Real Life and Other Fictions

by Susan Coll, Jane Oppenheimer (Narrator)

Cassie Klein has always used stories to help her fly, but now her plot points aren’t lining up.

By her 50s Cassie has already weathered more than most. She was orphaned at the age of two and has never understood why her parents were on a bridge in West Virginia that happened to collapse as they drove across. Her search for answers prompted a failed career in journalism, and now she’s an aspiring novelist waiting for her literary dreams to come true while teaching at a local community college. She stood by her once-doting husband when his meteorology career took a nosedive and just learned that the man who became an internet meme has been cheating on her.

Fed up, she embarks on a road trip that’s heavy on impulse and light on planning. She might not know where she’s headed, but she does know she might as well start at the beginning. What really happened to her parents all those years ago?

In this comically surreal, warm-hearted journey, she encounters people she never knew existed--chief among them, an enigmatic cryptozoologist, who helps her in the quest to discover her past. And along the way, she looks for answers regarding curious sightings of a creature known as the Mothman in the months before her parents died. As the line between real life and fiction blurs, Cassie finds herself grappling with the nature of stories, myths, and who gets to write the endings.

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, Romance, Adult, Mystery, Road Trip, Contemporary

Audible Audio

Published May 21, 2024

About the author

Susan Coll is part of the events team at Politics and Prose bookstore, and the president of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. She is the author of the forthcoming Bookish People (Aug. 2022), as well as The Stager, Beach Week, Acceptance, Rockville Pike, and karlmarx.com. A television adaptation of Acceptance, starring Joan Cusack, aired in 2009.

Reviews

[Jillian B · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1966, people in the Point Pleasant area of West Virginia began to report sightings of a giant, human-like moth. The following year, a bridge connecting the community to Ohio collapsed and dozens of people were killed. Some people speculated that the sightings and the accident were connected.

Cassie’s parents died in the bridge collapse. Now middle aged, she is obsessed with researching the mystery of the moth. In search of answers, she drives to Point Pleasant, where she meets a colourful cast of characters.

OK, so I got about halfway through this book before I realized it was based on a real event! The bridge collapse, the reports of moth sightings and the quirky town where the book is primarily set are all real, which I think is super cool. Still, it took me a while to grasp the tone of this book. It’s humorous but also dark, with a protagonist whose actions are sometimes puzzling. Once I got a handle on what sort of book this was, I began to really enjoy it. The eclectic side characters, like Cassie’s NPR host aunt and storm-phobic meteorologist husband, were my favourite part.

I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a cozy, offbeat read.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one definitely wasn't for me AT ALL. I wasn't a huge fan of the author's last book but the cover and description for this one had me intrigued. Unfortunately I ended up wishing I DNF'd when I first had the inclination early on. I found this one quite boring, and a little all over the place and didn't love the narrator either. Definitely not a romance more women's fiction/family drama where one older woman embarks on a road trip with her dog to dig into what really happened to her dead parents and the bridge collapse that killed them. There was also a weird thing with moths and the Mothman myth/movie/prophecy. It got weird. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher, author Susan Coll, and NetGalley for allowing me to read Real Life and Other Fictions by Susan Coll in exchange for my honest review. I selected this novel based on the colorful cover and synopsis. In my opinion, the happy cover and smiling dog do not match the melancholy tone of this book at all. I really wanted to like this novel as a fan of women's fiction, dogs, and maturing women finding their way out of loveless marriages and getting their groove back. Sadly, Real Life and Other Fictions did not hold my attention and annoyed me when it did. The narrator was monotone the duration of the audiobook. There were aspects of the story that had so much potential but were not explained or developed or wrapped up. The plot was all over the place. FMC Cassie is in her 50's and her cheating, lying, basement dwelling husband causes her to finally leave him and take a road trip to the location where her parents lost their lives in a tragic bridge collapse. Cassie at times acts unbelievably naive and downright awkward. I have driven across the Chesapeake Bridge many times, and there is NO WAY FMC Cassie stopped on the bridge to locate a cereal box to trap and deal with a moth in her car! Also, there is help for those who are afraid to drive over the bridge (and this is well known in the area). I really did not enjoy the incessant moth interjections at all or the attempts to parallel the Mothman with the protagonist's metamorphosis...if that was even what the strange moth scenes even were? They were never explained, either. Cassie's awful aunt having a job at NPR is also shocking; I could not stand her character and found her treatment of Cassie incredibly irritating. The romance After the night guard incident, if any woman ever went home and found their adulterous husband of 20+ years with their lover sitting at their table drinking champagne with their family. she would never just go upstairs and take a shower! I enjoyed the dog scenes in West Virginia, but there was so much not wrapped up. Overall, Real Life and Other Fictions leaves a lot to be desired. 2/5

