Review by savanah - The Three Lives of Cate Kay

savanah 's review for:

The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan

4.0

I think I needed to have read this in a book club setting. I am still in the midst of processing. The different points of view added much insight into the minds and personalities of each of the characters.
Some characters were frustrating in a way that felt very real, and I found myself wanting to shake some sense into them, or protect them like a real person.
The intricate way different characters experience and/or remember the same event added another layer of complexity to the relationships and the story.

I did not find any of the characters relatable, but I did find them compelling nonetheless.

It is also a major feat to incorporate timeline jumps, multiple perspectives, with “author’s notes” AND a book/story within the story.

I still have so many questions: was Carrie in love with Annie the whole time? Why do none of these people file restraining orders against each other? Sydney is so damn toxic and never actually fully fessed up. Theres no way Annie wouldn’t have had a crash out while getting to know Amanda again cause she would have been a different person than when they were children, and Annie had put her on such an impossible pedestal. The book that Annie started toward the end, the “roadtrip/raincheck” was that a meta reference to The three lives of Cate K?

Content Warnings