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|title=We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
|author=Karen Joy Fowler
|isbn=978-1846689666
|website=http://karenjoyfowler.com/
|videocover=184668966X|amazonukaznuk=<amazonuk>184668966X</amazonuk>|amazonusaznus=<amazonus>184668966X</amazonus>
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'''Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2014'''
Rosemary's childhood is blighted by the disappearance of her sister, Fern. Rosemary went to stay with her grandparents and, on her return Fern was no longer there. Curiously enough, her mother and father don't speak of it. The knock on effect was the angry departure of Rosemary's older brother Lowell whom she also misses. As she grows to adulthood, Rosemary remembers trying to come to terms with this, the damage that being a daughter of a psychologist has wrought and the revealed secrets that will finally make sense of it all.
[[:CatergoryCategory:Karen Joy Fowler|Karen Joy Fowler]] is the American literary fiction/SF/fantasy author who made a best seller about a book club discussing Jane Austen which eventually spawned a film. (Both called ''The Jane Austen Book Club'' oddly enough.) It was therefore with great eagerness I cracked this novel open, described by Son Number 2 as one of the lighter Man Booker 2014 long-list offerings. It may be light but for me the attraction is the intrigue about the circumstances that would make a small child disappear and encourage parents embrace silence on the subject as if she hadn't existed.
Karen also realises that this is a huge selling point and gently beckons us via Rosemary's first person narrative with hints and subtle suggestions that keep the pages turning. The time frame jumps back and forth as this middle child, reveals the story piece by piece in an order designed for the greatest dramatic effect, leading to the now famous page 77.
This is where I stick my neck out and say that I don’t think this is a book with 'Man Booker Winner' stamped on it but it's novelty value and subject matter (not to mention page 77) makes it a worthy long list addition. I wish Karen well and reassure her with the fact that my annual predictions haven't been right yet!
Thank you, Serpent's Tail for providing us with a copy for review. We also have a review of [[The Science of Herself by Karen Joy Fowler]].
Further Reading: If you would like to sample the breadth of Karen's subject matter, we recommend [[The Case of the Imaginary Detective by Karen Joy Fowler|The Case of the Imaginary Detective]].
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