FICTION

The Answers

Farrar. Jun. 2017. 304p. ISBN 9780374100261. $26; ebk. ISBN 9780374714345. F
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Mary Parsons is a lonely young woman trying to find her way in a cold world after a terrible childhood. This is certainly a well-worn theme in fiction, but Lacey (Nobody Is Ever Missing) gives her story a fresh, Millennial spin in this quirky look at contemporary society. Struggling to make it in New York City, Mary is further hampered by crippling health problems that seem incurable. She finds relief in a treatment called Pneuma Adaptive Kinesthesia, or PAKing, but these cures are prohibitively expensive. To pay for her much-needed therapy, she discovers a job on Craigslist for a "Girlfriend Experiment." This is a grandiose project by the self-absorbed actor Kurt Sky, who hopes to land the perfect romance by paying several women to fulfill different roles in his life. Mary is hired to be the "Emotional Girlfriend" and soon gets more than she bargained. Will this strange turn provide her with the answers she's looking for or only pose more questions?
VERDICT Recommended for those who appreciate thought-provoking and imaginative literary fiction. [See Prepub Alert, 12/19/16.]
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