Book Review: Lisa Jewell's Invisible Girl

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with a copy of Lisa Jewell’s latest novel, Invisible Girl, in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa Jewell is one of my favorite mystery/suspense authors and she has another winner with her latest novel, Invisible Girl.

Saffyre Maddox is a beautiful, seventeen year old living under the care of her older brother. Her childhood was marked, not only by the loss of her parents, but by a traumatic experience that led her to self-harm. Saffyre spent several years under the care of Roan Fours, a highly-regarded child psychologist. However, Saffyre remained guarded during her sessions with Roan and although he declared her fit enough to end their sessions, she never revealed the truth of her trauma. Years after her final session with Roan, she finds herself interested in his life, including following him, discovering that he has been having an affair with a young colleague. Saffyre is an “invisible Girl” hiding in shadows and even sleeping in an abandoned lot across the street from Roan’s home. She is slowly turning almost feral.

On the other side of town, Roan’s family has been renting a home in a posh, seemingly safe neighborhood. However, tensions are high when several women are sexually assaulted, including Roan’s daughter’s friend. Suspicion falls on Owen Pick, a man in his early thirties who lives across the street from Fours family. Owen is reclusive and socially awkward. To make matters worse, he has recently been suspended from work due to allegations of inappropriate behavior with the young girls that he teaches.

When Saffyre goes missing, her blood and possessions are discovered on the window outside of Owen’s bedroom window and he is arrested. However, days pass and detectives cannot find Saffyre’s body. Is Owen involved with Saffyre’s disappearance or has he been labeled guilty based on circumstantial evidence and wild accusations?

Jewell is masterful at crafting mystery and as with her previous novels, you never quite know the outcome until the very last pages. This story dives into the #metoo movement and takes a close look at the perspectives of both victims and perpetrators. It also looks at those who must confront their inappropriate behavior and take responsibility. The last few years has brought on the concept of “Cancel Culture.” I can understand the desire to “cancel” people who behave in harmful ways, but it also cancels the concept of redemption for those who are open to accepting responsibility and change. Jewell allows one of her characters ( no spoilers), someone who can change and wants to change, the opportunity to be forgiven. It’s quite a beautiful and powerful part of the story. No worries, those who should truly be punished definitely get their reckoning!

Invisible Girl is heartbreaking, surprising and affecting. It is a solid, suspenseful mystery with memorable characters. I recommend Invisible Girl along with Jewell’s other novels. She’s a fabulous writer!

Book Review- Cardiff, by the Sea: Four Novellas by Joyce Carol Oats

Thank you to Grove Atlantic for providing me with a copy of Joyce Carol Oates’ collection, Cardiff, by the Sea: Four Novellas, in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a huge Joyce Carol Oates fan and I was thrilled for the opportunity to read her new novella collection, Cardiff, by the Sea. All four novellas focus on young women navigating isolating and unsettling situations. The collection is labeled a suspense, which is apt, as the pacing of each story feels like a ticking bomb and the edginess never fades.

In the first story and title of the collection, Cardiff by the Sea, a mid-twenties university researcher discovers that she has inherited an abandoned farm house in rural Maine. The woman had been adopted as a child and the inheritance leads her to blood relatives and a shocking revelation of her parent’s death. I was gripped by this story and it felt quite personal. I also had a similar family tragedy that happened to me at four years old, the same as the main character ( although I was not adopted) and I have quite a bit of mystery surrounding my blood relatives. I found myself deeply connecting to the point where I felt almost in a trance reading this story. It was an out-of-body experience that I have never had while reading. It has been a week and I feel haunted by Cardiff by the Sea.

The second story, Miao Dao follows a preteen girl struggling to survive absentee parents, a handsy new stepfather, and boys at school who both tease and touch her developing body. She escapes to a nearby abandoned lot that is filled with feral cats. Her favorite cat, “Miao Dao” becomes larger than life in her imagination and takes on a protector role, helping the girl fight back against those who harm her.

