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Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead
This hilarious and profound debut for fans of
Mostly Dead Things
and
Goodbye, Vitamin
, follows a morbidly anxious young woman--"the kindhearted heroine we all need right now" (Courtney Maum,
New York Times
bestselling author)--who stumbles into a job as a receptionist at a Catholic church and becomes obsessed with her predecessor's mysterious death.
Gilda, a twenty-something, atheist, animal-loving lesbian, cannot stop ruminating about death. Desperate for relief from her panicky mind and alienated from her repressive family, she responds to a flyer for free therapy at a local Catholic church, and finds herself being greeted by Father Jeff, who assumes she's there for a job interview. Too embarrassed to correct him, Gilda is abruptly hired to replace the recently deceased receptionist Grace.
In between trying to memorize the lines to Catholic mass, hiding the fact that she has a new girlfriend, and erecting a dirty dish tower in her crumbling apartment, Gilda strikes up an email correspondence with Grace's old friend. She can't bear to ignore the kindly old woman, who has been trying to reach her friend through the church inbox, but she also can't bring herself to break the bad news. Desperate, she begins impersonating Grace via email. But when the police discover suspicious circumstances surrounding Grace's death, Gilda may have to finally reveal the truth of her mortifying existence.
A delightful blend of warmth, deadpan humor, and pitch-perfect observations about the human condition, Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead is a crackling exploration of what it takes to stay afloat in a world where your expiration--and the expiration of those you love--is the only certainty.
Gilda, a twenty-something, atheist, animal-loving lesbian, cannot stop ruminating about death. Desperate for relief from her panicky mind and alienated from her repressive family, she responds to a flyer for free therapy at a local Catholic church, and finds herself being greeted by Father Jeff, who assumes she's there for a job interview. Too embarrassed to correct him, Gilda is abruptly hired to replace the recently deceased receptionist Grace.
In between trying to memorize the lines to Catholic mass, hiding the fact that she has a new girlfriend, and erecting a dirty dish tower in her crumbling apartment, Gilda strikes up an email correspondence with Grace's old friend. She can't bear to ignore the kindly old woman, who has been trying to reach her friend through the church inbox, but she also can't bring herself to break the bad news. Desperate, she begins impersonating Grace via email. But when the police discover suspicious circumstances surrounding Grace's death, Gilda may have to finally reveal the truth of her mortifying existence.
A delightful blend of warmth, deadpan humor, and pitch-perfect observations about the human condition, Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead is a crackling exploration of what it takes to stay afloat in a world where your expiration--and the expiration of those you love--is the only certainty.
256 pages, Paperback
First published July 6, 2021
3430 people are currently reading
193971 people want to read
About the author
Emily R. Austin
8 books3,807 followersEmily Austin is the author of EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM WILL SOMEDAY BE DEAD, INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SPACE, GAY GIRL PRAYERS, WE COULD BE RATS, and IS THIS A CRY FOR HELP. She currently resides in Ottawa/the territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 17,198 reviews
February 19, 2025
It's not easy being me.
https://emmareadstoomuch.substack.com...
Cookies are my favorite food, and yet I am extremely picky about them. I'm a Phoebe Bridgers fan. I am the dreaded rarity that is a blonde adult.
And I hate writing positive reviews.
In some ways, I make this easier for myself, due to the fact that I am so critical, hateful, and generally unpleasant that it happens as infrequently as possible.
But this is a double-edged sword, because I also have no reason to ever attempt to hone or even improve this skill.
Here we find ourselves. I have to write at length (because if I'm one thing besides difficult, it's verbose) about a perfect book.
This is a nightmare situation for me.
And even worse: THIS BOOK MADE ME CRY. A lot! Lately I've been tearing up at endings a lot, probably due to some hormonal imbalance or debilitating illness and definitely not emotion (I don't have those). But this was not a glamorous single tear sliding down my cheek.
This was a full-on ugly cry. From me. I only cry twice a year: at my annual rewatch of About Time, and when I am somehow held down or arrested and unable to prevent myself from listening to the song The Luckiest / watching an animal video / thinking too hard about a nice tweet I saw four months ago.
How do I write about THAT.
This is my favorite kind of story, one about how hard it can be to be alive in an on-fire world with a semi nonfunctioning brain, but also about how beautiful life is, how wonderful people are. This book is very funny, and very sad, and above all so lovely.
I don't know what to say beyond that.
Can't the five stars speak for themselves???
Bottom line: I will never get better at being nice. But this book deserves me to be.
----------------
pre-review
i am ashamed to admit this, but:
i am sobbing right now.
review to come / 5 stars
----------------
currently-reading updates
this book is about me (girl in therapy and being weird about it)
----------------
tbr review
when i see a title like that, all i can do is hit that want to read button
https://emmareadstoomuch.substack.com...
Cookies are my favorite food, and yet I am extremely picky about them. I'm a Phoebe Bridgers fan. I am the dreaded rarity that is a blonde adult.
And I hate writing positive reviews.
In some ways, I make this easier for myself, due to the fact that I am so critical, hateful, and generally unpleasant that it happens as infrequently as possible.
But this is a double-edged sword, because I also have no reason to ever attempt to hone or even improve this skill.
Here we find ourselves. I have to write at length (because if I'm one thing besides difficult, it's verbose) about a perfect book.
This is a nightmare situation for me.
And even worse: THIS BOOK MADE ME CRY. A lot! Lately I've been tearing up at endings a lot, probably due to some hormonal imbalance or debilitating illness and definitely not emotion (I don't have those). But this was not a glamorous single tear sliding down my cheek.
This was a full-on ugly cry. From me. I only cry twice a year: at my annual rewatch of About Time, and when I am somehow held down or arrested and unable to prevent myself from listening to the song The Luckiest / watching an animal video / thinking too hard about a nice tweet I saw four months ago.
How do I write about THAT.
This is my favorite kind of story, one about how hard it can be to be alive in an on-fire world with a semi nonfunctioning brain, but also about how beautiful life is, how wonderful people are. This book is very funny, and very sad, and above all so lovely.
I don't know what to say beyond that.
Can't the five stars speak for themselves???
Bottom line: I will never get better at being nice. But this book deserves me to be.
