What an odd little book. It tells a story about Abby and Elise, who were best friends as children growing up in small-town Michigan. Smart, creative Abby wrote stories and directed beautiful, charismatic Elise in playing them out. Together, they discover the movies of Auguste Perren, an Ingmar Bergman-esque European experimental director. But then Elise starts pursuing an actual acting career in middle school, and by the time they graduate they’re estranged. By the time the ten-year reunion rolls around, Elise is an up-and-coming starlet…but Abby has stagnated, and she’s working at a local supermarket chain. When they cross paths at the reunion, Elise is genuinely excited to see her long-lost bestie again and casually invites Abby to call if she ever finds herself in LA. Abby, driven by her vivid dreams and sense of destiny, seizes on the opportunity and soon has ensconced herself into Elise’s life as a personal assistant. Abby’s ambitions, though, range far beyond what Elise could have imagined. This book exemplified something I try to describe when I talk about what I look for in a book: characters that are compelling, which does not mean I have to like them. Abby thinks of herself as superior to other people, uses them, is false and devious. But she was, to me at least, interesting in the way that she manipulates people and the way she teeters between sanity and breakdown. I found the way she was written to be a fairly straightforward portrait of undiagnosed bipolar disorder, with its deep lows plunging Abby into despair but also manic highs she uses to drive herself forward towards her increasingly outlandish goals. I found the plot propulsive, it kept me genuinely engaged in and uncertain about what might happen next. The writing style, first person but addressed as a monologue to Elise as “you”, was unusual and well-deployed. A sense of overhanging doom builds throughout the narrative. Not everything worked: some characters were obvious plot devices, some developments seemed to only happen because they needed to in order to set up the next bit, the ending left me with questions, but it was an intriguing, unusual read and I’ll be looking for more by Lauren Acampora. ( )

The writing was fine, but the tale was not my cup of tea. Vengeful people to what end? Much elaboration and a narrow focus that might have held the reader more closely if she cared, but I had trouble caring about any of them and found the Jungian slant and dream sequences irritating. ( )

Weird and amazing. The surrealism works so well and is disturbingly plausible. ( )

y'know!!!!! ( )

Abby lives a boring life in Michigan working as a cashier at a store. She was supposed to be so much more successful. She is obsessed with her childhood friend Elise, a successful actress in Hollywood who graces the covers of magazines that Abby collects. She also has vivid dreams that she records in her drawings.

Elise returns to Michigan to attend their 10-year high school reunion, and Abby knows that she must go to see and try to talk to Elise. She dreams about a purple dress which she then finds at a thrift store. When she sees Elise at the reunion, they begin talking on a couch that is exactly like the couch she dreamed of. The still have a strong bond, and Elise invites Abby to look her up if she comes to California.

A few weeks later, Abby abandons her life in Michigan, boards a flight to Los Angeles, and calls Elise. Though surprised, Elise invites Abby to her home. Soon she is asking Abby to stay with her and eventually to become her personal assistant. Elise also brings Abby to a creative resort run by their favorite film-maker Perren.

The novel is written as though the reader is Elise and Abby is speaking directly to her. What starts as strange turns gradually more eerie. More of Abby’s dreams come to fruition as she increasingly grows an enmity toward Elise who Abby sees as unworthy of her success. She hides these thoughts from her friend, but works behind Elise’s back to carry forward her own ambitions.

When Elise becomes pregnant, she and her boyfriend plan a wedding in his home country of Argentina. Abby comes along but speaks poorly of Elise to a photographer who sells the story to the tabloids. This devastates Elise who never figures out it was Abby who started the rumors. Meanwhile Abby does not return to her life with Elise. Soon after her return to California, Elise’s marriage falls apart. She begs Abby to return and help her, but Abby ignores her pleas.

Abby returns to Michigan to visit her sister, a drug addict and mother of a young child. The visit is really a ruse to steal her sister’s purse and her and her child’s identities. Abby’s plan continues when she attends a costume party that Elise and her new child are attending. Abby pulls a fire alarm and during the chaos, Abby steals Elise’s baby.

Abby secures passports for herself and the baby using her sister’s documents and leaves the country. She turns up on Perren’s door in Switzerland, shows him her drawings of her dreams that depict his home and family. He sees her talents and ability to dream and draw places and events from her dreams, and he invites them to stay with him on his property. All of Abby’s dreams have come true.

I found this to be a page-turning novel full of strange and dark moments. The author is a terrific writer, and I loved her use of language. The story is uncanny, and the magical realism forces the reader to question reality and imagination. I am left feeling that Abby is really just sitting in her bedroom in Michigan alone, having fantasized the whole thing.