Fiction

摘要

When Lucy was three years old, she was struck by a truck and sustained a traumatic brain injury. Since then, she's had more challenges than most. As she's quick to say, she lacks executive functions: she's disorganized and nonlinear; and she sometimes sees, feels, and smells her mother, who was killed in a tragic accident when Lucy was 14. Lucy connects with animals and loves to sketch-Lher love of animals competes only with her nearly obsessive love of coffee. At 27, she lives with her father, making disjointed attempts to secure a job in response to his excessive goading, while finding it impossible to keep a single outfit clean enough to be presentable. When their father dies unexpectedly, Nate, Lucy's younger brother, agrees to share his tiny New York apartment with her, but her needs begin to take priority until he starts to crumble under pressure. VERDICT Lucy's narrative is sensitive, witty, and illuminating; her innate connection to Gus, the Central Park polar bear, is excellently drawn. Her journey and the evolution of her relationships offer a rare glance at the unknowable. Lovers of Liz Moore's Heft will want to read this debut novel-Julie Kane, Washington & Lee Lib., Lexington, VA.