----------------
pre-review
i am ashamed to admit this, but:
i am sobbing right now.
review to come / 5 stars
----------------
currently-reading updates
this book is about me (girl in therapy and being weird about it)
----------------
tbr review
when i see a title like that, all i can do is hit that want to read button
February 18, 2025
One of the worst parts of anxiety and depression is not having the words to explain what you’re feeling and why you’re feeling it. But this book took all of the ominous pits I’ve ever had in my stomach and turned them into something digestible. Emily Austin is a feat of nature and I can’t wait to read everything she’s written. If my writing makes even one person feel as seen as I do after finishing this, I’ll consider myself a success.
October 10, 2021
exact opposite of escapism. reading this book was like living in my head intensified
July 5, 2021
Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily R. Austin
I can't say I liked or enjoyed this book. It is so overwhelmingly depressing, so many people are depressed, and there doesn't seem to be any help for these depressed people, that I too lost the will to go on. At the same time, I felt compassion for all the people we meet. I wanted things to be better for them but then, that's part of the problem of the main character. She seems to think her life might have a scrap of worth if she can only make people smile.
Twenty seven year old animal loving Gilda is also a lesbian and an atheist. She is so depressed that she can't even put her dishes in the sink so she just piles them up in her bedroom, a leaning tower of food rot. She can't remember when she has showered and she loses her latest job because she forgets to go to work. Or was it because she forgot to get out of bed. Whatever. All she can think about is death and she see no reason to exist for herself or anyone else. Nothing matters and she can't even pretend to care. She longs for the day when maggots will eat her rotting flesh.
One day, as Gilda trudges toward a Catholic church that advertises therapy sessions, she accidently gets hired for a job there. Now she is an atheist, lesbian, liar because she has to pretend she's not gay and that she is Catholic and that she knows what she is doing. Maybe it's fitting though that the elderly lady who previously had her job is dead and might have been murdered. That's life, make it to old age and you suffer the indignity of being maybe murdered.
So I'm reading this story and feel like it's not good for me to be reading this story but every now and then, I really, truly laughed out loud! It felt good but the rest of the book's sad state makes it hard to remember why I laughed. I almost gave the story 3 stars because it seems weird to give it 4 stars when it made me feel so bad. Still, it appears there is hope at the end of the story but I can't be sure. Is it an illusion?
Publication: July 6th 2021
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC.
I can't say I liked or enjoyed this book. It is so overwhelmingly depressing, so many people are depressed, and there doesn't seem to be any help for these depressed people, that I too lost the will to go on. At the same time, I felt compassion for all the people we meet. I wanted things to be better for them but then, that's part of the problem of the main character. She seems to think her life might have a scrap of worth if she can only make people smile.
Twenty seven year old animal loving Gilda is also a lesbian and an atheist. She is so depressed that she can't even put her dishes in the sink so she just piles them up in her bedroom, a leaning tower of food rot. She can't remember when she has showered and she loses her latest job because she forgets to go to work. Or was it because she forgot to get out of bed. Whatever. All she can think about is death and she see no reason to exist for herself or anyone else. Nothing matters and she can't even pretend to care. She longs for the day when maggots will eat her rotting flesh.
One day, as Gilda trudges toward a Catholic church that advertises therapy sessions, she accidently gets hired for a job there. Now she is an atheist, lesbian, liar because she has to pretend she's not gay and that she is Catholic and that she knows what she is doing. Maybe it's fitting though that the elderly lady who previously had her job is dead and might have been murdered. That's life, make it to old age and you suffer the indignity of being maybe murdered.
So I'm reading this story and feel like it's not good for me to be reading this story but every now and then, I really, truly laughed out loud! It felt good but the rest of the book's sad state makes it hard to remember why I laughed. I almost gave the story 3 stars because it seems weird to give it 4 stars when it made me feel so bad. Still, it appears there is hope at the end of the story but I can't be sure. Is it an illusion?
Publication: July 6th 2021
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC.
January 7, 2023
This book is kinda unhinged... in an anxious kind of way.
July 2, 2022
representation for the girls who went to the emergency room for “chest pains”.
December 22, 2021
ouchie- this book. oh my god this book. it’s so me you guys; which is probably a bad thing but either way it’s nice to see yourself reflected on page knowing you aren’t the only one. so so beautiful and so so real. to struggle with existence is something that can be so isolating and this book perfectly captures that. if you like a little life definitely check this one out, ( i promise it’s not as devastating )
September 13, 2021
dude I don’t know… this hit me in the feels the way Eleanor Olliphant is completely fine did except I feel like it’s even more realistic in its portrayal of mental illness and loneliness. I want to give a copy of this book to all of my lgbtq friends who I know are anxious
May 25, 2022
she's just like me fr
July 9, 2021
Depressing, mundane and chaotic. All of the characters were one dimensional and very dull. It just went aimlessly on and on until it got tiresome. What was the point of this story anyways?
July 24, 2021
2.5 stars rounded to 3 stars
Well, this one kind of missed the mark for me. It is good, but not great. Gilda is a 28-year-old atheist lesbian who is fixated on death. Really fixated. She thinks about it almost nonstop. Her situation is complicated by her chronic anxiety, depression, and hypochondriasis, which land her in the local ER so often that she is essentially a celebrity there, even to the janitor. Her family is of no help. Furthermore, somehow she has never received any significant psychological help for her issues.
Gilda falls into a job as a receptionist for a Catholic Church. See her nonqualifications above. There is a little mystery here in that the 86-year-old woman she is replacing had a “suspicious” death. Who killed poor Grace?
Other positives include the fact that the story is easy to read and moves quickly. There are also sweet side tales involving animals, and interspersed throughout the story are some really warm moments. I also love the title and the cover of this one.
IMHO, however, Gilda, though having the most “airtime” in this novel, is underdeveloped. We hear her strange thoughts and see her strange actions, but never really get to know her all that well. The supporting characters are a mixed bag. I liked Jeff the priest and Eleanor, Gilda’s girlfriend, but the rest are pretty forgettable. Actually, I won’t remember any of the characters except maybe for Gilda. Maybe.
There’s a bit of humor here—not LOL humor, but smile humor. I liked that. But considering the subject matter most of the story is treated on too light a level for me and is just plain sad. There is a lot of stream of consciousness going on, especially towards the end where it was actually kind of anxiety-provoking (as opposed to suspenseful) for me. I ended up skimming a bit, which I never do, especially in the last 10% of a book. The ending had some positivity to it, but gosh, poor Gilda.
I recently read another book about mental illness and suicide called Together We Will Go. That one is more thought -provoking and has much better characterization. It left a considerable impact on me and is one of the three best books I’ve read this year.
