A review by margaret21
The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty by Vendela Vida

4.0

I chose this book for one reason. I wanted to understand how it might be possible to write a whole book in the second person. It is possible. In the case of this story, it distances us from a protagonist who wants to stay distant. She's a young unnamed woman who's come - fled perhaps - from Florida to Casablanca. Checking into her hotel, her backpack with all her important documents is stolen. The police 'find' it, but it's not hers, the woman whose documents it contains is not her. But she accepts it. In many ways, losing her given identity suits her. She soon changes her identity again... and again. Her need for anonymity runs deep, perhaps partly from her wish to escape her own face, disfigured by teenage acne. Perhaps because of what we come to know of her story - no spoiler alerts here though. Through what little agency she has, she time and again shifts the ground beneath her feet. This is a novel of profound unease and bewilderment, and distancing our heroine from us by simply calling her 'you' is a part of that bewilderment. An unsettling reading experience - recommended.