review – Foxes and Fairy Tales

It’s actually nothing like what I was expecting when I picked it up. From the description and the cover, I was expecting a wry, dark comedy. EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM WILL SOMEDAY BE DEAD does have some funny moments, but it leans for more into the darker side of Gilda’s experience. She’s down on her luck, struggling with hypochondria, depression, anxiety and a difficult family life.

For me, the most striking aspect of the book was the way that it was written. Not exactly a stream of conciousness novel but going somewhere along those lines. The narrative has a disjointed quality as Gilda’s thoughts flit from her current situation to memories of the past and back again. It was a bit confusing at first and took me a while to get used to, but it adds a claustrophobic, too-fast anxiety to the reading experience, which perfectly mirror’s Gilda’s own distress as she spirals through her daily interactions.

EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM WILL SOMEDAY BE DEAD is an interesting read. As Gilda tries to not only get her own life on track, professionally and personally, she also begins her an investigation into the suspicious death of the woman who’s job she’s taken. In so many of the situations, you sort of watch through your fingers, whispering at her not to do the thing, and knowing it’s all going to bite her on the ass somehow. Being in Gilda’s head so deeply gives you the feeling like when you do something yourself that you just know you’re going to regret.

Definitely an original read.

Gilda, a twenty-something atheist, animal-loving lesbian, cannot stop ruminating about death. Desperate for relief from her panicky mind and alienated from her repressive family, she responds to a flyer for free therapy at a local Catholic church, and finds herself being greeted by Father Jeff, who assumes she’s there for a job interview. Too embarrassed to correct him, Gilda is abruptly hired to replace the recently deceased receptionist Grace.

In between trying to memorize the lines to Catholic mass, hiding the fact that she has a new girlfriend, and erecting a dirty dish tower in her crumbling apartment, Gilda strikes up an e-mail correspondence with Grace’s old friend. She can’t bear to ignore the kindly old woman, who has been trying to reach her friend through the church inbox, but she also can’t bring herself to break the bad news. Desperate, she begins impersonating Grace via e-mail. But when the police discover suspicious circumstances surrounding Grace’s death, Gilda may have to finally reveal the truth of her mortifying existence.

A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.

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