[Dona's Books]

DNF

Pre-Read Notes:

I grabbed this one because I thought it was a short story collection, but it's a novel. I've just started this one, and learned one of the subplots is an investigation of the moth man myth. This is one theme I am just not into: cryptozoology.

Not sure if I'll finish this one. *edit I didn't.

Final Review

I couldn't connect to this book because I didn't get along with the style, which seems to cast constantly into a giant, undefined history for content. Despite a lot of activity on the page, the book hadn't yet indicated what it was interested in achieving when I left off with it at p77, and for me that translates to a plotless story. I really need character motivation and response in order to feel engaged, but I didn't find much of that.

Since I just couldn't connect, I decided to DNF, but dont let that dissuade you. Susan Coll is an author I will always try because of her expertise in fiction and what makes it good. As she is the president of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, she impacts literary trends through her constant support of and advocacy for the contemporary literature community. Her insights alone make her worth reading.

So give her a try. I'm going to, again.

Reading Notes

Four things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. Am I the only one who's sick to eye-rolling suffocation of main characters who are writers? Let me guess– the authors are writing what they know. No, no, she's trying to be Me Ta. Whatever the purpose, to believe contemporary fiction, 80% of professional women are writers, either as a profession or hobby. Someone needs to tell writers who write writers that all that writing is really boring from the outside.

2. So, I'm not sure how much this book is going to have to do with the moth man myth, but I genuinely hope it's not a alot.

3. I'm sorry but this book is so slow. The opening of a book should be a hook, not 50 pages of back story.

4. Somehow, this text is both repetitious and convoluted. I'm 60 pages in and there's not a plot in sight. Just piles and piles of summarized back story. Yet, I hesitate to call this story 'character-driven'.

5. DNF @ p77 I'm just not connecting. But the author is the president of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, so she knows good fiction. I'm going to try one of her other books.

Rating: DNF
Recommend?no, though my opinion is worth 💩 for this writer
Finished: Dec 28 '24

Thank you to the author Susan Coll, publishers Harper Muse, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of REAL LIFE AND OTHER FICTIONS. I found an accessible digital copy on Libby. All views are mine.
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[Sara Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I loved how original and quirky it was. The characters are so well developed and easy to relate to. They are also a little quirky. At first I was like what is this book but it quickly became endearing. I loved it so much I didn’t want it to end.

Cassie is in her 50s. Her only daughter has gone off to college and her marriage is in shambles. Suddenly two days before Christmas she has had enough. In a moment of sure madness she grabs her puppy and drives to her aunt and uncles house. She was orphaned at the age of two in a mysterious accident. She doesn’t know the details of her parents passing because her family refuses to talk about it. Cassie takes off on a trip to figure out what happened.

I was glued to this book. There were so many themes in this story that really spoke to me. It’s about dealing with generational trauma and healing. It will resonate with people raised by a generation that did not talk about their traumas and just pushed it under the rug. The mysterious way that her parents died will send you down the internet rabbit hole of googling everything you can find on the subject. It’s that crazy. Go get this book!


Thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced readers copy.

[Jordyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so excited to receive this book as an arc reviewer. The description of this book really drew me in and I thought it was going to be a really interesting read. From the start of the book I was extremely confused and felt there was very unnecessary details. I continued on with it as I felt it could have just been world building for the rest of the story but it just continued the whole way through. There was so many unnecessary details and storylines, like the amount of times that moths were mentioned and I feel like I still don’t understand why? Also I understand she has left her husband but there is so much reference to him throughout the story which I didn’t feel was important. I wanted to finish this as I thought it would get better but I was highly disappointed and felt this book took me way too long to read because I couldn’t get myself to enjoy it. This is just my opinion and reading is so subjective so just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it won’t be for you! I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to read as an arc reviewer and may give other books from this author a chance in the future!

