Lindsay Remee Ahl

Freelance photographer and film producer Ahl’s novel is nothing less than a tour de force. She has the perfect grasp of how to explore the “outer limits” as a writer while maintaining a well-paced cohesive narrative and demonstrating a strong lyrical sensibility. Elena, the main character, who shares her name with her rather narcissistic mother, is, not surprisingly, burdened by a fused perception of self. Who is her mother? Who is she? The mental explorations of Elena the daughter’s traumatic memory of her mother’s murder produce the big question mark of the book. Did her mother really die? What, if any, of her remembrances and sensations are real? Ahl is very skilled as a writer and storyteller but quite sparkling as a literary filmmaker/psychologist in the way she delves into mental territory with such artistry, and manifests thought processes, particularly of a post-traumatic stress mindset, in a fluidly cinematic way. Ahl’s first novel is provocative and impressive. One can only hope that her next is equal if not superior.