Arms & Legs

by Chloe Lane

In a Florida almost claustrophobic with life, New Zealand-born Georgie's marriage has stagnated. But there's no room to attend to it, as dangers small and large crowd in: teeth break, her son can't find his words, there's something in her husband's eye, termites swarm the neighbourhood, and she finds a dead boy in the burning woods.

And then - there's Jason.

As the repercussions of her discovery of the body, and her affair, come to land, Georgie digs deep, examining the undercurrents of her actions with curiosity, humour and cutting emotional intelligence. Arms & Legs is a deliriously insightful excavation of love, desire, parenthood and relationships at their best, and worst.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary

208 pages, Paperback

About the author

Chloe Lane earned her MFA in Fiction at the University of Florida. She is also a graduate of the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington, and the founding editor of Hue+Cry Press. The Swimmers is her first book.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I reviewed Lane’s debut novel, The Swimmers, a black comedy about a family preparing for an assisted suicide, this time last year. It seems there’s an autobiographical setup to the author’s follow-up, which focuses on a couple from New Zealand now living in Florida with their young son. Narrator Georgie teaches writing at a local college and is having an affair with Jason, an Alabama-accented librarian she met through taking Finn to the Music & Movement class. She joins in a volunteer-led controlled burn in the forest, and curiosity quickly turns to horror when she discovers the decaying body of a missing student.

There’s a strong physicality to this short novel: fire, bodies and Florida’s dangerous fauna (“To choose to live in a place surrounded by these creatures, these threats, it made me feel like I was living a bold life”). Georgie has to decide whether setting fire to her marriage with Dan is what she really wants. A Barry Hannah short story she reads describes adultery as just a matter of arms and legs, a phrase that’s repeated several times.

Georgie is cynical and detached from her self-destructive choices, coming out with incisive one-liners (“My life isn’t a Muriel Spark novel, there’s no way to flash forward and find out if I make it out of the housefire alive” and “He rested the spade on his shoulder as if he were a Viking taking a drinks break in the middle of a battle”). Lane burrows into instinct and motivation, also giving a glimpse of the challenges of new motherhood. Apart from a wicked dinner party scene, though, the book as a whole was underwhelming: the body holds no mystery, and adultery is an old, old story.

Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.

[Claire Fuller]

Do you remember how much I went on about Chloe Lane's The Swimmers, a while back? Well, she has a new book coming from Gallic in September 2023 (thank you for the proof), and it has a similar wonderful sense of being right inside someone's head. Georgie has a fairly new marriage, newish baby, and a new job in a new country, it's perhaps inevitable that something is going to go wrong. When she finds a body in a Florida forest everything begins to unravel and she finds herself questioning everything. Think teeth and eyes and arms and legs. Chloe Lane's writing gets me every time. And don't you just love this title?

[Jo_Scho_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a hot and humid Florida, Georgia’s marriage is stagnating. Then one day, in the woods, she finds a body. Her reaction to this, and her own life choices, comes to confront her head on. As she remembers her past and considers her present, it becomes clear that Georgie needs to understand her own self better in order to process her reactions to the different events she’s recently experienced

Slow, meandering, sensual and hypnotic. Arms and Legs is very much a character driven story. It’s a slow burn, simmering with unease and threatening to get out of control. It focuses on motherhood and marriage and made me recall those hazy toddler years when priorities change and you change and it’s hard to know if you’ll ever be the same again.

This is a beautifully written novel with wonderfully intense descriptions of the Florida climate and wildlife. Hugely atmospheric, it’s a book you’ll really feel like you’ve stepped into.

[Rachel Burry · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book did feel like wasted time for me. Nearing the end I was expecting something to happen, for another element to be introduced to a major plot twist revealing the nature of Calvin's death, but got neither.

The author's writing style is solid, and she can paint a scene well. But this story had no substance. Every time the marital drama would heighten for a paragraph or two, she would interject with the most irrelevant story from her childhood. I can appreciate a book that leaves me to form a conclusion rather than having one prescribed, though I felt that this book would have been much more enjoyable as a one that had such a prescribed 'point' so to speak- I really struggled to make any connection between her experience with Calvin to her marital issues/ life problems, or any theme at all more generally.

[Lauren Elmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one started out very promising and then petered out by maybe p. 125. It wasn’t by any means a poorly written novel but I think it lacked a plot line that remained consistent and purposeful. I’m still a little confused about what the point of the whole story was but it was a good book to get me back into reading after taking forever to read Outlawed.

[Alison Bullock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy this ,the protagonist was not likeable and wasn't keen on all her domestic/ emotional drama.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh. sadly I sympathized with the husband. the story felt incomplete.

[Zoe A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Georgie appears to have an idyllic life . She has moved from NZ to Florida , she's married with a young boy and has a good job, but in reality life is not great. Her marriage is on the rocks, she is having an affair and she has just found a body in the woods....

This is one of those quiet reflective sort of reads where not much is happening but at the same time a lot is going on . As a reader you have this feeling of being inside Georgie's head and everything seems so authentic and real as you are reading . The humid Florida backdrop adds this very claustrophobic tense atmosphere and reminded me somewhat of Thirst For Salt .

