Alone With You in the Ether

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A large portion of the story is dedicated to Lou's depression and anxiety and how that makes her interpret the world around her even when those interpretations aren't true. She is a self loathing character who holds everyone at arms length and uses rudeness as a way to keep them there. She's not a likable character per say but I did she where she was coming from and found her to be an interesting/dynamic character. Considering it’s been five days, it’s kind of too soon to tell.” I try to keep the snark out of my voice—I know better than to openly antagonize my teachers and administrative staff—and force a smile onto my face to show her that I Am Totally Okay.

The director of the agency assured them that they had done well in the interview process, but that it was her job to match the right children with the right parents and this effort could take time. Alone With You in the Ether plays with narrative structure and linear time to weave a story of two broken people crashing together like comets, and we, as audience, are witness to their glorious destruction." — Tor.com I'd like to thank Simon & Schuster for sending me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I know that depression and anxiety have many, many different representations. And I gotta say, I loved the way this book portrayed them. As someone with both, I thought it was a great representation. Realistic, frustrating, and just doing your best. I’m very close to my mother and I was so happy to dedicate this to her and my two sisters. My mother has been an incredible source of support and courage for me. She has had a wonderful working life as a film director. She took me very seriously when I was a little girl, allowing me into her own creative process and making me feel that my ideas were of value. She always asked me to read her screenplays and to watch cuts of her films and she really cared about my comments. I even got to sit in on casting sessions and weight in on what I thought of the actors! And she took me to the old movies. Some of my fondest memories are of sitting in art houses watching Italian films then discussing them with her. She cared about story telling and cared about what I thought about narrative. What a great gift to give a child, to let her know her ideas matter.

They had come halfway around the world to have “an experience.” And yet, there were moments when she felt more ephemeral than ever, when the gaudiness of this experience-hoarding made her all the more unsure of what it meant to be living. But these beautifully weaved tales of surprising introspective quality turn these situations into occasions to reflect on human nature, be it our own or others’. They also will leave you feeling uplifted as the characters, of all ages and both genders, display a sense of strength as they go through mundane, day to day hardships of life without losing the ability to reflect and grow from their experiences.

You masterfully capture many different ages, genders and perspectives. How do you get into the voice of each character? I particularly enjoyed Eloise’s character arc throughout this book. She has anxiety, and she’s virtually been friendless since her two best friends abandoned her during a period of severe depression. Hanging out with Austin is the last thing she wants to do, especially since he has such a sunny personality compared to her grumpy one, but she grows to learn that isolating yourself for so long has more adverse effects and spending time with other people can, actually, lift your spirits. Many of my stories explore the issues of separation and intimacy, and I think that these issues are brought to the fore when the possibility of loss is most immanent. These stories are never only, or even mostly, about illness or loss. These threads are always part of a greater weave that is full of humor and moments of happiness and moments of connection. It’s all happening the same time, just like life. The last third of the book illustrated love in the form of sex. Therapy in the form of sex. Transcendence in the form of sex. Apology in the form of sex. This normally would not bother me, but between Regan and Aldo, there was sex, obsession, co-dependence and very little else. Do they really love each other? I honestly cannot tell.The street that runs in front of Evanston has bumper-to-bumper traffic since the elementary school is down the road, and I hit the crosswalk button with my elbow. Seattle drivers are notoriously passive-aggressive. Meaning they’ll go out of their way to break traffic laws in the name of being nice, which inevitably causes traffic jams, which then causes people to lay on their horns or run red lights. It’s chaos. In the O. Henry Prize–winning story “The Visitor,” a VA hospital nurse’s aide contends with a family ghost and discovers the ways in which her own past haunts her. The reticent father in “Pond” is confronted with a Solomonic choice that pits his love for his daughter against his feelings for her young son. In “Night Train to Frankfurt,” first published in The New Yorker, a daughter travels to an alternative-medicine clinic in Germany in a gambit to save her mother’s life. And in the title story, a woman vacations in Morocco with her family while contemplating a decision that will both ruin and liberate them all. The mechanics of his ritual were simple: Raise the joint to his lips, breathe in, breathe out, let his hand fall. This was the formula. Formulas he understood. He brought the joint to his lips, inhaled, and exhaled into nothing.

Eight indelible stories that mine the complexities of modern relationships and the unexpected ways love manifests itself. Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Simon & Schuster.The dynamics between Austin and Eloise were PERFECT. Reverse grumpy x sunshine at its finest. I loved the way they balanced each other out and the way they went from strangers to friends to having a relationship was so sweet. Filled with some teenage drama and a little bit of angst, I thought it was great for the YA category (and there’s only kisses!).