A New York Times Best Thriller of 2020 * Shortlisted for the Strand Magazine Best Mystery Novel Award * Finalist for the Gotham Book Prize From Edgar Award nominee Debra Jo Immergut, a taut, twisting work of suspense about a woman haunted by her younger selfAbigail Willard first spots her from the back of a New York cab: the spitting image of Abby herself at age twenty-two—right down to the … spitting image of Abby herself at age twenty-two—right down to the silver platforms and raspberry coat she wore as a young artist with a taste for wildness. But the real Abby is now forty-six and married, with a corporate job and two kids. As the girl vanishes into a rainy night, Abby is left shaken. Was this merely a hallucinatory side effect of working-mom stress? A message of sorts, sent to remind her of passions and dreams tossed aside? Or something more explosive and life-altering?
As weeks go by, Abby continues to spot her double around her old New York haunts—and soon, despite her better instincts, Abby finds herself tailing her look-alike. She is dogged by a nagging suspicion that there is a deeper mystery to figure out, one rooted far in her past. All the while, Abby’s life starts to slip from her control: her marriage hits major turbulence, her teenage son drifts into a radical movement that portends a dark coming era. When her elusive double presents her with a dangerous proposition, Abby must decide how much she values the life she’s built, and how deeply she knows herself.
You Again is an audaciously constructed novel, an unboxing of memory, desire, and regret—and an electrifying portrait of a woman hurtling toward a key crossroads in her life, where a secret lies buried like an undetonated bomb.
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Still reading this book, but slowly. Truth be told, I’m kinda scared to see how it will end. The tension is building. Kudos to the author for a very original story. Highly recommend.
This is simply the best thriller I have read in 30 years. Very very seldom does an author get plot and theme. reality and imagination, fact and ambiguity, desire and loss, all to cohere and all to dance together. The result is magical. A reviewer on Amazon said it best: the only thing you can really do after you read this book is read it again because there just aren’t many others like it.
You Again is a mysterious novel that combines a police investigation, art, psychology, and physics. The premise is highly original. It’s a story about what would happen if you could meet yourself when you were 25 years younger than your current age. Could you change how you lived your life? Would you listen to advice from an older version of yourself? Would the younger you admire the woman you became? I read a lot of mysteries and while the ending felt under a bit too simple, this mystery has a complicated and compelling protagonist, an artist who revisits her past and questions who she was and how she became the person she sees in the mirror. Four stars.
This book has interesting ideas, but the story is fragmented and hard to follow. I did not like the characters. I find it hard to relate to a character’s irresponsible behavior when the reason for it is only hinted at until quite late in the story…too late.
I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I was intrigued by the title and blurb, loved the cover, and couldn’t wait to get started. I made the mistake of taking a look at other people’s reviews – and almost put the book back down. I know enough by now not to fall into that trap though, so I started reading.
I’m so glad I did.
Despite others’ seemingly widespread disappointment with this one, I quite enjoyed it. True, it was a little confusing at times and not as straightforward as I normally like my stories to be. But as I fell into the style, that disjointure became an element of the tale, rather than a barrier to its understanding. From that point on things floated along a lot more smoothly for me and I was able to really enjoy the story for what it was: a thoughtful consideration of the consequences of our decisions and the nature of choice and growing up.
I found the mystery surrounding Abby and A’s interactions to be engaging and intriguing rather than frustrating and confusing, as so many others have. I enjoyed the way the characters developed and the back – and – forth nature of the storytelling. I thought the writing style and nature of the ending suited the story well, and felt satisfied with the way things wound up.
I enjoyed this read more than I thought I would, and will definitely look for more from Immergut…
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.