It's a story about self discovery, marriage and motherhood and perfect for lovers of Australian / New Zealand fiction .

[Contrary Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew Chloe Lane could write, after falling in love with The Swimmers- a tragic book full of humour and humanity and challenging subject matter.

While this doesn’t share the formers humour, it does feel like it has mated with Ottessa Moshfegh’s Death in Her Hands and Claire Vaye Watkins I Love You But I Have Chosen Darkness. A farcical, dark night of the soul exploring the alien, lost feelings that can set in with the onset of Motherhood. The snaking journeys that this can set in when your relationship with yourself is subsumed by a life of service. I guess this is black humour in a more subtle rendering.

This book asks so many big questions- about relationships- self awareness- community- loyalty and fidelity- domesticity- love- the meaning of life. It does so skilfully. Arms and legs crop up like pointing fingers, allowing us to linger on questions we reflect back on ourselves. What motivates our choices- and do they reveal how well we know ourselves?

Know yourself better.

[Paris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing a book about a Kiwi who lives in Florida with her small child and husband she is cheating on as a Kiwi who lives in Florida with her small child and husband is wild.

[George Bower · Rating 2 out of 5]

characters and scenes were very well written but didn’t see the point of this, lots of unanswered questions

[Georgina Reads_Eats_Explores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arms and legs are a recurring theme in this book about Georgie, her husband Dan, and their toddler son Finn, New Zealanders together seven years, who now live in hot and humid Florida.

This move stateside was meant to bring adventure, to ensure life never got dull, but Georgie’s marriage is stagnating; her life is repetitive to the point of boredom and the strain of everyday life shows - a Groundhog Day existence of workday, childcare, minimal interaction let alone intimacy with Dan, and repeat infinitum. This is most definitely not the life she imagined for herself.

To relieve this dull, disquiet, to give her humdrum life a little more spark, she embarks on an affair with Jason, a stoner who works at the local library, grabbing any moment of physical contact they can, it’s almost that the thrill of potentially getting caught is better than their actual time together.

In this small university town, all players in Georgie’s web of deceit are so closely connected that they’re only one thread away from unravelling.

Then, one day, she goes on a prescribed burn in the bush and comes across a dead body, a body she believes belongs to missing student from the University she teaches in, Calvin, a burden that lies heavily on her shoulders.

But if you’re expecting a crime thriller to emerge, you’d be wrong. This is Georgie’s story and hers alone.

Saying that Georgie is not a reliable narrator, it seems she can barely trust herself, so why should we trust her? Through her emotion-laden monologue, Georgie gives you the feeling of having witnessed something authentic, something palpable, something so intimate it almost feels voyeuristic.

Maybe relationships should be as simple as being about arms and legs and which ones you choose to entangle yourself with; just be mindful of the repercussions.

Chloe Lane uses sparse dialogue to choreograph the anatomy of a marriage run aground, every interaction tinged with unease. Giving power to the unsaid as much as the spoken, Lane is a skilful writer indeed. 4⭐️

Many thanks to Gallic Books for sending me an uncorrected proof copy; as always, this is an honest review.

[Shannon Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARMS & LEGS is the type of literary fiction that I’d only recommend to readers who enjoy the Sheila Heti, Sally Rooney, etc. types. The writing is light and poetic, and the central character’s inner monologue and turmoil play a major part.

In ARMS & LEGS, Georgie (the first-person main character whose head the reader lives in) is unsatisfied with her life. She’s married with a young child, and the book is a journey to sort through her unhappiness and discontentment. Is her life simply lacking excitement and variety? Has she become unattracted to her husband? Are her desires misguided or misplaced? Have Georgie and her husband just lost connection? If they have, can it be fixed?

These questions are the general theme of the book and, in true lit fic fashion, the focus isn’t on answering them with any kind of tidy finality but on working through what these questions mean for Georgie (and anyone reading this novel who relates to this character, especially 30-something women with unfulfilled or unexplainable longings themselves).

Georgie makes a series of objectively bad/awkward/questionable decisions in an effort to get to the root of her unhappiness. These decisions are merely dots on the path and not explored deeply, and some of them felt like unnecessary plot points to me. But ARMS & LEGS is the type of book that asks questions of the character and the reader. Reading it might require introspection, and it definitely delivers valuable lessons from the main character’s thought process and choices if you’re willing to think abstractly enough to uncover them.

*This review is based on a digital advance copy I received from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[V ❣️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was so soft, yet the messages were so loud.
We follow Georgie - a mom to a toddler and wife to Dan. She has moved to Florida from New Zealand and is playing the role of mother and wife the best that she can, but it just isn’t enough. Her marriage is crumbling at a snails pace, but she can feel it. Everyone can feel it.
One day while volunteering at a prescribed burn, Georgie finds a dead body in the woods. This sends her into a spiral, and makes her come to terms with everything going wrong in her life.
I had a panic attack reading this because it resonated with me so much. How you give your entirety to one person for years and how they have access to all of you - the good, bad, what you try so desperately to keep hidden. As the author so perfectly puts it, your layers. Anyone who has been in a long term relationship will no doubt relate to Georgie.
I also loved the messages about Georgie constantly worrying about Finn, her son. How any little thing can cause harm or death. The constant worry a mother has for her child.
A lovely litfic read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of these thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘These invisible forks, they’re everywhere in the road.’

