FICTION

Eleanor, or, The Rejection of the Progress of Love

by Anna Moschovakis
Coffee House. Aug. 2018. 224p. ISBN 9781566895088. pap. $16.95; ebk. ISBN 9781566895248. F
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With three well-received poetry collections to her credit (e.g., They and We Will Get into Trouble for This), Moschovakis introduces a first novel whose eponymous narrator is herself a novelist. Fragments of Eleanor's story commingle with those of the main character in Eleanor's novel, an unnamed woman. The two confront similar hopes and anxieties. Both are approaching 40, and their respective love lives have reached a crucial crossroads. In the opening scene, Eleanor has lost her laptop. When a specterlike guy named Danny Kamau informs her via email that he has the computer, she sets off to retrieve it, a quest that takes her from New York City to Albany, NY, and Harar, Ethiopia. This physical journey unfolds alongside a critical emotional and mental quest to regain her identity.
VERDICT Funny, intelligent, and sensual, although also unsettled, Eleanor is engaging from the onset and a welcoming new female voice, proving Moschovakis has the potential to become an accomplished novelist. Recommended for most fiction readers.
Reviewed by Faye Chadwell, Oregon State Univ., Corvallis , Aug 01, 2018
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