In In Universes, Emet North invites readers to journey through a labyrinth of alternate realities, exploring not only the fabric of space and time but the complexities of identity, love, and self-doubt. The novella follows Raffi, a physicist obsessed with unraveling the mysteries of dark matter, whose life is rooted in control and the pursuit of genius. When Raffi becomes entranced by Britt, a queer sculptor who seems to make them feel weightless, they abandon their work and dive into the multiverse, seeking new possibilities for who they might be.

North’s writing is a delicate balance of intellectual ambition and emotional vulnerability, blending scientific wonder with deep, existential questions. Their prose is often poetic, carrying an undercurrent of sharp self-reflection as Raffi contemplates the limits of control. The book highlights Raffi’s search for meaning and the tension between their desire for mastery and the impossibility of fully understanding the universe—or themselves. North's reflective, urgent tone evokes a sense of urgency, as if Raffi is chasing an unattainable truth that might free them from their overwhelming sense of inadequacy.

At the heart of In Universes is a deep exploration of queerness, identity, and belonging. As Raffi shifts through countless versions of their life, they grapple with the constraints of gender, the pain of fractured relationships, and the longing to find a place where they can be truly authentic. The novel’s fluidity of gender, especially Raffi’s transformation from a physicist to a watercolor painter and beyond, speaks to the desire to reinvent oneself in the face of a world that demands definitions. The multiverse serves as both a metaphor and a literal space where the past, present, and future intertwine, and where Raffi’s relationships hold the potential to unravel everything they thought they knew about themselves.

Though In Universes offers a compelling journey across worlds, it struggles with cohesion. The universe-hopping format leads to a lack of continuity, and Raffi’s evolving identity sometimes feels disjointed rather than transformative. While the narrative explores fascinating ideas about control and circumstance, the novella falters in knitting them all together, leaving a sense of unresolved longing that mirrors Raffi's own quest for meaning. Ultimately, this story is a meditation on the messiness of being human, where no amount of genius can replace the power found in embracing the chaos of existence.

📖 Read this if you love: introspective journeys through alternate realities, explorations of identity and self-discovery, and poetic prose that blends science with emotional vulnerability; stories about the fluidity of gender, queerness, and the complexities of relationships.

🔑 Key Themes: Identity and Transformation, The Intersection of Science and Emotion, The Multiverse and Self-Discovery, Gender Fluidity and Authenticity, Love and Vulnerability.