[LaceyBanana Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75. Real Life and Other Fictions is such an interesting literary fiction book with a bit of mystery and romance mixed in to a unique story!

Cassie is in her 50s and newly divorced from her peculiar husband. She’s setting out on a road trip with her dog to find answers. Cassie was orphaned at the age of 2 and hasn’t gotten the answers she craves in regard to her parents’ death. Their death was under bizarre circumstances and family is attempting to hide the past. She meets people along the way that add more mystery and interest to the plot, I didn’t even know what a cryptozoologist was before this! The whole journey of unraveling secrets was not only interesting but managed to make me laugh a few times even with the serious subject matter. This book wasn’t what I thought it would be based on the cover but I thoroughly enjoyed the story, characters, and writing!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Susan Coll, and Harper Collins for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This publishes on May 21st!

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5★s
Real Life and Other Fictions is the seventh novel by American author, Susan Coll. It’s a mystery that has plagued Cassie Klein for as long as she can remember. When she was two, her parents died in the Silver Bridge collapse in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Cassie was raised by her maternal aunt, Olivia Oliver, the only person who could shed light on why they were there, but has steadfastly refused to discuss it. Stories of a giant moth, a mothman, perhaps, seen just before the tragedy, is something else Cassie would like to make sense of, but that just irritates her aunt further.

How she comes to be in Point Pleasant, in the best hibachi joint in town, talking to a cryptozoologist, waiting to eat deep-fried Oreos, the day before Christmas Eve, is the result of a cascade of events. Perhaps it starts two years earlier when the career of her meteorologist husband implodes and he effectively cuts himself off to live and work in their basement. It is likely exacerbated by the empty nest created when her daughter, Vera goes away to college. The affair her husband has with a family friend doesn’t improve matters.

She packs up her rescue puppy, a white labrador called Luna, with a bit of husky, different coloured eyes, and a lot of naughtiness, and heads to the Delaware coast to spend the Christmas holiday with her aunt and uncle. An incident on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge prompts mention of her parents’ fate, Olivia clams up again, and Cassie decides the only way to learn more is a road trip to the scene of the accident.

While the cryptozoologist is interesting, especially his mentions of the mothman, Cassie doesn’t plan to stay long in Point Pleasant, but just to find out what she can and go. But then Luna, her only pair of glasses, a predicted extra-tropical cyclone with heavy snow, The Mothman Museum, and the presence of a bridge collapse survivor, all conspire to keep her there.

Will this impulsive trip furnish answers? Not before Cassie gets caught in a snowstorm, acquires another puppy, has Christmas lunch with a family of friendly strangers, and falls in love.

Coll’s narrator might not be wholly reliable: “I am aware that I am always on the lookout for coincidence, and that I sometimes behave irrationally in pursuit of making pieces of information conform to my theories and thereby make sense of my life. As a writing instructor, I operate on the possibly misguided assumption that every story must loop back neatly to its logical end” but she easily draws the reader’s empathy. There’s plenty of entertaining dialogue, endearing characters and lovable dogs. A very enjoyable read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Muse.

[Stacey E. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The synopsis of this book grabbed my attention, and honestly, it sounded interesting. The cover was also pretty cute, so I figured I couldn't go wrong. Sadly, this wasn't at all what I expected. There was so much unnecessary dumping of information and multiple storylines that it made it hard to not only stay focused but also keep it interesting. The writing was not my style, and it felt like I was reading a thesaurus. Although it wasn't for me, I think the right audience would love it. Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Muse, for the opportunity to read and review this advanced copy.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Real Life and Other Fictions” is a quirky and contemplative tale about a fifty-year-old woman unraveling her identity and confronting the buried traumas of her childhood. With the unexpected presence of Mothman weaving in and out of her journey, the story offers a unique blend of introspection and mysticism, though it occasionally stumbles in balancing its more whimsical elements with the heavier emotional weight of self-discovery. It’s a curious mix of the surreal and the poignant, but its execution feels inconsistent at times.

