CHIPPED

In Johnson’s novel, a beloved aunt guides her niece to a new life with a unique inheritance.

After Isabelle Matheson dies suddenly in Somalia, her estranged, 28-year-old Canadian niece, Sara Collins, receives a box of her things, including a carved stone hippopotamus called Chip. The latter piece was Isabelle’s personal talisman that she bought in 1995 during a trip to Kenya, following the death of her beloved husband, Sam. (Uniquely, it’s Chip who narrates the novel.) Sara is currently stuck in an abusive marriage with her own spouse, Douglas. Along with the figurine, Sara gets a journal of Isabelle’s, which recounts the voyage to Kenya, where Isabelle met her best friend, Mapi. As Sara begins to understand the life of her aunt, whom she hadn’t seen since she was 5 years old, she gains the courage to travel to France, where Isabelle lived, to sort out her estate. Miles from home, she gains a fresh perspective and reexamines what she wants out of her own life. Johnson’s offbeat choice to make Chip the omniscient narrator of this story yields unexpected dividends. The hippo judges Sara based on his own experience of living with Isabelle, despite the fact that he now believes that “My purpose was [Sara’s] wellbeing, not Isabelle’s legacy.” Admittedly, readers will find that it takes a bit of time to get used to Chip’s perspective, but it soon feels seamless and gives the story a fresh feel; the parallel narrative of Isabelle’s travels in 1995 further adds to the book’s appeal. Both Sara and Isabelle are aiming to forge new paths, and readers will feel invested in both their fates—and, crucially, in the reasons why the pair haven’t spoken in so many years.

An unusual novel that will appeal to readers who enjoy tales of strong women in far-flung locales.