Georgie’s marriage has stagnated and she’s not sure where it went wrong. Then she finds a body in the woods.
This is a deeply intimate snapshot into Georgie’s life as she adjusts to a new life in Florida, a far cry from her home of New Zealand, to a new baby, and to a marriage that has slowed to a halt.
Lane takes us in and out of Georgie’s past, the dry heat and never-ending battle of Florida contrasting with the lush greenery of New Zealand. It is a deep dive into desire and love, motherhood and freedom.
As an expat from New Zealand, this book resonated with me. The struggle of forging a new life in a new country is tough at any time, especially with a child involved. Georgie weighs up the pursuit of a new exciting life against the stability of the known.
Georgie is a fascinating main character. We see her scars, both old and new. Is she just arms and legs, or is she more than that?

Thanks to Gallic Books for the advanced copy for an honest review.

[Jolaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is beautifully written. The experience of reading it was delicious. But the story didn't fully grab me, and the ending left me unsatisfied. It just sort of peters out. I do look forward to reading more books by this author.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about a woman who is questioning everything in her life and making dodgy decisions??? Sign me up!!!



Really enjoyed the writer’s style and will look to read The Swimmers next!

[gaia cornelius · Rating 5 out of 5]

a long phone call with a beloved friend who you cant help but constantly worry about. the worst parts of myself found a friend in this book!

[cameron · Rating 1 out of 5]

absolute slog

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this because Lane's The Swimmers was so brilliant. Although it has glimmers of potentially interesting ideas (mostly about swimming or NZ), this book doesn't develop them. Disappointing.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed The Swimmers, Chloe Lane’s first book, and this is just as good. She has a great way of writing bleakness and bad times without it being a one-dimensional depressing story. It’s just very very real. It puts you right in there with Georgie, experiencing her life unravelling as things big and small fly at her relentlessly.

This book shows how you can lose track of the important things if you are overwhelmed by the everyday, but big in the moment, things…throw a large trauma like finding a body into the mix and the barely-hanging-in-there balancing act comes tumbling down. It’s an in-depth exploration of life, marriage, and relationships told in an unflinching way.

There is an un-realness to the location and environment that the book is set in, the hazy murky, and oppressive swamplands of Florida. It’s full of unfamiliar creatures, intent on breaching Georgie’s home and imagination. This, as a juxtaposition to the almost banality of most of the events the story, works really well to highlight the despair that she feels - she’s trying to control an uncontrollable place and that untethers her, which is then heaped on when she stumbles across the body and loses hold of all the tiny strings she was trying to keep held tight.

Controlled burns, to help maintain forest health, feature in this book and it feels like this is what Georgie is constantly trying to do to her life - sacrifice the small to help the large grow…except sometimes she doesn’t know which is which.

[Georgia Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was unexpectdely poetic. There is something about an unlikeable protagnist that gets me, I dunno what it is but I like it.

[Hannah Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can you tell who has spent every second they can reading in the sun over the past few days?! Thought about filtering the eff out of my face but freckles are in fashion right?! They’d better be! 😂

One of the books I enjoyed over this sunny weekend was this dinky one by Chloe Lane, it was very kindly sent to us by @gallicbooks ahead of its release on September 7th so read on to see if it’s one that tickles your fancy!

Georgia is a college lecturer, living in Florida with her husband and young son, she loves her family, but she’s also bored. So when she is invited on a prescribed burn with a group of new acquaintances she takes the opportunity to try something new. It is here that she finds the body of a young local man who has been missing for a few days.

This discovery triggers within her a period of introspection, as if she suddenly has realised the fragility of life and really starts to evaluate who she is and what is important to her.

This is not a plot-driven book, we are simply inside of Georgie’s head whilst she grapples with her identity as a mother, a wife, as a woman. It is quiet and reflective but also heavy with tension and some pretty dark themes. The writing was great, some very flawed but likeable characters and I could almost feel the Floridian humidity in the air as I read.

I would recommend this for anyone who likes a character driven, thought-provoking read that is also perfectly matched to an afternoon in the sun.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up at a local library while browsing (drawn to the imagery on the cover, which is linked to a friend and their creative practice).

I picked this up while browsing at my local library, a book written by a New Zealander who has lived in Florida. Like many things I read, I was drawn to this book for the sake of depth of my own writing. The book itself is entrenched in both kiwi and Floridian perspectives.

The main character is flawed and unlikeable, and the book has interesting depictions of trauma.

Conversational tags lacked for my personal tastes, as I couldn't get away from the exclusive use of 'said' (nor did it fade into background static like I know it does for many readers).

Enjoyed, an easy read.

Three stars.

(Review originally written in short form in December of 2023, six months after reading, edited and expanded November 2024).

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some really rich, evocative writing tied up in a bit of a dull storyline.