In Phantomwise:1972, a college student has two secretive relationships. The first is with a young professor who only uses her for sex when he is in the mood. She becomes pregnant and decides to keep the pregnancy a secret. In the early stages of her pregnancy, a much older visiting professor takes an interest in her and she becomes his assistant. She is flattered to have attracted the attention of a man that she admires, yet she knows that the situation is not right. He wants more. She struggles with the harmful and inappropriate attention of two men, while trying to figure out what to do with the secret growing in her uterus.

The final story is The Surviving Child. A new wife marries a wealthy older man and becomes stepmother to his young son, Stefan. Going into the marriage, she knew that her husband and stepson had suffered a terrible and highly publicized tragedy. Stefan’s mother had killed herself and his baby sister. The mother had tried to kill Stefan, but he survived. Stefan’s mother was a famous poet, who through her death achieved a feminist cult-like status akin to Sylvia Plath. Stefan is a strange child marked by tragedy and his stepmother arrives unprepared for this new role. She spends a lot of time wandering around the mansion, looking for clues left behind by her husband’s first wife.

Oates has written an exceptional collection. I highly recommend all four novellas. in particular, Cardiff, by the Sea was a profoundly affecting reading experience that has left me feeling rattled.

Book Review: Sayaka Murata's Earthlings

Thank you to Grove Atlantic for providing me with a copy of Sayaka Murata’s latest novel, Earthings, in exchange for an honest review.

Natsuki has always felt different from other people. She is an outsider in her family with her parents favoring her older sister. She discovers the reason for her outsider status when she meets Piyyut, a stuffed hedgehog that is actually an alien from the planet Popinpobopia. Piyyut informs Natsuki that she is also from their planet, which is why she doesn’t fit-in as an earthling.

The knowledge, along with guidance from Piyyut, emboldens Natsuki to stay strong against conforming to societal pressures. But rather than simply not conforming, Natsuki uses her Popinpobopia status as an excuse to engage in taboo human behavior, such as a preteen sexual encounter with her cousin Yuu.

When Natsuki and Yuu are discovered naked in the woods, their family separates them and keeps a close eye on both of them. In efforts to keep her parent’s suspicions at bay, Natsuki eventually marries, but unknown to her family, Natsuki’s husband is also a non-conformist and has an interest in Popinpobopia. They have a sham marriage, yet are mutually committed to pushing against societies taboos. They reunite with Yuu, who is someone who likes to be a follower and has been feeling very lost in his life. The trio may be stuck on earth, but they attempt to live as much of an authentic Popinpobopia life as possible.

I’m left absolutely stunned by Earthlings and I’m struggling to unpack the experience. I’ve never read anything quite like it.

Earthlings plays with ideas of what it is to conform to society, especially interesting as from what I understand, Japanese society places a high value on conforming. However, what happens when you simply can’t conform?

Natsuki has been traumatized. She is both physically and verbally abused by her family, as her sister is shown overt favoritism. When Natsuki meets Piyyut, she is already primed to believe the Popinpobopia fantasy. It is a coping mechanism for her. This goes deeper, when she is molested by her cram school teacher. She has no one to turn to, not even her close friend, who has a crush on the handsome teacher. Natsuki is constantly receiving a message that she is bad and damaged. The only person she can trust is Yuu and when they are forced apart, her mental state crumbles further.

Is Natsuki a victim or an unreliable narrator? I’m choosing to believe that she is a victim of severe trauma and this informs her Popinpobopia fantasy. Victim, however, does not mean innocent. Often Natsuki acts in a predatory manner, including her interactions with the weak willed Yuu. There are points in Earthings where I think Natsuki has clarity that Popinpobopia is not real, yet she uses it to justify her behavior. I think she must force herself to believe it, because the reality of her situation is too horrific.

Earthlings is not for the squeamish or the prude. It is one of the most surprising, graphic, and shocking stories that I have ever read. The ending is a jaw dropper. That said, I’m left feeling that nothing was gratuitous. Ultimately, the story is about how society treats outsiders, including those who have been victimized. Natsuki transforms into something quite monstrous, however, the true monsters are both her abusers and society as a whole, who have turned a blind-eye to her pain.