[June · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never like giving less than three stars, and always try to find the positives. Even with the Mothman elements that some reviewers thought were weird, the title was enough to make me want to read the book.

However, Cassie is exhausting. The story is exhausting. A fun bit of humor at the beginning, but then it’s all over the place.

Halfway through I was skimming, because a few reviews said the ending explains everything, but by p. 200 I just no longer cared and didn’t finish.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
I was expecting a romcom going into this book, and was very surprised when that was not what it was. I did enjoy the story, however, there were many details that were unnecessary and I feel as though the book could have been much shorter. I found myself very confused multiple times and having to go back and listen to certain sections. It got kind of weird at points as well where I was once again confused.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cassie is in her 50s. She was orphaned as a child and raised by her aunt and uncle. She is on the brink of a divorce. She is trying to figure out what happened to her parents. The book is all over the place and it takes forever to get to the point. I was not a fan.

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced listening copy.

[Ashlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was NOT what I was expecting! I thought this would be a rom-com, and honestly, I would not have been interested had I not seen "mothman" in the blurb. I was so refreshingly mistaken! This book definitely reads more like a lighthearted mystery with a side of quirky romance. I don't think I have ever read a book like this! I need a whole series involving other cryptids, please! I loved following along with all the clues and coincidences. This isn't a book with huge plot twists where you can't peg the ending until it happens, but I was actually ok with that. It really worked for this book. I loved the narration. I'm not sure I've ever heard this narrator before, but after listening to this, I want to look up more books she has worked on. Overall, this seems like a "book for everyone" no matter what your typical go-to genre is.

*Thank you to the publishing company for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own*

[Susan Tunis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just a solid, adult drama. I liked the characters. I was invested in the journey she was on. I liked where it ended up. Just enjoyable.

[Maddie M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cassie, a former journalist and aspirational author turned creative writing professor, has questions from her life that have gone unanswered for decades. What were the circumstances around the bridge collapse that left her orphaned at the age of two? Why is no one willing to provide details of what her parents were doing in the area? Why has her husband of twenty-plus years confined himself to their basement, unable or unwilling to communicate about… anything? And why is no one willing to talk about the moth? Cassie sets out on a road trip to the bridge collapse site, newly-acquired puppy in tow, in an attempt to figure out the truth behind all of these questions.

I couldn’t shake a feeling of foreboding as I read this book. The heroine spends nearly the entire story concussed and unable to take care of herself, let alone a puppy. Most of the conflict of the book comes in the form of various puppy hijinks and Cassie’s denial of her (potentially serious) injury. In turn, I spent most of the book waiting for it all to catch up with her and wishing she would just seek out medical attention - not just for her sporadically bleeding head wound, but also for the obsessions that single-handedly tanked her journalism career.

I listened to the audiobook version of Real Life and Other Fictions, which may have contributed to the uneasiness I felt. The narrator, Jane Oppenheimer, brings a heaviness to her performance that makes you feel as burdened by the past as Cassie is. She leaned into Cassie’s fixations - really leaned in, like it was Jane’s obsession as much as Cassie’s. As the story goes on and the lines blur between the “real life” Cassie experiences and the “fictions” she has been told to believe, I got such a Shutter Island/Turn of the Screw vibe. I didn’t trust Cassie. I didn’t believe that anything she was seeing was rooted in reality, and that made it really hard to relate to her.