Overall, the story wasn’t what I thought it would be, meaning it really wasn’t what I signed up for, so I was disappointed. Don’t mind me though as its total ratings so far average higher than 4 stars. So read those positive reviews before rejecting this one based on my review. I’m the outlier here.
Many thanks to Net Galley, Isabel DaSilva of Atria Books, and Ms. Emily Austin for offering me an ARC. Opinions stated as mine alone and are not biased in any way.
Well, this one kind of missed the mark for me. It is good, but not great. Gilda is a 28-year-old atheist lesbian who is fixated on death. Really fixated. She thinks about it almost nonstop. Her situation is complicated by her chronic anxiety, depression, and hypochondriasis, which land her in the local ER so often that she is essentially a celebrity there, even to the janitor. Her family is of no help. Furthermore, somehow she has never received any significant psychological help for her issues.
Gilda falls into a job as a receptionist for a Catholic Church. See her nonqualifications above. There is a little mystery here in that the 86-year-old woman she is replacing had a “suspicious” death. Who killed poor Grace?
Other positives include the fact that the story is easy to read and moves quickly. There are also sweet side tales involving animals, and interspersed throughout the story are some really warm moments. I also love the title and the cover of this one.
IMHO, however, Gilda, though having the most “airtime” in this novel, is underdeveloped. We hear her strange thoughts and see her strange actions, but never really get to know her all that well. The supporting characters are a mixed bag. I liked Jeff the priest and Eleanor, Gilda’s girlfriend, but the rest are pretty forgettable. Actually, I won’t remember any of the characters except maybe for Gilda. Maybe.
There’s a bit of humor here—not LOL humor, but smile humor. I liked that. But considering the subject matter most of the story is treated on too light a level for me and is just plain sad. There is a lot of stream of consciousness going on, especially towards the end where it was actually kind of anxiety-provoking (as opposed to suspenseful) for me. I ended up skimming a bit, which I never do, especially in the last 10% of a book. The ending had some positivity to it, but gosh, poor Gilda.
I recently read another book about mental illness and suicide called Together We Will Go. That one is more thought -provoking and has much better characterization. It left a considerable impact on me and is one of the three best books I’ve read this year.
Overall, the story wasn’t what I thought it would be, meaning it really wasn’t what I signed up for, so I was disappointed. Don’t mind me though as its total ratings so far average higher than 4 stars. So read those positive reviews before rejecting this one based on my review. I’m the outlier here.
Many thanks to Net Galley, Isabel DaSilva of Atria Books, and Ms. Emily Austin for offering me an ARC. Opinions stated as mine alone and are not biased in any way.
July 23, 2022
BEING ALIVE IS REALLY HARD and it’s even harder when no one around you (seems to) feel the same. gilda gets it and i love her sm ❤️🩹
January 5, 2022
this was the most relatable book i have ever read and i should be concerned about that realization
September 16, 2021
4.5 stars rounded up to 5
This book takes the reader into the turbulent mind of a 26-year-old woman named Gilda. We learn of her thoughts, her difficult interactions with others, her conversations, and her behavior. She lost her job because she frequently slept in and missed her shifts or the effort of getting up was more than she could manage. Dirty dishes pile up as she can't be bothered to clean her apartment. Gilda cannot stop obsessing about death. She worries about nuclear bombs, racism, war, rape, child abuse, disease, climate change, among many other things. She loves animals and searches for a missing cat that she fears may have died when a neighbor's home burned down. Her thoughts are often on her pet rabbit that died when she was 11.
Gilda is depressed, frequently suffers from anxiety and panic attacks making her believe she is having a fatal heart attack. She visits the hospital ER so often in an elevated state of anxiety or with some minor injury that the workers all know her by name. She has not followed up on psychiatric referrals but realizes that emotionally and mentally she is in a bad state and in need of help. Sometimes she is in a disassociative state where she feels she is floating and observing herself below and there are memory gaps. Gilda's state was one of continuous upheaval, but the book was filled with good humor.
One day she sees a leaflet offering free counseling. Going to the address, she finds it takes place inside a Catholic Church. She works up the courage to enter hoping to get the help she needs and meets Father Jeff. He assumes she is there for a new job that has opened up at their front desk. All the applicants have been elderly and he likes the idea that Gilda is young and can use a computer. She does not want to embarrass the priest by telling him he has made a mistake and leaves with a new job.
She is reluctant to reveal to anyone at the church that she is an atheist and a lesbian.
Her elderly predecessor, Grace, had died. She starts her office work by checking out the long-neglected e-mails on the desk computer. She finds a lot of personal, friendly e-mails from a woman named Rose to Grace. Not wanting to hurt Rose's feelings by revealing that Grace has died, she answers the messages using Grace's name and they carry out a pleasant correspondence. Gilda is estranged from her parents and alcoholic brother. She busies herself learning the Catholic rituals so that people will not know she is there under pretense.
Gilda forgets or neglects to respond to messages from her girlfriend so there is a disruption in their friendship and partnership. A parishioner has set her up with dates with a very persistent man and she runs out of excuses. She reluctantly goes out with him, much to her annoyance. Her work is proceeding satisfactorily, but then a problem arises. It is believed that a nurse killed a number of elderly people including Grace. There is a police investigation. Gilda is suspicious of some of the church workers, but the police suspect Gilda of being involved in the death because of her e-mails using Grace's name.
This was an outrageously humorous story, and even knowing Gilda's personal mental state and problems, I could not stop laughing throughout the book. I worried that this must have made me a bad person to find so much of the story, the narration, and the events hilarious. This would have been a 5-star book for me except for a rather lackluster but satisfactory conclusion. I found this a very enjoyable read.
This book takes the reader into the turbulent mind of a 26-year-old woman named Gilda. We learn of her thoughts, her difficult interactions with others, her conversations, and her behavior. She lost her job because she frequently slept in and missed her shifts or the effort of getting up was more than she could manage. Dirty dishes pile up as she can't be bothered to clean her apartment. Gilda cannot stop obsessing about death. She worries about nuclear bombs, racism, war, rape, child abuse, disease, climate change, among many other things. She loves animals and searches for a missing cat that she fears may have died when a neighbor's home burned down. Her thoughts are often on her pet rabbit that died when she was 11.
