So...this was really well written but I don't think I would necessarily recommend it to anyone because I just didn't enjoy the time I spent in this world. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, no bittersweet resolution, no message-political or otherwise, just sadness. I found myself wanting to bail on several occasions but felt I had invested too much already.
It's a story of a mother's schizophrenia as seen through her daughter's eyes and all the ways she (Fig) bargains with the universe for her mother to be well again. Everyday there's a new ordeal from the Calendar of Ordeals, dictating what Fig must refrain from each day. Some days are easy but some have to be repeated over and over until someone figures out that Fig is OCD.
Honestly, by this point I feel like I had OCD--should I finish vs should I bail. I carried a back-up book just in case my head exploded.
The novel takes place during the Reagan era which is when there was a major closure of mental institutions across the country but this gets mentioned over the course of one chapter and nothing more. I'm not sure why this bothered me but it did.
I hate the "it's not you, it's me" review but that's the best I can do. If only someone had gotten even a little HEA*
But keep in mind that your results may vary.
*Happily ever after
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