While it appears to be a “thing” in the Point Pleasant area and the story behind the 1967 Silver Bridge collapse, I was caught off guard by the throwaway references to a late 1700s battle between Virginia settlers and the Shawnee Indians that allegedly led to the area being “cursed”. The Indian Burial Ground Trope being what it is, we have to be so careful with how these stories are told and retold. Rarely does the retelling provide honor, deference, or peace to the peoples who were victimized. Cassie only wonders whether the chief’s depiction at a memorial might be racist and/or reductive, then, disappointingly, takes the rest of the story about the “curse” more or less at face value. I was also frustrated with Cassie’s aunt/adoptive mother over the course of the book. Halfway through the novel, she uses her conflict with Cassie as an exploitative story beat for her radio program. The radio show is high-profile and embarrassing, bad enough that Cassie’s college-aged daughter reaches out to see if she’s okay. Then, the plot line is dropped. Never addressed again. Even though the whole radio program alludes to the story Cassie is trying to investigate in the first place.

That said, there were some things I liked in Real Life and Other Fictions. Susan Coll is a talented writer and offers some turns of phrase that are quite beautiful, with multiple meanings. Sentences like “I begin to poke around the room, which is booby trapped with nostalgia” are weighty and evocative. The latter half of the book also has some musings on the nature of storytelling that are particularly insightful.

I think if you liked Take Me Apart by Sara Sligar or A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham, you might enjoy this book. Both of those novels had elements in common with Real Life and Other Fictions: first-person narration, something a little… off about how the protagonist experiences the world, and characters who aren’t quite telling each other the whole truth. Worry-wart that I am, I will grant that I may not be the target audience for books like this. Your mileage may vary.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Susan Coll, and Harper Muse for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

[Tracie Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real Life and Other Fictions by Susan Coll
I would like to Thank Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ability to review an ARC audiobook copy of this novel.
Meet Cassie, she’s in her fifties and needs to find her story. As an empty nester whose marriage is over, she leaves just before Christmas with her new puppy to find the truth of her story that has been hidden for her lifetime. She finds truth, love and how she fits into a well known folk tale of the Moth man.
The audiobook was narrated by Jane Oppenheimer. The audiobook had a nice flow and swept you away to join the characters in the story. The narrator had a nice mellow voice that fit well with the characters and really brought them to life! The audiobook was so pleasant and I felt I was part of the story, it definitely made the whole experience nice.
I absolutely loved this book! It resonated with me on a personal level as a reader in my fifties, and also an empty nester. I would recommend this story in any format but especially the audiobook version!

[Mama K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. I REALLY wanted to Love this book, and the cover is just adorable.
But I was BORED. A clunky attempt was made to equate the legendary Mothman with the narrator's metamorphosis (at least I think, it was so clunky!), but just didn't work well.
Overall a yawner for me.
I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Brianna Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of the pieces that fall together in this one were interesting. There were so many building blocks that came together and the author did a fantastic job of bringing it all together. Ultimately, this one was just okay though. It was just a nice read, nothing too exciting but nothing that I didn’t really like either.

[Jacque Dalton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely the weirdest book I’ve ever read, but I loved it. Somebody PLEASE get Cassie a helmet. I love that she’s 50. Girl boss finding her way after her awful husband has spent years draining her, on a roadtrip to the place that took so much from her as a baby. Cassie is very funny grumpy and the narrator executes her personality so well. I was so entertained and found myself always wanting to pick this audiobook up :) An audiobook with only one person narrating can be hard to get into if they don’t differentiate characters well, but that is not the case here! High quality :)

I will say, if you’ve got a fear of moths, this book is not for you!! I will say it’ll be a while until I can hear that word again, but just when I was starting to get sick of hearing about moths with no additional context, everything started to slowly come together.

Her puppy is basically her own character as they describe all the trouble she gets into. As a dog lover, this was so cute and provided some needed comedic relief She is such a wild dog mom!

This felt like the family friendly version of that tv show “Lost Tapes” where they went around looking for Bigfoot and such. So fun, but also built on a very tragic backstory that has haunted Cassie for years. It was wonderful to go along on her healing journey.

Richard is the worst and he will remain the worst and I think that I love that so much. Stinky men don’t change.

The plot twists are so good!! Thriller worthy, but without the anxiety. You’ve gotta lean into wholesome coincidences and fate for this one.

This isn’t a romance book, but there is a cute lil love interest that’s built on the basis of a friendship. :) I want to hug Cassie for all she’s persevered through. <3

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for an ARC of this book that get’s published on May 21st.