Gilda is depressed, frequently suffers from anxiety and panic attacks making her believe she is having a fatal heart attack. She visits the hospital ER so often in an elevated state of anxiety or with some minor injury that the workers all know her by name. She has not followed up on psychiatric referrals but realizes that emotionally and mentally she is in a bad state and in need of help. Sometimes she is in a disassociative state where she feels she is floating and observing herself below and there are memory gaps. Gilda's state was one of continuous upheaval, but the book was filled with good humor.
One day she sees a leaflet offering free counseling. Going to the address, she finds it takes place inside a Catholic Church. She works up the courage to enter hoping to get the help she needs and meets Father Jeff. He assumes she is there for a new job that has opened up at their front desk. All the applicants have been elderly and he likes the idea that Gilda is young and can use a computer. She does not want to embarrass the priest by telling him he has made a mistake and leaves with a new job.
She is reluctant to reveal to anyone at the church that she is an atheist and a lesbian.
Her elderly predecessor, Grace, had died. She starts her office work by checking out the long-neglected e-mails on the desk computer. She finds a lot of personal, friendly e-mails from a woman named Rose to Grace. Not wanting to hurt Rose's feelings by revealing that Grace has died, she answers the messages using Grace's name and they carry out a pleasant correspondence. Gilda is estranged from her parents and alcoholic brother. She busies herself learning the Catholic rituals so that people will not know she is there under pretense.
Gilda forgets or neglects to respond to messages from her girlfriend so there is a disruption in their friendship and partnership. A parishioner has set her up with dates with a very persistent man and she runs out of excuses. She reluctantly goes out with him, much to her annoyance. Her work is proceeding satisfactorily, but then a problem arises. It is believed that a nurse killed a number of elderly people including Grace. There is a police investigation. Gilda is suspicious of some of the church workers, but the police suspect Gilda of being involved in the death because of her e-mails using Grace's name.
This was an outrageously humorous story, and even knowing Gilda's personal mental state and problems, I could not stop laughing throughout the book. I worried that this must have made me a bad person to find so much of the story, the narration, and the events hilarious. This would have been a 5-star book for me except for a rather lackluster but satisfactory conclusion. I found this a very enjoyable read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 25, 2022
Author Emily Austin amazingly got into the head of a quirky and delightful, yet depressed and anxious, Gilda. In doing so, Austin provides the reader with a birds-eye-view of what it is like to be anxious and depressed. Our traumatized heroine gets herself into so many jams and oddball situations, that it’s impossible not to smile and chuckle. Yet Gilda is suffering through mental health issues which are not funny. How to get a reader to be more empathetic towards those who suffer from debilitating anxiety and depression? Write an entertaining novel that allows the reader to understand the thoughts and observations of those afflicted. But aren’t we all a bit afflicted??
Our scrappy protagonist, Gilda, is 20-something and unemployed when the story opens. After she sees that there are free mental health services provided at the local Catholic Church, she seeks help. Once there, she is misidentified as a job interviewer. Grace, the last receptionist, died. The priest, Father Jeff, is overwhelmed now that Grace has died, and he needs a receptionist fast. In the funniest job interview ever, Gilda lands the job.
A little background, Gilda is a lesbian (Catholics aren’t welcoming to the gay/queer community), and she is NOT Catholic, in fact she’s a proud atheist. She spends some effort trying to blend in and seem straight and catholic. She spends more time ruminating on death…hers and everyone else’s. She flounders attempting to learn the Catholic Church rituals. There are awkward moments and interesting observations. One of my favorite lines: “I’m starting to doubt my atheism because this might be proof that God exists and hates me.”
Because of her death obsession, Gilda frequents the emergency room with varying diseases and symptoms that lead to death. She’s there so often, the janitor knows her by name.
Gilda even suspects her girlfriend Eleanor of trying to steal her identity when they first meet. Eleanor asks her questions about Gilda, and Gilda become suspicious that these are phishing questions. Gilda’s mind is one entertaining monologue.
Gilda is preoccupied with the meaningless of our existence. We are just a bag of bones encased in skin. We are temporary. A passage:
“It’s easy for me to accept that I am bacteria, or a parasite, or cancer. It’s easy for me to accept that my life is trivial and that I am a speck of dust. It is hard for me to accept that for the people around me, however…..I feel simultaneously intensely insignificant and hyperaware of how important everyone is.”
When Gilda impersonates Grace, the former receptionist, in an email to Grace’s friend Rosemary, Gilda’s troubles increase. But Gilda just doesn’t want Rosemary to be sad that Grace is dead, so she maintains the mirage that Grace is alive and well. When it appears that foul play may have been a part of Grace’s demise, Grace gets arrested and her troubles intensifies.
This funny and quirky story has unexpected philosophical moments that causes the reader to pause. I enjoyed what author Emily Austin achieved: writing an engrossing and entertaining story about a subject that is taboo and ignored: mental illness. Ever wonder what occupies the mind of an anxious and depressed person, and not become depressed yourself? Read this book! Gilda is more relatable than one can imagine.
Our scrappy protagonist, Gilda, is 20-something and unemployed when the story opens. After she sees that there are free mental health services provided at the local Catholic Church, she seeks help. Once there, she is misidentified as a job interviewer. Grace, the last receptionist, died. The priest, Father Jeff, is overwhelmed now that Grace has died, and he needs a receptionist fast. In the funniest job interview ever, Gilda lands the job.
A little background, Gilda is a lesbian (Catholics aren’t welcoming to the gay/queer community), and she is NOT Catholic, in fact she’s a proud atheist. She spends some effort trying to blend in and seem straight and catholic. She spends more time ruminating on death…hers and everyone else’s. She flounders attempting to learn the Catholic Church rituals. There are awkward moments and interesting observations. One of my favorite lines: “I’m starting to doubt my atheism because this might be proof that God exists and hates me.”
Because of her death obsession, Gilda frequents the emergency room with varying diseases and symptoms that lead to death. She’s there so often, the janitor knows her by name.
Gilda even suspects her girlfriend Eleanor of trying to steal her identity when they first meet. Eleanor asks her questions about Gilda, and Gilda become suspicious that these are phishing questions. Gilda’s mind is one entertaining monologue.
Gilda is preoccupied with the meaningless of our existence. We are just a bag of bones encased in skin. We are temporary. A passage:
“It’s easy for me to accept that I am bacteria, or a parasite, or cancer. It’s easy for me to accept that my life is trivial and that I am a speck of dust. It is hard for me to accept that for the people around me, however…..I feel simultaneously intensely insignificant and hyperaware of how important everyone is.”
