We started with two rock ‘n roll memoirs, and we move to two novels. Two novels that are very different from each other, actually. One by an author whose complete works have been read by me; the other, someone I read for the very first time. Let’s take a look…
#13 – You Only Call When You’re in Trouble, by Stephen McCauley (2024)
Stephen McCauley writes engaging novels revolving around quirky, but all-too human characters, often in unconventional families. While his latest and eighth novel, You Only Call When You’re in Trouble, and his first since 2018 is well-written and entertaining, it does feel a bit like well-trodden ground. There’s something very familiar about the structure, and the dilemmas facing the characters. For some readers, this may feel comforting, like a favorite, well-worn bathrobe on a chilly winter night, and while there was some element of that for me, I also was looking for something a little more fresh, and reading this felt a little fomulaic. Still, I did tear up a bit in places, and chuckled while reading, so definitely a worthy addition to his bibliography.
The Memory of Animals, by Claire Fuller (2023)
An engrossing read that packs three distinct storylines into one novel fairly successfully. Fuller starts with virulent pandemic sweeping the world, that is a bit more apocalyptic than what we all recently endured, but is similar enough to bring back some pretty tense memories. Neffy is a marine biologist who volunteers for a dangerous study where she will be injected with the virus and a possible vaccine along with a handful of other test subjects. Just as she undergoes the first phase of the trial, the world goes to hell and when she recovers she finds herself trapped in the hospital with four other subjects.
As they try to adapt to their new lives, Neffy discovers that Leon has an experimental device that allows her to relive her memories, an experience that can be dangerously addictive, but through these experiences we learn about Neffy’s life, and what led her to Fuller’s third storyline, about Neffy’s relationship with the mysterious H, to whom she is writing letters to in her journal. It doesn’t really add up into a coherent whole, but all the stories are compelling, and Fuller’s exploration of memory (the pandemic attacks memories, while Leon’s device allows you to relive them) is interesting.