AGELESS CONFESSIONS

An experimental work of fiction that eventually focuses on characters in the orbit of an eating-disorder treatment center.

The book begins with a biblical prologue in Jerusalem in 985 B.C.E. featuring King David of Israel before quickly jumping onboard the ship Confessions that’s en route to Portugal in 1431. The captain is searching for his daughter, Aria, who created the “sacred book belonging to royalty,” the Fleurs de Lys. Shortly thereafter, the story focuses on Bird, a weathered woman who lives in a graveyard. These characters are never brought up again after the scene switches to the City of Roses eating-disorder clinic in the Canadian community of Rockland in 1998, run by a woman named Maggie. One day at the clinic, caregiver Carla roughly attempts to feed a patient; when her new co-worker, Erin, sees this, the latter accuses the clinic of force-feeding. Erin goes on to write a newspaper story about City of Roses that eventually results in the clinic’s shutdown. Maggie’s daughter, Gabrielle, later writes a book about the clinic that’s made into a movie; the deceased Ebony Velvet was a former patient there, and Maggie’s determined to share her story. The next section focuses on Ebony’s experience in the hospital;she has a baby whomshe names Snowflake Princess, aka Ivory, who’s the central character of the remainder of the work. There’s definite promise in Street’s prose, as she has a knack for poetic description: “When kindness would rule as a queen, the night would be star-thick, spelling joy from one generation to the next.” At times, though, the highly detailed writing feels somewhat stilted and awkward: “When Ebony tried not to listen, Chloe spoke. She carried a black Bible. Ebony felt helpless to change her.” Overall, the execution of the story is uneven, as the earlier sections don’t tie into the later parts and feel more like separate stories; it’s unclear what the author’s attempting to do or say with this unusual structure. The work has potential, but it would have benefited from more straightforward organization.

A respectably ambitious but unfocused debut novel.