[Meddings_Musings: Erin Meddings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real Life and Other Fictions was more than a little challenging for me. I listened to it several times in an attempt to pinpoint the genre and to fully form an opinion about it. After saying that, I landed on this book being three stars for me. It’s certainly unique and intriguing which I’m sure a large audience will love!

I was frustrated in not really being able to nail down a genre. The story starts with Cassie leaving her meteorologist husband who had suffered both personally and professionally after a disaster of a weather report. She packs up her dog and hits the road.

While on her road trip, she believes there is a moth in the car which she finds strange as it’s winter. Seeing the moth reminds her of the stories of the Moth-Man whom many claimed was sighted when a bridge collapsed in 1967, taking the lives of her parents when Cassie was two. As she got older, she obsessively watched the Moth-Man movie and saw numerous connections between the movie and her life.

Deciding to find out more about the bridge collapse while figuring out what to do next in life, she goes back to where her parents died. Once there, she meets many people of the small town who all have their own ideas of the supposed strange sighting and occurrences in the area. Also in the small town, she meets a man who seems to be after answers to similar questions Cassie has. Does she find the answers she seeks? And does she go back home? If so, what happens?

I originally thought this was going to be a cutesy romcom and having a second chance at love after a failed marriage. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was part mystery, part folklore/urban legend, mixed with serious family issues and drama.

[Joni Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cassie is in her 50’s, her daughter Vera is studying abroad and meteorologist husband Richard lives in the basement, barely communicating or leaving the house since he torpedoed his career and slept with a friend of hers. She has questions about the accident that killed her parents when she was a toddler but her Aunt and Uncle who raised her refuse to answer questions (for decades?!) and her internet searches appear to be meager at best. So she sets out and finds herself driving toward West Virginia, where the accident/bridge collapse took place a few days before Christmas. Cassie meets a guy at the one hotel in town and they meet-cute at the one place to eat. The banter is quick, too clever smart to be beleivable and little by little she uncovers what happened. If you are aware of the mothman myth, that is thrown in as well. - though you may (as I did) wonder why. There is much to like about the story so I kept reading hoping for better - but Cassie appears to be the blue ribbon winner of not dealing (over 40 years of not confronting her Aunt and Uncle, not confronting her husband about the affair, not being aware of the impact of her behavior on her daughter, not doing any research, not dealing with her head injury, not wondering about why she has only had one breed of dog her entire life) and by the end of the book, the ending couldn’t make up it.

[Robin Hedger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars only because the last one hour the author spelled out all the answers to the questions the book never gave me.

The protagonist finds out her useless and boring husband whom she has lived in seperate parts of the house with has cheated on her with a friend. She goes on a road trip to the place where her parents die in a mysterious accident and gets snowed in.
The real mystery of this book were why the husband cheated with the friend in the marriage bed they haven't shared in forever. He lives in the basement!

I apologize to the fans of this book, but I was bored. I hiked it up to 3x just to get through it. Too little happened for the first 80 percent to hook me in.

Thank you to the publisher for this advanced copy of this book in audiobook form in exchange for my honest review

[Lesley Lowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to Thank Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ability to review an ARC audiobook copy of this novel. This was a very interesting book. I've struggled with how to review it because it doesn't feel like it fits within any specific genre. The story moves in a slow, meandering way and doesn't really have any major climaxes or big reveals. Even the "big reveal" is hinted at in so many ways that you're completely prepared for it when it comes. Now this may seem like criticism, but it's really not! I actually enjoyed the slow pace because it wasn't boring, it was comfortable. I felt like I was being take on a journey with Cassie and I was rooting for her to figure out what she wanted from her life. There was a whole host of quirky characters and unbelievable experiences and interactions but it never felt too unbelievable or too quirky. All in all, a surprisingly enjoyable book!

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Once I got into the rhythm of the rambling, stream of consciousness style of narrative, I enjoyed this story of self discovery.

