“I wish I imagined things less. I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t. I do think I am capable of doing something bad…I’m worried that at any moment, I am liable to be taken over by my parasite, and that I will hurt someone,” (Austin 43).
Enid’s trying her best. She’s reconnecting with her estranged half-sisters after her absent father’s death, calling her mom to tell her interesting facts about space when she isn’t wearing lipstick, has somehow found herself in a relationship with a woman who’s wife she was seeing without knowing they were married, and she thinks she might be being stalked by a bald man. Enid has a phobia of bald men, and the things she’s experiencing match up with the true crime podcasts she listens to. Still, Enid tries, but she’s struggling. She doesn’t understand how everyone else around her seems to have their lives sorted out.
I didn’t think I could love this book more than Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead but colour me surprised, I think that’s what happened. Austin has such a talent for writing characters who are struggling, for putting her reader’s right inside their heads and somehow finding the humour in it all. Enid is disabled (half-deaf) and we see how this affects her life and interactions with people. We see her take on a caregiving role to a parent when she is the one who needs to be taken care of. We see her crave connection but struggle and fear to do so. It’s such a beautiful and tragic thing to witness and still Austin finds moments of brevity that don’t take away from the seriousness of Enid’s struggles, but does lighten things for a moment.
It’s a book with a lot of heart. Enid was such an interesting character to follow and I loved the people she did have in her circle who were close. It was clear that Enid was loved even if she struggled to recognize it as such. And adding true crime podcasts as a coping mechanism for trauma was also incredibly relevant.
Interesting Facts About Space is probably my favourite 2024 release so far. All this did was tell me something I already suspected: I’m going to be an Emily Austin fan for life!
Publication: January 30th 2024
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 320 pages (Hardcover)
Source: Library
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Queer, Canadian
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
Enid is obsessed with space. She can tell you all about black holes and their ability to spaghettify you without batting an eye in fear. Her one major phobia? Bald men. But she tries to keep that one under wraps. When she’s not listening to her favorite true crime podcasts on a loop, she’s serially dating a rotation of women from dating apps. At the same time, she’s trying to forge a new relationship with her estranged half-sisters after the death of her absent father. When she unwittingly plunges into her first serious romantic entanglement, Enid starts to believe that someone is following her.
As her paranoia spirals out of control, Enid must contend with her mounting suspicion that something is seriously wrong with her. Because at the end of the day there’s only one person she can’t outrun—herself.
Sarah O'Connor 