Some of my favorite book reviewers, bloggers, and the women in this book club have spoken extremely highly about this book. For many it was their favorite book of 2024. With these glowing recommendations I was excited to jump into a literary fiction novel with a speculative twist. 

I enjoyed how this book didn’t waste any time in introducing the mystery of the attic and the appearance of our FMC’s many husbands. Though they only appeared one at a time, we encounter over 200 by the time the novel comes to its fiery ending. The novelty of this concept hooked me in the beginning, and left me questioning how and why this phenomenon was happening. However, after her favorite husband is unintentionally taken away by the attic, my attention span for the book began to dwindle. 

I waited until meeting with the book club to write this review because I wanted to include some additional perspectives. While this book didn’t work for me, someone who is single, chronically ill, and in their early thirties, this story did work for many of the women in the club who are married and mothers. 

At the very least, regardless of my rating or reading experience, this book left us all with questions. Questions about the characters, the plot, the attic, and our own lives. This book was a great gateway for discussion and opening up conversations about what might have been, and how one single event can have ripple effects years down the line. 

While I can see how this book worked for so many readers, once it lost my interest it wasn’t able to get it back. I hung on until about 70% through the book before I began heavily skimming just to reach the conclusion. I’d had a theory the entire time that our FMC was in a coma and was seeing flashes of her life, or what could have been, while in that state. While that wasn’t the ultimate outcome I wasn’t disappointed with the ending. I was just happy it was over.

This book was intentionally repetitive. I knew the repetition was created to make the reader feel the mundane, hopelessness, and desperation alongside our main character, but I really didn’t enjoy the experience (which is probably the point). This book also spiked my anxiety, as our FMC got more and more unhinged, and even dangerous at times. There was never a guarantee that the attic would always work to reverse the damage she had caused, and yet she continued to cross moral and ethical boundaries more and more as the novel progressed. The repetitive nature and the novel and this dissolution of our protagonist’s moral compass was what ended up leaving me really dissatisfied as a reader. 

If you’re looking for a novel that will make you reflect on your life I’d say give this a try. You might not enjoy the experience, but at the very least you’ll come out the other side a more reflective and introspective human.