at first i thought that this was a book about how the choices (big and small) that we make can change our lives in huge ways, setting us on wildly different and tangential paths, that each take us down other paths, further from that original choice, but still traced back to it. (to the distinction of things like sexuality and the geography we choose or end up in.) but at the end of the book i realized that while it is about this, it's actually more about how consequential certain people or experiences can be. that no matter the direction our life takes after, that we are held in the thrall of some people or some things that shape the rest of our lives. depending on what happens later, that life can be shaped to look any number of ways, but that person or event still affects us and our self and how we are in the world, no matter the direction we take and where we end up.

that was unexpected, and made this more interesting to me. anshaw is a good writer and this is thoughtfully done. i especially liked the popping up of the same secondary characters, and how they tracked in jesse's life. also how they showed up similarly or differently, especially her brother william. he is mentally handicapped and depending on his treatment, is at different levels of independent living and ability.

i didn't love this, but thought it was well done and interesting. especially as i better understood the larger point she was making by the end. ( )

a solid, short read. This is a book that explores the way different choices can play out in our lives. The main character, Jesse, silvered in the 1968 Olympics, swimming freestyle; and the book gives us 3 different versions of how her life could work out. Anshaw is a solid writer and good about exploring the details of a Middle America life, so I enjoyed the read. Exploring 3 scenarios necessarily means that none of the three are explored in great depth, so although the read was enjoyable, it wasn't all that consequential.
I did find it hard to imagine that Jesse would wind up with a heterosexual life in two of the three scenarios, I guess I tend to think that our lives are not as plastic as all that.
One piece I did appreciate is the exploration of Jesse's brother William, who has an intellectual disability. The different ways that his life plays out leads to thoughtful reflection about how different approaches to services for people with disabilities can lead to vastly different outcomes, and how easy it is to underestimate someone's capacity for independence. ( )

In 1968, Jesse Austin wins a silver medal in swimming at the Olympics. More accurately, she doesn't win the gold. Her relationship prior to the race with the winner (Marty Finch) is a formative event in Jesse's life. In this novel, it is 1990 and we are presented with three different versions of Jesse's life as she is about to turn 40. What the novel shows us is that her relationship with Marty shaped Jesse's life that bring certain consequences regardless of which roads she chose -- to marry, to move away from her home town, her sexual orientation -- no matter what, she has to deal with unresolved questions surrounding Marty's actions and her own. ( )

3.5 stars. Cool exercise in exploring three possible lives in the aftermath of one person's shot at glory. Anshaw writes well and tellingly. I took a class with her in grad school and she was generous, honest, and refreshing--hard to be both candid and supportive at the same time when you read and critique someone's creative writing, but she managed to do it. ( )

Jesse Austin comes in second at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics to Aussie Marty Finch (in the 100 Freestyle I think).

Then we get three versions of what her life could be after that turning point. In the first she's married to a guy and still living in her hometown in Missouri, but unhappy too. In the second she's not married, but dating a woman and is a Professor of Literature in New York, and still she's unhappy at times, although it's in a different way than in the first version. And finally in the third version she's sort of in between the first two. Not married or dating and living in Florida.

It's one of the ideas that has always interested me. The question of what if. The idea that somewhere out in the multi-verse there's a world where I turned right instead of left, said yes instead of no. And although Anshaw only hints at the events that changed Jesse's life in each of the stories, they're definitely there.

Another t hing that I found interesting was within the stories all the stuff that was the same and what was different. Some of the same people appeared in all three stories or two of them and it was fun to see how Jesse's interaction with them changed in each story, not to mention how they changed too. And finally there was the Soap MD/RN which was in all three and was used in a very, very cool way throughout the story.

The only part that I'm not sure I totally understood was the very end of the novel, the very last (and short) final chapter. I won't spoil it, but to me it just didn't seem to fit into the rest of the story. It seemed tacked on in a weird way.

Overall it was a solid book and worth all the recommendations I got to read it (online and offline). ( )