[Eram Hussain · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book based on the colorful cover and synopsis. In my opinion, the happy cover and smiling dog do not match the tone of this book at all.
There is a lot of unnecessary information dumping and multiple storylines that it made it hard to not only stay focused but also keep it interesting. There were aspects of the story that had so much potential but were not developed or wrapped up.
The plot was all over the place.
This is mainly a women's family drama where one woman embarks on a road trip with her dog to dig into what really happened to her dead parents and the bridge collapse that killed them. There was also a weird thing with moths and the Mothman myth surrounding all this.

[Kiersten Bloesser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Muse, and Susan Coll for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Let me start out by saying that I typically like to read books with a main character/narrator close to my age. However, the narrator being a woman in her fifties did not bother me in the slightest because the book was so interesting and fun to read!

This book follows Cassie, a woman in the middle of a divorce right before Christmas who takes an impromptu road trip to Point Pleasant, West Virginia. This is where the bridge collapsed and her parents died many years ago, and Cassie wants answers that she’s been denied her entire life. The biggest one: What the heck is with the moths???

After her puppy chews up her glasses, she loses her hat and gloves, meets an intriguing new friend, and gets stuck in the forest during a storm, she finally gets details she’s been searching for her entire life. But she’s still determined to figure out why it was such a big secret!

Prior to the acknowledgments, I didn’t realize that this was based on real events, and I find that so interesting! I’ve definitely been motivated to research the bridge collapse and the Mothman!

The plot line kept me curious from start to finish, though the abrupt ending drove me insane! I need to know what happens next!!! The characters were all developed very strongly, so much so that reading about her (now ex) husband made me want to rip my hair out.

What a fun and interesting take on real life events, giving people a new perspective to dive into and prompting readers to look into the disaster for themselves. Susan Coll did an amazing job with this book, I’ll definitely be checking out some of her other published works!

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5★s
Real Life and Other Fictions is the seventh novel by American author, Susan Coll. The audio version is narrated by Jane Oppenheimer. It’s a mystery that has plagued Cassie Klein for as long as she can remember. When she was two, her parents died in the Silver Bridge collapse in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Cassie was raised by her maternal aunt, Olivia Oliver, the only person who could shed light on why they were there, but has steadfastly refused to discuss it. Stories of a giant moth, a mothman, perhaps, seen just before the tragedy, is something else Cassie would like to make sense of, but that just irritates her aunt further.

How she comes to be in Point Pleasant, in the best hibachi joint in town, talking to a cryptozoologist, waiting to eat deep-fried Oreos, the day before Christmas Eve, is the result of a cascade of events. Perhaps it starts two years earlier when the career of her meteorologist husband implodes and he effectively cuts himself off to live and work in their basement. It is likely exacerbated by the empty nest created when her daughter, Vera goes away to college. The affair her husband has with a family friend doesn’t improve matters.

She packs up her rescue puppy, a white labrador called Luna, with a bit of husky, different coloured eyes, and a lot of naughtiness, and heads to the Delaware coast to spend the Christmas holiday with her aunt and uncle. An incident on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge prompts mention of her parents’ fate, Olivia clams up again, and Cassie decides the only way to learn more is a road trip to the scene of the accident.

While the cryptozoologist is interesting, especially his mentions of the mothman, Cassie doesn’t plan to stay long in Point Pleasant, but just to find out what she can and go. But then Luna, her only pair of glasses, a predicted extra-tropical cyclone with heavy snow, The Mothman Museum, and the presence of a bridge collapse survivor, all conspire to keep her there.

Will this impulsive trip furnish answers? Not before Cassie gets caught in a snowstorm, acquires another puppy, has Christmas lunch with a family of friendly strangers, and falls in love.

Coll’s narrator might not be wholly reliable: “I am aware that I am always on the lookout for coincidence, and that I sometimes behave irrationally in pursuit of making pieces of information conform to my theories and thereby make sense of my life. As a writing instructor, I operate on the possibly misguided assumption that every story must loop back neatly to its logical end” but she easily draws the reader’s empathy. There’s plenty of entertaining dialogue, endearing characters and lovable dogs. A very enjoyable read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Collins Focus.

[Kelly Pramberger]

What a sweet and cute cover. I had high hopes for this book. The story fell flat and didn't keep my attention. I wanted a bit more from the plot and characters than Coll wrote. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.