Debut alluring, unsettling, meta
Friendship, love, jealousy, obsession. They seem distinct enough, but what happens when these experiences begin to blend together?
Caitlin Barasch’s debut meta-novel, “A Novel Obsession,” is a chaotic exploration of these relationships and the way art blurs the line between them.
Naomi Ackerman is on the cusp of 25 and still hasn’t written her first novel, to the disappointment of her writerly grandmother. Aside from a risque pseudo-relationship that ended years ago, Naomi doesn’t have anything to write about.
Convinced that a proper boyfriend-girlfriend experience will give her the perspective she needs, Naomi finds Caleb — a smart, sweet man who provides a healthy relationship. But where’s the inspiration in domestic stability?
When Caleb mentions that his ex-girlfriend tried contacting him, Naomi’s natural curiosity quickly turns into obsession, spiraling from casual internet searches to stakeouts. Her excuse: Rosemary will be the inspiration Naomi’s been lacking for her book.
It’s simply character research, but the more Naomi learns about Rosemary, the more of her own repressed demons she must confront.
Surface-level, Naomi’s annoying, self-centered and completely caught in her own narrative. But she’s also conflicted, round and relatable. She’s scared of death and the way people avoid those who are dying, even while she herself does this to her Grammie. She’s proud of her family and their successes but also jealous. Overall, she’s empty and searching for something to fill her void.
The most relatable part
of Naomi, though, is her obsession with Rosemary. Barasch makes Caleb’s ex the most alluring, interesting person you wish you didn’t want to know.
Barasch has created a nesting doll of a novel: It’s a fictional story of a writer writing a fictional story written by a real fiction writer whose life bears many striking resemblances to the real-life novel.
“A Novel Obsession” is unsettling, but surely that’s what a reader wants when they pick up a novel about a woman stalking her boyfriend’s ex. Barasch has a talent for balancing discomfort and empathy, pushing the reader away and pulling them right back. — Donna Edwards, Associated Press
As its title promises, Laurie Zaleski’s memoir,
“Funny Farm,” about how she came to found and run a large animal rescue farm in New Jersey is funny. It’s also moving, a big-hearted twin narrative of animal and human resilience.
Zaleski alternates the stories of some of the Funny Farm’s most colorful animal characters with her own family’s turbulent history and escape from domestic violence. She recounts the cruelty
and abandonment that lie behind both narratives, but answers it by describing and practicing compassion, loyalty and love.
The idea for the Funny Farm began with Zaleski’s mother, Annie, who left her abusive husband when Laurie was 5. The mother and children struggle with poverty, but Laurie watches as her mom builds a more authentic and independent life for herself, working in a succession of low-paying jobs but modeling toughness and optimism.
One of those jobs is cleaning cages at Animal Control. That’s when Annie starts bringing home “the desperate cases,” at first dogs and cats and then farm animals and more.
As for the animals, they too are survivors who have made it through trauma to find new lives and bonds. There’s the steer who’s inconsolable without his alpaca buddy nearby; the diva chicken; the horse who welcomes visitors; the blind cat and her devoted seeing-eye duck.
“Funny Farm’s” story makes an enjoyable read for animal lovers and anyone interested in a true story of a generous and unconventional life.