Author: Karen Thompson Walker
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: February 2025
Genre: Mystery / Women’s Fiction
Buy the Book: Audible | BN | Audible
Description: A year after her child is born, Jane suffers a series of strange episodes: amnesia, premonitions, hallucinations, and an inexplicable sense of dread. Three days after her first visit to a psychiatrist, Jane suddenly goes missing. A day later she is found unconscious in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, in the midst of what seems to be an episode of dissociative fugue; when she comes to, she has no memory of what has happened to her.
Are Jane’s strange experiences the result of being overwhelmed by motherhood, or are they manifestations of a long-buried trauma from her past? Why is she having visions of a young man who died twenty years ago and who warns her of a disaster ahead? Jane’s symptoms lead her psychiatrist ever deeper into the farthest reaches of her mind and cause him to question everything he thinks he knows about so-called reality—including events in his own life.
My Thoughts: In a nutshell, I enjoyed this book but I’m not really sure what to make of it or how to feel upon finishing. Was Jane having a post-partum psychotic break? Was she faking it for attention? Was the dissociative fugue legitimate or is she suffering from some other mental illness? Could it be possible that Jane is living her life while experiencing events in an alternate reality or multiverse? Anything is possible, I suppose, but wrapping one’s mind around the last option seems too bizarre to entertain. Honestly, I can’t think of another logical explanation nor can anyone else in the story either.
I found the premise of the story intriguing, though it lacks anything concrete to establish the reasons for the events and the ending left me with more questions than answers. I also liked both Jane and Dr. Byrd and found their separate perspectives interesting. I truly believed Dr. Byrd wanted to help Jane but I don’t think he could, especially without understanding the cause of Jane’s fugue. What really surprised me about this book is how easily I found myself being pulled into Jane’s perspective as factual without considering that her perception is likely skewed by her condition. The bigger question, however, is could both Jane’s and Dr. Byrd’s perceptions be true?
My Final Verdict: Readers who enjoy stories that do not offer any solid solutions and instead provide murky conclusions may find this book enjoyable.
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