We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves ~ by Karen Joy Fowler

I didn't really take to Rosemary Cooke, the book's  narrator at the beginning of Karen Joy Fowler's novel, 'We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves' .  Much like Jane Austen's character Emma, I didn't find that there was much to like.  She is a precocious, apathetic college kid, devoid of endearing angst and apparently loveless. She cares so little about anything really; disliking her parents, distrusting her friends, if she has any friends, and has little interest in anything much.  Rosemary, is passionless.  She misreads people, doesn't know how to relate to them and seems very jealous of those around her, especially her sister Fern, hates her father and has mixed feelings towards her older brother, Lowell.

But of course, over time, we unravel Rosemary's story and we begin to understand her psychology. Why is she so uneasy in her own skin?  Why is she so insecure in her position as daughter in the family, and why do her sister and brother leave?  The cleverness in this book in is the telling - there is a great surprise, quite near the beginning, which hooks the reader and will not let you go until the book's end.  

Now, I do not spoil books, but it is near impossible to review this book without giving away too much.  However, as I came to this book without knowing anything about it, that is how I think that you should come to the novel too.  Don't Google it beforehand or read the reviews on Amazon or Goodreads.  Instead, let the events unfold, as I am sure the author intended them to.  

  

Some very basic facts-

At the core, this is a book about families and the choices that they make.  It considers the fragility of relationships and presents us with a portrait of the Cooke Clan, living in America in the 1980s, '90s etc. up to about 2012.  Told in the first person, this novel will get under your skin and by the end, you will feel that you are part of the Cooke Clan yourself.  The narrative starts in the middle and radiates backwards and forwards, much like the branches and roots of any family tree.  Rosemary will explain the reason for this herself. 

Fowler considers the nature - nurture debate that people the world over all find so fascinating, and with the siblings of Fern, Rosemary and Lowell, we have three prime examples to study. The three share so many similar traits, but are very different.   Fowler also considers the impact that science has on the world in general and the moral implications that are involved with that, so be prepared for some big questions, as the author, through the experiences of the family,  forces you to consider some difficult truths about the world we live in.  

So, I managed to discuss the novel, without a spoiler in sight.  What a relief.

Once you can get over the first chapter, and the annoying Rosemary, you will enjoy this book, and maybe even come to like the passionless, joyless girl; I suspect, like me, you will. 

By Michelle Burrowes