THE OTHER SIDE OF NOTHING is a page-turning novel about young love, art, philosophy, motherhood, grief, and healing. Zadeik writes with tremendous empTHE OTHER SIDE OF NOTHING is a page-turning novel about young love, art, philosophy, motherhood, grief, and healing. Zadeik writes with tremendous empathy and compassion for her characters, exploring the complexities and nuances of mental illness. The characters in these pages are beautifully alive....more
I have been trying to come up with a way to describe this novel which is comprised of multiple first person point of view characters - both girls and I have been trying to come up with a way to describe this novel which is comprised of multiple first person point of view characters - both girls and women - each narrative centering around the death of a local teenaged girl. It wasn't until the final sentence of the novel - which I won't spoil here - that it came to me via the author's own words. The story feels like a kaleidoscope - confettied, fractured, yet also circling in surprising patterns, at the center of which is Lucy (the girl who died).
I always caution my writing students when they consider alternating first person perspectives: it's tricky to pull off. But Grabowski skillfully and clearly delineates each of these characters. And from those at the periphery of Lucy's story to her own grieving mother, we circle closer and closer to Lucy and to understanding what happened to her.
The one byproduct of so many points of view (and none of them repeated or returned to) is that the reader's time with each character was limited to a single chapter, making it difficult to invest in any of them. But ultimately, the cumulative effect is the vivid portrait of a town, of a community, and of a single lost girl.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to take an early peek at WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST....more
On the surface, this is the story of obsessive teenage love (which actually reminded me a lot of Scott Spencer's ENDLESS LOVE) and its tragic consequeOn the surface, this is the story of obsessive teenage love (which actually reminded me a lot of Scott Spencer's ENDLESS LOVE) and its tragic consequences. However, like so many of Caroline Leavitt's books, it is also an exploration of all kinds of love. This book is full of beautifully damaged characters - all seeking, finding, losing, and earning love from those around them.
The story was immersive and moving, and I gobbled it up in just a few sittings....more
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