by Tom. What is apparent & dull is that the justice system did not ask any of these questions.

In the state of New York, the Double Jeopardy, also known as the Fifth Amendment, prevents a person who has been acquitted of a crime from being tried again for the same crime. Therefore, Tom is a free man. I reflect on this fact because the logistics do not make sense to me. None of the men regarded as possible suspects in Jane’s murder were approached with dedicated caution. Jesse came across the evidence of Jane’s affair with Tom at random. Why was he not being properly investigated from the start?

Certainly, my questions are somewhat annoying because they will bring the reader no clarity. Though multiple characters claim that Jane’s schedule is meticulous, a murder in the morning is too risky to be well-planned. One can easily assume that Jane was not running in the dark of 4:00 AM but rather closer to 6:00 or 7:00 AM given the number of people out & about. This speaks to the personality trait at play as we know for a fact that Jane walked around the city alone at night between restaurants & bars. What I seek to highlight with these questions is not that the irresolution of her murder is flawed but that the story is not about the crime.

The third part of the book drives home my point as Jeremy is introduced via his own experiences as he interviews for a podcast. The desolate & lovely gore of the story is sadly lost entirely in the third part.

Perhaps the author sought to allow the vanquished man to hold his court & share his truth. In some ways, allowing Jeremy the chance to speak to his experiences as the accused feels just; his life will forever be altered by the suspicion that lingered on the cellphone tower. Yet, if one looks back to the perusal through the logistics of the murder, one is left wondering (again) whether the judicial bodies did any work in this case, at all.

Jeremy, like Jane, held a meticulous schedule & visited similar places, over & over again. The suspicion that he might have been responsible for Jane’s murder arises simply because his cellphone pinged off a tower near the scene of the crime. Of course, reading Jeremy’s section does nothing to incite confidence in his character; rather he reads as a very tedious liar but, I digress.

If one were to properly seek to understand the case against Jeremy, one would be left exasperated. Perhaps the author sought to include this final section to encourage the ambiguous ending; maybe, Jeremy did murder Jane. This leaves me asking what the point of the story is, if, in fact, the driving force is the men who do very little of anything worth reading throughout the entire story.

From a neutral point, one can accept that it is kind to allow Jeremy to close off the story. However, this story is not about him so the narrative feels as though has lost its essence. Is this the point of the book? Are readers meant to conclude that a woman’s truth is lost as a consequence of a man’s presence/involvement? I am not convinced that this is the moral of the story. Rather, I feel quite comfortable in concluding that the author was simply writing to write; the final section shows a flexed finger as Montague quotes great writers whose word use reinforces the burden of existence whereas her book simply showcases the lost causes that exist in between rumbling subway stations.

The dialogue between Jeremy & the podcast host did not insight knowledge into the story, nor did it create space for reflecting on what the story was actually about. Perhaps, because I was not a fan of who Jeremy was; after sections of blabbering about being a writer with talent & time; I found myself wishing for the book to end so that I was relieved of the boredom that accumulated around the third section.

Truthfully, had his character been set up as a man of men, a person with flaws but the ability to not be chauvinistic & rather daft, I might not have felt as I did. Unfortunately, looming in the centre of the cream egg was mould & I did not see the purpose in writing pages about a man who made clear who he was in each section of the book.

Ultimately, this is a good book & one I would recommend to other readers. I long to meet Jesse again & I hope that the sorrow of his life is healed. He was not a perfect person but he was a person in all his entirety, making him a man I grew eager to know.

Just as I have chosen a favourite section, other readers will meet the parts of the story they deem valuable & agreeable. One is left wondering if the purpose of transcribing human horror is lost on the three subcategories of readers who will approach this book as I have & then also, in completely different ways.

The burden of grief lays itself raw to the reader in the failed investigations & cruel characters that once appeared as best friends. The essence of a person is never quite lost as we live inside the story & reality that exists in the brains of others. Jane, a woman who was quiet & ill, was also mean & uninterested, while simultaneously being catastrophically numb to life, she sought out its warmth & excitement in any place she could.