When Gilda impersonates Grace, the former receptionist, in an email to Grace’s friend Rosemary, Gilda’s troubles increase. But Gilda just doesn’t want Rosemary to be sad that Grace is dead, so she maintains the mirage that Grace is alive and well. When it appears that foul play may have been a part of Grace’s demise, Grace gets arrested and her troubles intensifies.
This funny and quirky story has unexpected philosophical moments that causes the reader to pause. I enjoyed what author Emily Austin achieved: writing an engrossing and entertaining story about a subject that is taboo and ignored: mental illness. Ever wonder what occupies the mind of an anxious and depressed person, and not become depressed yourself? Read this book! Gilda is more relatable than one can imagine.
July 6, 2021
This story begins with Gilda in her car, the light is green, she isn’t moving, but it takes her a moment before she can recall what just happened. Hit from behind by a minivan, her airbag not only deploys giving her a punch, but the hot coffee that was once in her thermos is now covering her.
Gilda is more than a little obsessed with death, ever since her pet rabbit died when she was ten years old, and she was the one to find her lifeless, her eyes wide open. She lives in an almost constant state of anxiety, and spends more time at the hospital than more people, always seeking a cure for something, and her anxiety continues to plague her. She is there so often, the staff seems to know her by name. She loses her job at a bookstore, and her anxiety grows even more. Finding a flyer offering free therapy, she ends up at a Catholic Church, and when the first thing she is asked is if she is there to apply for a position for a receptionist that’s recently opened up, she doesn’t hesitate to say yes. The former receptionist, she is informed, has recently passed away. She isn’t asked if she is gay or considers herself an atheist, so she doesn’t volunteer that information. Not even when a stranger insists on setting her up with a relative, and when he texts and calls her repeatedly, she eventually runs out of excuses and goes on dates with him.
There’s an essence of how Gilda processes information and views life that reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant, that blend of quirkiness alongside a sprinkling of dark humour in this story, a young woman who seems without the social graces required to blend in. Gilda is odd and a little off-center, and doesn’t seem to ‘blend in,’ not that she’s ever known others to take the time to understand her. Even her parents don’t seem to care enough to actually listen to her, still focused on the time she did this or that when she was too young to know better.
Add to this a cat that goes missing when the house on her street catches on fire, which she becomes a bit obsessed finding and rescuing, along with a brother who struggles with controlling his substance abuse, it seems the only time she feels accepted is when she’s pretending to be the former, now deceased receptionist, responding to that woman’s friend’s emails.
All of this evolves into a somewhat farcical, entertaining story with some laughable situations along with a few lovable characters, and an ending I didn’t see coming, but smiled when it arrived.
Published: 06 Jul 2021
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Atria Books
October 25, 2023
This one missed the mark for me. I think that Emily Austin did a decent job of portraying a woman struggling from social anxiety, intrusive thoughts about death, and relationships where she doesn’t open up to people. However, by the end of the novel I didn’t feel like I got a deeper understanding or connection with the main character. I felt like Austin put a lot of effort into making the prose and the protagonist “quirky,” instead of fleshing the protagonist out more deeply. Finally, I felt that some of the prose was heavy/heavy-handed.
I can see how the book may feel relatable to people with anxiety, though. The search for my next five-star read continues!
I can see how the book may feel relatable to people with anxiety, though. The search for my next five-star read continues!
May 15, 2023
This book is a snowball of mundane things, everyday misunderstandings, and small cruelties that add and add until it is nearly impossible not to see some sort of reflection of your own life in it. That this was able to do so much - make me feel this much - in such a limited amount of pages is a fantastic accomplishment. Just amazing.
October 26, 2023
That title grabbed my attention. Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead is the story of Gilda, who worries nonstop about death. She finds a place offering free therapy at a Catholic church, and she is immediately hired as a receptionist, a job for which she did not apply. She’s also not religious, and some religious duties come along with the job. Did I mention the receptionist she is replacing recently passed away?
An old friend of that receptionist emails Gilda, who doesn’t have the heart to tell her that Grace, the former receptionist, is deceased. This ruse she puts on, while well-meaning, could get Gilda into trouble, as the correspondence continues.
Gilda loves animals, which I could completely relate to, and while she’s not perfect and has so much going on, she feels authentic and absolutely sympathetic because she has a heart of gold. The humor bits made me smile and laugh, even if dark at times. I found this portrayal an honest one, and while it may have been hard to read at times, it tackles some meaty issues surrounding mental health. I also loved the style of writing by the author. In the right hands, I think this is gem of a read, especially if you connect to characters like I did.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
An old friend of that receptionist emails Gilda, who doesn’t have the heart to tell her that Grace, the former receptionist, is deceased. This ruse she puts on, while well-meaning, could get Gilda into trouble, as the correspondence continues.
Gilda loves animals, which I could completely relate to, and while she’s not perfect and has so much going on, she feels authentic and absolutely sympathetic because she has a heart of gold. The humor bits made me smile and laugh, even if dark at times. I found this portrayal an honest one, and while it may have been hard to read at times, it tackles some meaty issues surrounding mental health. I also loved the style of writing by the author. In the right hands, I think this is gem of a read, especially if you connect to characters like I did.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
February 6, 2022
I hated this book. There was never a moment where I felt charmed or touched, nor was I ever rooting for frigging Gilda. She had no redeeming qualities and the entire book hinged on the idea that it’s so WEIRD and UNTHINKABLE and CRAZY that a lesbian would ever work as a secretary at a Catholic Church, which isn’t weird, unthinkable, or crazy, unless you’re someone who has a very narrow and very immature view of religion and the people who practice it. If you’re in the market for takes on the Bible that sound like they were written by an eleven year old, this book is for you.
Don’t read this book, it sucked.
Don’t read this book, it sucked.
July 6, 2021
Now Available
This story is told in the first person by Gilda, a gay 27-year-old atheist with depression and anxiety. She can't keep a job, lies to make other people happy, and is obsessed with death. She goes to the ER so much she is on first-name terms with the janitor. Her parents are in denial about her brother's alcoholism.
The main plot is that Gilda goes to an address on a flyer for mental health support. It turns out to be a Catholic church. The priest assumes she is there for a job interview and hires her on the spot because she knows how to use the internet. The previous secretary had recently died under suspicious circumstances. Gilda must pretend to be a devout Catholic in order to keep the job she so desperately needs. Through a series of odd behaviors, Gilda becomes a suspect in the death of the former secretary who she never met.
