Anna Metcalfe

I grabbed this book based solely on its striking pink and green colour.
This was very much about the characters.
The nameless woman in question isn’t likeable from any of the other characters perspectives.
You have Elliot, a quiet dude at a gym who has a relationship with her.(my least fave perspective)
The mother - her chapters I absolutely loved. They were heartbreakingly lovely and I resonated a lot with her experiences.
And the coworker/friend who likes taking care of her.
The abusive ex boyfriend was not given a voice/perspective.
I liked the writing and despite the fact there wasn’t much “plot,” I enjoyed it.… (meer)

Today’s technology enables more and more people to influence smaller and smaller subsets of the population. Not a day passes, it seems, when chatroom or text conversations are used to characterize motivations. Clearly, virtual gatherings of the like-minded can have profound influences for both good and evil. Metcalfe’s novel examines this phenomenon by following the growth of an unnamed woman, who becomes a social media influencer. Instead of entering her mind, as one might expect, Metcalfe approaches her story obliquely using three narrators. This seems to be an unfortunate choice because it doesn’t allow her to easily delve into her character’s motivations and philosophy of life or how these may have impacted her followers.

Elliot is a reclusive gym rat; Bella is the protagonist’s mother; and Susie is a professional colleague. These three narrators paint a picture of an introverted professional woman who seems to have a mystical effect on people. They describe a person with a supreme level of self-confidence combined with self-involvement bordering on narcissism. These narratives also attest to her inability to form lasting relationships despite nurturing environments. Not unlike the butterfly’s requirement for a chrysalis to achieve its transformation, this woman seems to need isolation and protection to realize her own potential. One is reminded of the mystics and monks who lived in isolation, meditating, and depending for their livelihoods on the begging bowl or the kindness of strangers.

The plot is thin, consisting of a failed relationship with Paul, a colleague who is extremely controlling, and her discovery of the power of mindfulness and strength training as strategies for career building. The former is murky because the woman claims Paul kept her isolated and locked in a windowless room while he claims that this never happened. Despite this spin on the “he said, she said” conundrum, it’s hard to believe that this woman wouldn’t have savored the time alone.

The woman’s development as an internet influencer is the core of the novel. The woman begins to make minimalist videos depicting her holding yoga poses for impossibly long periods and urging her followers to sever all ties with their loved ones. Her motivations for these choices remain obscure, but with these videos, she ultimately obtains almost cult status among her large audience of followers.

Metcalfe’s writing style is casual. Yet she builds tension and maintains reader attention with the measured disclosures of facts. The woman’s opaqueness, however, gives the novel an unsettling mood, and unfortunately also makes it too obscure.… (meer)