“How far into oneself could a person recede? The answer lay somewhere in the infinite. You could halve a number over and over and still stave off nothingness. You could recede until you were only surface and still find further to go.”
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The opening scene, Alice‘s suicide on the bridge, is such a bold open and really sets the tone for this novel. In this spectacular debut novel, Green kept me moving with continual unveiling of hard truths and hidden realities. 

Right away, she makes it clear that everyone has a part in letting Alice down, and the way they each misunderstand each other and misrepresent themselves has led to deep emotional pain for each of the characters. 

There was an interesting parallel between Linnie’s description of Nick‘s sharp edges that he pared down with her, and Benji developing his own sharp edges as he ages. It implied some learned character flaws that fell in line with the generational difficulties of this book. 

I really liked the flashbacks to the time just after Alice‘s passing and the way the present moments either continued the drama or healed it. I thought the descriptions of grief were beautiful, especially the comparison to trails of light in overexposed photography. Green embodied each of the characters and their inner lives so well. 

A truly remarkable and captivating debut. I’m really looking forward to reading her future works.