The paragraphs are written as short train-of-thoughts that randomly occur to Gilda. Her anxiety is palpable. Instead of being humorous, the story came off as bleak and heartbreaking. I just wasn't the right audience for this type of novel.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
Thank you to Atria Books for my advanced reader copy!!!
This story is told in the first person by Gilda, a gay 27-year-old atheist with depression and anxiety. She can't keep a job, lies to make other people happy, and is obsessed with death. She goes to the ER so much she is on first-name terms with the janitor. Her parents are in denial about her brother's alcoholism.
The main plot is that Gilda goes to an address on a flyer for mental health support. It turns out to be a Catholic church. The priest assumes she is there for a job interview and hires her on the spot because she knows how to use the internet. The previous secretary had recently died under suspicious circumstances. Gilda must pretend to be a devout Catholic in order to keep the job she so desperately needs. Through a series of odd behaviors, Gilda becomes a suspect in the death of the former secretary who she never met.
The paragraphs are written as short train-of-thoughts that randomly occur to Gilda. Her anxiety is palpable. Instead of being humorous, the story came off as bleak and heartbreaking. I just wasn't the right audience for this type of novel.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
Thank you to Atria Books for my advanced reader copy!!!
August 27, 2021
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2 ½ stars (rounded up to 3)
Sadly Everyone in This Room Will Someday be Dead doesn't bring anything new to the directionless-young-woman-spends-all-her-time-navel-gazing-under-the-torpor-of-ennui subgenre. At times, Austin's brand of cringe comedy tried too hard to be cringey, so much so that I ended up not buying into a certain scene or character.
Gilda, a recently unemployed twenty-something lesbian, is obsessed with death. Her preoccupation with death is such that she thinks of it all the time. For instance, when sitting on a chair she wonders whether the people who sat on it before are dead. She envisions terrible scenarios, in which she or someone else dies. At times she suffers from panic attacks which lead her to make frequent visits to her hospital. No one seems to notice how disconnected Gilda is from her everyday life. As with all the other alienated millennial women populating these novels, Gilda seems unable to perform even the most basic of tasks. She's too depressed to wash herself or the dishes, she often forgets to reply to her maybe girlfriend and seems painfully unaware of the world around her. She has many surreal conversations with others, who often seem blind to Gilda's depression and anxiety.
Gilda unintentionally lands herself a job as a receptionist at Catholic church where she discovers that her predecessor died. Gilda, being death-obsessed, tries to learn more about this woman.
This novel cemented my dislike for 1st person present tense narratives. Every seemingly mundane action Gilda makes has to be mentioned, so that we have many lines such as these: I drink, I get up, I put the cup on the counter, I move my hand, I walk, I sit, I blink, I look down/up.
The way the story is presented on the page also really grated me. On one page there could be three separate paragraphs, each one focusing on a different conversation/moment of Gilda's life. We then end up with one simple dialogue, say between Gilda and that Giuseppe guy, dragging on for pages, and being interrupted by Gilda's conversations with the people from the church or her family. I just found this style choppy and artificial, better suited to a tv show than a book.
Speaking of tv shows, this novel tries really hard to be something in the realms of Fleabag, but whereas that show does a fantastic job in making absurd conversations or OTT characters seem believable, here, I just did not buy into what I was reading. For instance, that whole Giuseppe thing was just unnecessary. The guy is the classic fitness-crazed wannabe guru that is a dime a dozen on YouTube and social media. And he speaks in this very contrived way, 24/7. Austin's character lacked nuance, finesse, whatever you wanted it to call it. Giuseppe could have been funny but Austin is too heavy-handed, and the result is an unfunny caricature. Gilda's parents are also painfully one-dimensional. They get barely any page-time and even when they appeared they remained amorphous. Gilda's mother is relegated to the role of mom, and her father is just a generic dad. The scenes they were included in were just there to show how unfair they are to Gilda. While I could believe that some parents would wrongly blame one child instead of the actual guilty child, the way this played out here was just incredibly unrealistic (I am talking about that 'get out' scene). It was so unbelievable that it really pulled me out of the story. The maybe girlfriend is just as generic as Gilda's parents. She makes very few if any appearances and mostly sends texts to our mc asking what she's up to or whatnot.
A character that had the potential was Gilda's brother, but, ultimately I didn't like how the story handles him (how delusional is Gilda to think that leaving him a message like that could magically cure his alcoholism and, as Giuseppe would say, 'live his truth').
The people at the church where Gilda works were uninteresting. They are old and think that the internet is a magical and mysterious place. Because they are old you see. Old people don't know anything about the internet as Austin reminds us so many times.
Gilda herself was just exhausting and I cared little for her. She overanalysis everything around her, and while at times her observations could amusing or feel authentic, for the most part, it was just boring being in her head (for instance when she goes on about she's had her hands for her whole life and that they fed her everything she has ever eaten so far). Rather incongruously the author seemed to be rying to make Gilda ultra-relatable by making her think or say these trivial things while at the same time emphasizing how different Gilda is from those around her.
The setting of this story is so generic that I could not tell you where it takes place. America? Canada? Australia? Maybe this was mentioned once somewhere in the novel but the author doesn't really depict Gilda's environment. A counterargument to this could be that Gilda is too wrapped up in her own head to observe her surroundings, but, what about My Year of Rest and Relaxation? The narrator there is decidedly inward-looking and spends most of the book in the confines of her apartment and yet the author there manages to really give us an impression of the place (New York) and time (2000-20001) the story is taking place in.
There were moments now and again that made me smile or that felt particularly spot-on, such as when Gilda gives us a brief rundown of her experience on dating apps. But these genuinely funny were rare.
All in all, I found this novel to be more of a flop than a hit. Maybe I have read too many books that feature aimless alienated women in their twenties but, in comparison to My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Luster, and Pretend I'm Dead, Everyone in This Room Will Someday be Dead is quite forgettable.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
2 ½ stars (rounded up to 3)
Sadly Everyone in This Room Will Someday be Dead doesn't bring anything new to the directionless-young-woman-spends-all-her-time-navel-gazing-under-the-torpor-of-ennui subgenre. At times, Austin's brand of cringe comedy tried too hard to be cringey, so much so that I ended up not buying into a certain scene or character.