In just such a way, may the reader find that each of the characters is more than they appear yet, not a lie of who they hope to be. Much of the burden of loss exists because the imagery we hold is no longer visible to us until we become one with the illusion that shelters our person from days that continue to move forward without the comfort of those who are no more.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mulholland Books, & Eugenie Montague for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the premise and was excited to read the book. I found parts of it to be a bit confusing, especially towards the end. The pacing was a bit slow at times and felt like the book could have used a bit more editing. Overall, I enjoyed the story and writing.

Oh my god, I don’t know where to start with this book. It’s a ride, and the experience is hard to put into words, and the author put it into some very nice words already so really just go read it. But I’m going to write a review anyways because I can’t shut up <3

Okay so it’s divided into three parts, basically. You’ve heard this before, it’s in the synopsis. The first one is about this woman named Jane (get it, Jane Doe. I think so, anyways) and she literally just wakes up every morning (unbelievable, right? I could never), goes to work, hangs out with her friend, and has situationships with men. That’s it, that’s the first section. I’m not going to elaborate because I can’t. I summed it up pretty well, if I do say so myself.

We go through a typical day for her, and then another, and then another, and then another. It just repeats, over and over and over, nothing different except for maybe a conversation or two, all while the dread and dispair builds and builds, and absolutely nothing happens. You’ll search “hand sanitizer” in the ebook to see how often that line comes up, and then you’ll have to search it again because you won’t remember the number the first time. While that may sound boring, it’s so not.

It’s eerie and liminal, and it would fit right in on a weird book list. It’s about the horrors of repetition and repetition and mundanity (and capitalism); it’s about unspoken existential dread and how no one really knows what they want in life. It feels like a fever dream and so real at the same time. It’s like going to Walmart at 2am, back before Covid when it stayed open all night, and the only people there were the cashiers and that guy on the big vacuum. You’ll wonder when things will change. They do, but they don’t.

It’s also heavily about The Innernoot and it really makes you think about how much of social media is real, not just in the sense of curated, aestheticized profiles of people who are only showing the best of themselves, but also in the marketing and propaganda and lying-for-shits-and-giggles way. As a much more articulate reviewer than I has said: “When identities can be so easily fabricated through social media, art, and miscommunication where does the genuine self end and the created version begin?“

(also i must say, props for calling twitter Twitter. this book deserves a pat on the head for that alone)

The second part is basically a murder mystery, and our detective is Jesse. Jesse alternates between his job (detectiving) and taking care of his mother with dementia. Jesse was annoying and I disliked him immensely, but I enjoyed the whodunnit. (I’m going to stop saying Jesse now. Okay, really, I promise.) It was more character focused than fast paced action with shocking plot twists, which is always refreshing for a mystery. Some may complain that the resolution wasn’t great, and while I understand, I also think it made sense for this particular story to wrap like that.

The third bit is a (fictional) podcast transcript, and I did NOT enjoy it. It stars Jeremy, who is nearly as bad as Jesse. I slogged through, hoping it would tie up the other parts better or at least have good payoff, but it didn’t and it was very unnecessary. Luckily it was short.

I LOVE the writing. It’s very contemporary and blunt and sort of detached, and there were some really interesting lines that just made me pause and go “wow that’s a good line.” I just really love this type of style.

If you enjoy being confused as much as I do you will love this. Do be aware, however, that it may include some more “niche” triggers like bulimia and caring for someone with dementia. I think both topics were handled really well, though, and I didn’t find it to be particularly disturbing.

I’m going to rate the parts 5, 4, and 2 stars, respectively. I’m giving it a 4 over all, because the first half was good 🤌 fucking 🤌 soup. 🤌 and I ate it up and loved every minute. I will think about this book frequently.

(I probably would not have met this wonderful book if it were not for Netgalley, so thank you thank you for the arc. and thank you to past me too for requesting it. i make excellent decisions)

I DNF’d this book at about 85% because the plot totally lost me. What starts out as a story of a woman with an eating disorder and wondering what might happen to her, turned into a sort of crime novel. It didn’t work for me after we leave Jane’s POV.

