A review by historyofjess
You Feel It Just Below the Ribs by Jeffrey Cranor, Janina Matthewson

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was such a fun read. The book is presented as a piece of found literature (a memoir) with addendums and footnotes from the organization that found her writing and made the, as they say, controversial decision, to publish it. The narrator traces her life in an alternate history of the Earth beset by worldwide conflict in the early 20th century all the way through the building of a new society. But what could have been just an intricate world-building book is elevated by the book's structure, which becomes a battle of unreliable narrators.

The footnotes and interludes begin with a kind of passionless, historically-minded voice, but as they needle and pick at the author's recollections over the course of the book, they become more hostile and judgmental. And as we learn more about the story the author is telling and why she is telling it, the longer footnotes seem less insidious than the frequent use of brief, "edited for clarity" notes. It's a wild ride that I thoroughly enjoyed and I was excited to learn at the end that this was actually born from a podcast these authors created in this universe and I'm excited to dig into that, as well.