Gilda, a recently unemployed twenty-something lesbian, is obsessed with death. Her preoccupation with death is such that she thinks of it all the time. For instance, when sitting on a chair she wonders whether the people who sat on it before are dead. She envisions terrible scenarios, in which she or someone else dies. At times she suffers from panic attacks which lead her to make frequent visits to her hospital. No one seems to notice how disconnected Gilda is from her everyday life. As with all the other alienated millennial women populating these novels, Gilda seems unable to perform even the most basic of tasks. She's too depressed to wash herself or the dishes, she often forgets to reply to her maybe girlfriend and seems painfully unaware of the world around her. She has many surreal conversations with others, who often seem blind to Gilda's depression and anxiety.
Gilda unintentionally lands herself a job as a receptionist at Catholic church where she discovers that her predecessor died. Gilda, being death-obsessed, tries to learn more about this woman.
This novel cemented my dislike for 1st person present tense narratives. Every seemingly mundane action Gilda makes has to be mentioned, so that we have many lines such as these: I drink, I get up, I put the cup on the counter, I move my hand, I walk, I sit, I blink, I look down/up.
The way the story is presented on the page also really grated me. On one page there could be three separate paragraphs, each one focusing on a different conversation/moment of Gilda's life. We then end up with one simple dialogue, say between Gilda and that Giuseppe guy, dragging on for pages, and being interrupted by Gilda's conversations with the people from the church or her family. I just found this style choppy and artificial, better suited to a tv show than a book.
Speaking of tv shows, this novel tries really hard to be something in the realms of Fleabag, but whereas that show does a fantastic job in making absurd conversations or OTT characters seem believable, here, I just did not buy into what I was reading. For instance, that whole Giuseppe thing was just unnecessary. The guy is the classic fitness-crazed wannabe guru that is a dime a dozen on YouTube and social media. And he speaks in this very contrived way, 24/7. Austin's character lacked nuance, finesse, whatever you wanted it to call it. Giuseppe could have been funny but Austin is too heavy-handed, and the result is an unfunny caricature. Gilda's parents are also painfully one-dimensional. They get barely any page-time and even when they appeared they remained amorphous. Gilda's mother is relegated to the role of mom, and her father is just a generic dad. The scenes they were included in were just there to show how unfair they are to Gilda. While I could believe that some parents would wrongly blame one child instead of the actual guilty child, the way this played out here was just incredibly unrealistic (I am talking about that 'get out' scene). It was so unbelievable that it really pulled me out of the story. The maybe girlfriend is just as generic as Gilda's parents. She makes very few if any appearances and mostly sends texts to our mc asking what she's up to or whatnot.
A character that had the potential was Gilda's brother, but, ultimately I didn't like how the story handles him (how delusional is Gilda to think that leaving him a message like that could magically cure his alcoholism and, as Giuseppe would say, 'live his truth').
The people at the church where Gilda works were uninteresting. They are old and think that the internet is a magical and mysterious place. Because they are old you see. Old people don't know anything about the internet as Austin reminds us so many times.
Gilda herself was just exhausting and I cared little for her. She overanalysis everything around her, and while at times her observations could amusing or feel authentic, for the most part, it was just boring being in her head (for instance when she goes on about she's had her hands for her whole life and that they fed her everything she has ever eaten so far). Rather incongruously the author seemed to be rying to make Gilda ultra-relatable by making her think or say these trivial things while at the same time emphasizing how different Gilda is from those around her.
The setting of this story is so generic that I could not tell you where it takes place. America? Canada? Australia? Maybe this was mentioned once somewhere in the novel but the author doesn't really depict Gilda's environment. A counterargument to this could be that Gilda is too wrapped up in her own head to observe her surroundings, but, what about My Year of Rest and Relaxation? The narrator there is decidedly inward-looking and spends most of the book in the confines of her apartment and yet the author there manages to really give us an impression of the place (New York) and time (2000-20001) the story is taking place in.
There were moments now and again that made me smile or that felt particularly spot-on, such as when Gilda gives us a brief rundown of her experience on dating apps. But these genuinely funny were rare.
All in all, I found this novel to be more of a flop than a hit. Maybe I have read too many books that feature aimless alienated women in their twenties but, in comparison to My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Luster, and Pretend I'm Dead, Everyone in This Room Will Someday be Dead is quite forgettable.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 13, 2022
This book is a new all-time FAVOURITE.
Following Gilda's perspective throughout this novel was a delight. I fell in love with her. I LOVE HER.
Gilda's fixation on death is incorporated seamlessly into the narrative, harshly grounding her story in reality. This effectively contrasts the out-of-body feeling that Gilda experiences at many points throughout the novel. As her state of mind flip-flops around, so does her perception of events. Times shifts and warps around her and big chunks of her memory begin to disappear. Her voice was so sharp and memorable, now carved into my brain forever.
A big part of this story is mental illness; Gilda suffers with extreme anxiety as well as depression and dissociation (undiagnosed on-page). For me, this novel depicted living with these (untreated) conditions beautifully. Austin gave Gilda her very own "anxiety/depression voice" that ran alongside her own thoughts. Gilda's rational, witty internal monologue battling her intrusive thoughts/intense worries constantly. I think this would make her narration of the story quite taxing to get through, where it not for the...
IMPECCABLE PACING! The reader is thrust from scene to scene, rushing to try and keep up with Gilda. We are inside her head, flitting from person to place, trying desperately to stay present and aware while feeling utterly hopeless. Austin's use of skittish, start-stop and sometimes breakneck pacing was sublime and communicated such vital parts of Gilda's character with no words wasted. It also made this book read (and feel?) like a thriller.
This story was so incredibly readable, it had so much momentum and intrigue. I loved the sprinkling of gayness and the depictions of intense love. Gilda's wit made me cackle heartily and often, and when she was ignored or dismissed or not appreciated I cried buckets for her.
I love you Gilda, be my wife.
Thank you ever so much to the publisher for this wonderful e-arc!!
Trigger Warnings: intrusive thoughts (graphic), suicidal thoughts and attempts, death of a pet (on page), homophobia, self harm, suicide (off page, relatively unexplored side character).
more reviews on www.cosyqueer.co.uk !
Following Gilda's perspective throughout this novel was a delight. I fell in love with her. I LOVE HER.
Gilda's fixation on death is incorporated seamlessly into the narrative, harshly grounding her story in reality. This effectively contrasts the out-of-body feeling that Gilda experiences at many points throughout the novel. As her state of mind flip-flops around, so does her perception of events. Times shifts and warps around her and big chunks of her memory begin to disappear. Her voice was so sharp and memorable, now carved into my brain forever.