What a peculiar little book! Swallow the Ghost is a three part book with completely different styles of writing and three very different stories-threaded together by Jane. Jane is a writer just trying to make it through her odd little life, starting each day with a cold cup of water. The characters that interact with Jane throughout this book remind me of my friends: just absolutely peculiar but desperate to live a good life in spite of being looked at funny by the “normals.” It’s hard to really describe what this book is and how it works, so my best suggestion is just to read it and find out for yourself! I think it will be a book that will haunt me much longer than I expect.

This started off really well up to the shocking end of the first story. The second story showed promise and then everything started to unravel and nothing really made sense afterwards. The third story completely lost me. Maybe it's me but nothing really came full circle.

Jane Murphy works in a social media marketing startup where she helped writer Jeremy Miller rise to stardom as she concocted a viral internet novel that has gained many followers.
Trapped in her obsessive disorders, she keeps all her quirks hidden from Jeremy as their work relationship grows into something more.
Suddenly, everything changes and tragedy strikes, leaving everyone wondering if they really knew Jane at all.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style in this novel. I understand the compulsion and routines Jane follows, but it became very repetitive and made me skip ahead at times. It had a lot of promise but quickly changed into a whodunit style that I felt went nowhere and dragged out a little too long.

Overall, this novel was an ok read. I recommend this to readers who love a good mystery and unique perspectives throughout a story.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn't quite what I expected and I was so pleasantly surprised by the concept of this literary mystery. I thought the unique storytelling devices used in each of the three parts were done very well and were very true to the story. I would highly recommend this book!

This was a very unique concept which was what interested me in picking up the book. At first I was confused because I found the writing of Jane's character to not be well developed, but it took me a while to realize that this was intentional. I did not enjoy Jane's POV because of this. Jane was scattered and the story plot seemed to time jump without any transition. Once I muscled through Jane's character to Jesse was when I really started enjoying this book. Jesse seemed like a well rounded character, and I was able to connect with him by getting his background of taking care of his mother and going to college for a career that he didn't end up working in. I found Jeremy's POV to be boring, especially with one lengthy interview about nonsense things he was writing but couldn't finish that may or may not had something to do with Jane. It felt like I didn't get a resolution for any of the characters and that was frustrating. I call this a unique book because by the end it seemed like Jeremy had wrote the character of Jane but did not finish this writing either and that is why Jane's character was the way it was. Once I got that at almost the end of the book, I could enjoy the writing, but I wish I got some tidbits of that throughout the book so I could understand that sooner. I like to read stories that I have never read before, and I will say this is one of them. This author took a risk with this writing style and to wait until the very end to make sense of the whole story, I think this may be a book that people will either get, or they won't, and maybe I just don't get it.

This is a tough one to review for me. The book is clearly divided into three parts, three voices. I absolutely loved the first part: the repetition of the character's days, the lens through which she saw the world, the way her work and life were entangled, her relationships and her struggles. You know when you're reading a book and you just fall into it and are fully absorbed? Part one was like that for me. I couldn't put it down. The second part, I enjoyed but felt a little weighed down by it, maybe because I missed Jane's voice so much. There was nothing wrong with it, and I liked all the unravelling of the mystery, but I didn't connect with the character as much as in the first and it felt like it dragged for that reason. The third threw me off because I strongly disliked the character, kind of like if you're out with a group of friends and you're all having. an interesting conversation and then he comes in and talks over everyone else with a version of the story that feels overly dramatized and egocentric and shuts out everyone listening, like a performance that no one asked for. A little eye-rolly? I'll be honest and say I skimmed a lot of it, and in skimming, probably missed the twist if there was one, and I thought there might be, but I couldn't stay in it. I was so deeply into it and then I wasn't, but it's worth reading if only for the magic of Part One, which is such strong, good writing and such a real character brought to life by the alchemy of good writing, the use of repetition and knowing when to stop and leave the reader wanting more.