Book review: Arms & Legs
More about the book…
Georgie’s marriage has stagnated. But in a Florida almost claustrophobic with life, there’s no room to attend to it: forests burn, termites abound, teeth break, and there’s something in her husband’s eye.
Then she finds a body in the woods.
As the repercussions of her discovery and a doomed affair come to land, Georgie is forced to confront her past, examining the often heartbreaking power of the things we witness and the scars they leave behind.
Arms & Legs is a searingly intimate exploration of motherhood, marriage and desire from a bold New Zealand talent.
More about the author…
Chloe Lane was the 2022 recipient of the Todd New Writer’s Bursary and a 2021 Grimshaw Sargeson Fellow. Her debut novel, THE SWIMMERS, was longlisted for the Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2021 Ockham NZ Book Awards. She earned her MFA in Fiction from the University of Florida in 2017. She also has a MA from the International Institute of Modern Letters and a BFA from Elam School of Fine Arts. She was the founding publisher and editor at HUE+CRY PRESS, and occasionally writes about art for various publications. She lives and teaches in Gainesville, Florida.
My impressions…
The perfect example of a character-driven novel, Arms & Legs made me want to slow down and enjoy the taste of every sentence and, at the same time, rush onwards to see if and how Georgie’s life would eventually come crashing down around her. Motherhood changes everything, and here we have it, black and white, poetically described with unflinching rawness.
Georgie’s internal tug of war between the part of herself who wanted to spend time with her family and the part of herself who wanted to feel like an individual is something I could relate to. Not to mention the fears and worries that are part and parcel of becoming a mother. I finally felt understood when she looked at her toddler, worrying about the dangers he might encounter in his 20s. I do that all the time!
A slowly simmering novel with a real sense of place and great insight into the complicated world of relationships.
Three words to describe it. Intense. Real. Simmering.
Do I like the cover? Yes, it has a disjointed vibe that perfectly matches the book.
Have I read any other books by the same author? I have her debut novel, The Swimmers, on my shelves. Reaching out to grab it as we speak!
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