Sarah Rose Etter

I could relate to some of the main character's early childhood depression and anxiety, maternal issues and fighting like hell to seem competent and fit into a work culture that's toxic and bad for you, but couldn't relate and was kind of annoyed by her constant drug use. A lot of the writing was absolutely heartbreaking and the use of surrealism and metaphor were very effective and visceral. Also, this was set in the SF Bay Area, so a lot of the places and corporate stuff was instantly recognizable to me. Generally kind of depressing, but I hope she was able to find more agency, peace, and freedom in the end. Maybe in the end the black hole was just the scary void of possibility when she chose for herself instead of giving in to the expectations of others and not an actual black hole or metaphor for giving in to depression/psychosis? I dunno. Made me want to buy pomegranate juice real bad once I finished it though.… (meer)

Ah, another weird and wonderful indie press book that is just my sort of thing. Cassie is born with a genetic condition that the women in her family have: their stomachs tied in a knot. The boys are fine, of course. It's interesting that a story like this has not been written before, with the unique yet almost obvious choice to make a character born a knot. I don't like that the description of the book mostly focuses on "rape", as the book has so much more to it than that. The book is mostly about body acceptance or body uncomfortableness. How it is to live in a female body. Also, a lot of body horror here in all sorts of ways, including a meat quarry and a Man Store. The book is very surreal with a lot of haunting imagery. It's Weird. It's Wonderful. I would set this on the shelf beside 'The Visitors' by Jessi Jezewska Stevens.… (meer)