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| Don't I Know You? |
There is a slightly surreal quality to Marni Jackson’s debut
novel, Don’t I Know You? A novel broken into short stories, each one following Rose
McEwan’s life from 16-60. These stories go through Rose’s life chronologically, and each one contains a
pop culture figure as a central character role
in the story. Whether it is wise words given by Joni Mitchell, a
friendly kidnapping by Bill Murray, the best part of each story is Rose’s
uncanny ability to describe the weird world she’s living in.
Jackson is great at setting a scene and there is a languid
flow to her words that really carries the reader on and through even some of
the confusingly unbelievable celebrity encounters like Bob Dylan as an
impromptu, guest-bedroom-crashing mooch. These stories, despite Rose’s
recurrent proximity to fame and fortune, aren’t about the glamour and glitz of
celebrity, but more of a sort of mundane celebrity fanfiction. And don’t let my
use of “fanfiction” deter you either: these stories could exist without the
celebrities and they would still be interesting, well-written vignettes. The
use of celebrities allows the reader to bring their own characterization into
the picture- a sort of shorthand to explore the story without worrying about
having to build a character from scratch. Though certainly infused with detail
from Jackson’s imagination, we all know a bit about Dylan without having to
read much backstory or context. This also gives an intimacy to the
storytelling- what would we do if Bob Dylan turned up at our cottage?
There is
a strong humour to Jackson’s choices of how the celebrities turn up in Rose’s
life, an almost Wes Anderson-translated-to-the-page offbeatness.
I do think that this book is stronger in the first half than
the second, as the stories do get a bit less believable as they go on. Another
way to avoid this would be to read the book a few stories at a time, maybe even
out of chronological order? Regardless, I enjoyed the writing and the premise
is fun and original.
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