“When there is an invisible elephant in the room, one is from time to time bound to trip over a trunk.”

It is a plane, not a plan. Hobart, February 2021.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

I had no idea of this book before reading it, so the 'big reveal' about a quarter of the way through caught me by surprise just as the author had intended! Thank goodness, too, as I struggled with the slow drift of the pacing and the bone dry wit of the narrator's voice to that point.

However, once the key to the story was provided, I found the rest of the story engaging and absorbing. While reading about a cast of damaged people who have chosen to repress rather than address their trauma can be tiresome, I was so drawn into the story in an empathetic fashion, and the dryness of the narrative voice became much more alive.

There's not a huge lot of resolution to be found, but the questions that it asks on parenting, ideology and the rights of all creatures on planet Earth are worthy and profound. The 'trick' pulled by the author, when coupled with the complex weaving of the narrative arc, served as an interesting and affecting exploration of the nature of memory.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