BETWEEN WORLDS

A wife and mother suffering an unhappy marriage strives to find herself in this debut novel.

At first glance, Mary Song McCarthy lives a life others envy. Her chiseled husband, Ed, who makes good money trading stocks, buys the family a beachside mansion in Florida. The couple and their young children, Joonie and Jack, can bask in the sun and sand whenever they choose. But it’s far from marital bliss. Ed is selfish; he rarely acknowledges what others want, like Mary and the kids’ desire to live somewhere less blisteringly hot. Sadly, just when Mary contemplates divorce, a sudden accident and injury trigger a memory loss. As she recovers, she adjusts to the family life she must now relearn. Ed sees this as an opportunity to mend the couple’s relationship and steer Mary away from recollections of despondency. But while Mary’s love for Joonie and Jack gradually returns, she may soon be miserable again. She feels lost, as if she doesn’t know who she truly is—the same way she felt before the accident. Finding herself is a discovery she’ll have to make on her own. Vong’s refined characters drive this engrossing emotional tale. Mary is sympathetic and tragic; she caters to others’ needs at the cost of her own happiness. Ed, in contrast, is appalling; he actively represses Mary, worried she’ll realize how special she is. He even steals and hides potentially insightful books from her. His behavior only gets worse as the story progresses. A sublime, understated spiritual theme runs throughout; Mary, for example, is sometimes inspired by dreams, as when she has tea with Jesus and sees herself as an actor on a stage. The author nicely couples these scenes with lyrical moments. Inside one of her beloved journals, the protagonist feels the pages have “expanded, as though Mary’s writing had given each its own breath.”

An engaging and perceptive tale of a woman’s self-discovery.