A big part of this story is mental illness; Gilda suffers with extreme anxiety as well as depression and dissociation (undiagnosed on-page). For me, this novel depicted living with these (untreated) conditions beautifully. Austin gave Gilda her very own "anxiety/depression voice" that ran alongside her own thoughts. Gilda's rational, witty internal monologue battling her intrusive thoughts/intense worries constantly. I think this would make her narration of the story quite taxing to get through, where it not for the...
IMPECCABLE PACING! The reader is thrust from scene to scene, rushing to try and keep up with Gilda. We are inside her head, flitting from person to place, trying desperately to stay present and aware while feeling utterly hopeless. Austin's use of skittish, start-stop and sometimes breakneck pacing was sublime and communicated such vital parts of Gilda's character with no words wasted. It also made this book read (and feel?) like a thriller.
This story was so incredibly readable, it had so much momentum and intrigue. I loved the sprinkling of gayness and the depictions of intense love. Gilda's wit made me cackle heartily and often, and when she was ignored or dismissed or not appreciated I cried buckets for her.
I love you Gilda, be my wife.
Thank you ever so much to the publisher for this wonderful e-arc!!
Trigger Warnings: intrusive thoughts (graphic), suicidal thoughts and attempts, death of a pet (on page), homophobia, self harm, suicide (off page, relatively unexplored side character).
more reviews on www.cosyqueer.co.uk !
February 25, 2021
I thought by the title and the cheery cover this would be funnier than it turned out to be. I was expecting dark humor, but this is mostly just dark. Depressing. Bleak. Lots of characters in this novel have mental health and substance abuse issues. Gilda herself is so depressed she stopped going to work, thus losing her job, so when she’s nearly broke and stumbles upon a job opening at a Catholic church, she pretends to be a good Catholic instead of the Atheist lesbian that she is. Despite being so depressed she can’t wash a single dish, she manages to date a woman, and, when a parishioner sets her up with her male family member, Gilda initially puts off going on a date, but she ultimately goes out several times with a man she doesn’t like at all, even if she were straight.
There were a few funny moments of fish-out-of-water humor as Gilda tries to understand the rules of the Catholic religion. Reading the Bible she thinks: “I can’t help noting the use of the male pronouns. I wonder whether this directive applies to me. Am I subject to a womanly loophole? Whoever wrote this book prioritized men so much, he forgot about the other half of humanity. ‘If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death.’ . . . I’m disappointed God is so homophobic he forgot about lesbians, but I guess I would rather be forgotten than put to death.”
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES JULY 6, 2021.
There were a few funny moments of fish-out-of-water humor as Gilda tries to understand the rules of the Catholic religion. Reading the Bible she thinks: “I can’t help noting the use of the male pronouns. I wonder whether this directive applies to me. Am I subject to a womanly loophole? Whoever wrote this book prioritized men so much, he forgot about the other half of humanity. ‘If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death.’ . . . I’m disappointed God is so homophobic he forgot about lesbians, but I guess I would rather be forgotten than put to death.”
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES JULY 6, 2021.
June 21, 2024
A love letter to autistic women (autistic lesbians specifically.) adored this!!!
January 14, 2025
A lovely little bit of chaos 🥰
December 29, 2024
rtc
hi... im back to write my little blurb. honestly think this is the first time ive read something from the girl-who-is-not-going-to-be-okay genre and not felt like i was permanently under a rain cloud until i finished it lmao. that's not to say this book is happy go lucky, you're still reading from that singular pessimistic voice that feels quite detached from the people in her life and very hopeless about it all but there's something i can't fully pinpoint about austin's writing that i can only really describe as though she cracks open a window and lets some air in, if that makes sense lol.
hi... im back to write my little blurb. honestly think this is the first time ive read something from the girl-who-is-not-going-to-be-okay genre and not felt like i was permanently under a rain cloud until i finished it lmao. that's not to say this book is happy go lucky, you're still reading from that singular pessimistic voice that feels quite detached from the people in her life and very hopeless about it all but there's something i can't fully pinpoint about austin's writing that i can only really describe as though she cracks open a window and lets some air in, if that makes sense lol.
January 8, 2022
guess who just found their comfort book? and yeah, it's going to make me cry everytime i read it but whatever. (rtc)
April 3, 2023
3.5/5
honestly though, is there any meaning to life?? gilda i relate to you!!
loved the writing style, quite funny and enjoyed the ending :))
honestly though, is there any meaning to life?? gilda i relate to you!!
loved the writing style, quite funny and enjoyed the ending :))
July 14, 2021
2 stars
You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.
I could not get into this contemporary fiction book about an anxious young woman obsessed with death.
Gilda is anxious, can't keep a job and is obsessed with death. She thinks about it all the time. When she responds to an ad for free therapy at a Catholic church, she finds herself accidentally hired as the new church receptionist, despite the fact that she's secretly an atheist, replacing the previous receptionist who died under mysterious circumstances. At work Gilda starts getting emails from the deceased receptionist's friend and too afraid to let her know her friend is dead, Gilda starts responding. The premise sounds good, but I just couldn't get into the book.
I found reading about Gilda's constant running inner dialogue tedious to read and none of her "stories" or thoughts seemed to have a point or relate to each other. I couldn't make it through the book and stopped about half way through. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it had I stuck it out, but if I can't get into a book half-way through, I have to give up. There are way too many books to read to waste the time.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Atria Books. All opinions are my own.
You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.
I could not get into this contemporary fiction book about an anxious young woman obsessed with death.
Gilda is anxious, can't keep a job and is obsessed with death. She thinks about it all the time. When she responds to an ad for free therapy at a Catholic church, she finds herself accidentally hired as the new church receptionist, despite the fact that she's secretly an atheist, replacing the previous receptionist who died under mysterious circumstances. At work Gilda starts getting emails from the deceased receptionist's friend and too afraid to let her know her friend is dead, Gilda starts responding. The premise sounds good, but I just couldn't get into the book.
I found reading about Gilda's constant running inner dialogue tedious to read and none of her "stories" or thoughts seemed to have a point or relate to each other. I couldn't make it through the book and stopped about half way through. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it had I stuck it out, but if I can't get into a book half-way through, I have to give up. There are way too many books to read to waste the time.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Atria Books. All opinions are my own.
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