Book Review - Our Life in the Forest by Marie Darrieussecq

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Title: Our Life in the Forest
Author: Marie Darrieussecq
Publication Date: July 30, 2018 (English edition)
Genre: Dystopian
Pages: 192 pages
Rating: 4/5 stars
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My Thoughts:
I happened across this novel while looking for something short and unique. This DEFINITELY fit the bill. The novel opens with the narrator’s frantic attempt to document her life. She’s cold, she’s missing an eye (among other things), and she knows she doesn’t have long left. The story follows a disjointed account of how she got to be in the forest. 

Some parts of this novel really brought me back to others like Never Let Me Go and Oryx and Crake. Darrieussecq’ style in particular reminded me quite a bit of Atwood’s, which I enjoyed. However, despite reminding me of these other novels, this is very much its own story. The way that the author handles what could have been a rehashing of an old story is elegant and terrifying. I found myself very intrigued by the broken stream of consciousness that makes up this novel. The story of the “halves” is very original and I enjoyed seeing how Marie’s relationship with Sissy evolved. 

While I did enjoy the disjointedness of the narrative and how it evoked Marie’s condition, I do feel like it led to some aspects of the novel feeling less developed and, for me, less satisfying. In particular I wish there had been a bit more detail on the Generation and what exactly that meant. I also saw the “twist” coming but then I think that was intentional so it didn’t bother me too much.  It felt to me like a bit too much of the novel was devoted to Marie’s sessions with her clicker than necessary, given how short the story was. I would have preferred more details towards the end about Marie’s time in the forest and less focus on the clicker’s emotional state; given the book’s title, I would have enjoyed if there had been more focus on their life in the forest. 


On the whole, this is a very interesting take on the idea of clones and organ harvesting. The psychological and philosophical aspects touched upon in this novel are very unique and set this novel apart from its predecessors which have also tackled the subject. I loved Darrieussecq’ writing style and I look forward to exploring more of her works.

**Thank you to Text Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.** 

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