This is a book that I feel like in reading it by myself, on my own, without discussion, I missed out. I wish I had read this in English class. It’s so full.

This is an experimental book without plot. We don’t know much about the narrator, besides that she’s a writer from England teaching a summer course in Athens. We eventually learn her name (Faye), that she has two sons, and that she is no longer married. It’s a book in conversations. The narrator talks to colleagues, students, friends, and an older Greek man she sits next to on her flight, and then meets again to go swimming.

The conversations say so much about marriage and divorce, motherhood, and identity, and the ideas are often provocative and even radical, but they are said with such frank directness, it was almost uncomfortable at times to read. I found myself having to pause frequently to consider the words more carefully. I thought it was especially interesting when we’d get someone’s story, and then the narrator would push back against the one-sidedness of their perspective, or would openly disagree with their take.

It feels like there is so much packed into this book. It’s hard to say if I enjoyed it - this book defies a typical star rating system. It’s unlike books I typically reach for, as reading it demanded my full attention and effort. I am looking forward to picking up the remaining two books in this trilogy.