Deborah Markus’s Reviews > The Woman in the Window > Status Update

So: why is Anna agoraphobic?

"Trauma. Same as anyone."

Seriously?

Um. NO.

People can be agoraphobic for a LOT of reasons. I know a lot of people on the spectrum who are agoraphobic because spectrum. I've struggled with agoraphobia myself.

Not all traumas lead to agoraphobia and not all agoraphobia is trauma-induced.

As this character ought to know, given that she's a THERAPIST.

sheesh

"Hey, when's your birthday?"

"You going to buy me something?"

"Easy there."

"Coming up, actually," I say.

"So's mine."

"November eleventh."

She gawks. "That's my birthday, too."

This isn't a scene from a preteen slumber party. These are two women in their thirties who've barely met. That first sentence is the beginning of a conversation. Because, you know. That's how humans talk.

(smh)

She wears a butter-yellow sweater that exposes a terse slit of cleavage;

Oh, no. Please, no. Stop.

her locket dangles there, a mountaineer above a gorge.

FOR THE LOVE OF MAUD STOP WRITING LIKE THIS

"Sometimes I've got too many thoughts at once. It's like there's a four-way intersection in my brain where everyone's trying to go at the same time."

I actually really like this line. That's nicely put. And I can relate.

Is it too late to ask the author to write the whole rest of the book this well?

(Spoiler: yes.)

She purses her lips again. Very active mouth, I notice.

OH GAWD DON'T EVER SAY THAT AGAIN

She turns to the television, furrows her brow.

"What are you watching? A black-and-white movie?" Baffled.

Oh, for the love.

We get it! You're a fan of old movies! Because you're special! You're SO special, people are "baffled" by the things you enjoy! I mean, who's even HEARD of black-and-white movies? I'm surprised this woman even knew what they're called!

(sigh)

Me: So where are you in the book?

Spouse (who's been reading along a little behind me): Oh, I'm at the part where she's about to go outside to faint.

Me: ...okay, I've been trying not to feed you any spoilers...

S: It just seems safe to assume. That's the author's fault, not yours.

Me: Fair enough.

Anna is doing online searches of ex-patients. She's looking at pictures of their families and greedily learning every fact possible about their personal lives.

These patients are young children.

"He really ought to activate some privacy settings," she thinks to herself about one.

The author describes her as "swollen with longing" as she does her "research."

More and more, this book is the wrong kind of creepy.

"What sort of movies?" he asks.

"Mostly old ones."

"Like, black-and-white?"

"Mostly black-and-white."

"I've never seen a black-and-white movie."

I make full moons of my eyes. "You're in for a treat. All the best movies are black-and-white."

And all the best books use the same phrase four times in rapid succession.

Frantic, Polanski's ode to the master

So a woman -- a 38-year-old woman -- a woman who is a therapist who specializes in helping troubled and traumatized children -- THIS woman can mention Polanski as if he's a neutral subject? As if while he's still alive we can focus solely on his work?

I think the fact that this author is male keeps showing itself in some troubling ways.