You want to become anonymous? Easy. Be a mother.
This novel had me thinking about the evolution of literature and art, how technology and time affect creation. Edna Sloane was hot in the 1980’s New York literary scene with the publication of her novel “An Infinity of Traces”. A time before the internet, “when people still worshipped writers,” before Seth Edwards (web editor, aspiring writer) was born, Edna fell off the face of the earth without ever publishing a sequel. There were people who claimed it was just a publicity stunt, a convincing one that has lasted decades, others who think maybe she was murdered but now she is yesterday’s news, mostly forgotten. All he knows is one day on her way to discuss her follow-up book with her publishers, she never arrived. Reporters did not have luck either with their mission to find out what happened when they went to her apartment all those years ago. Rumor is that she is living in New York, this inspires Seth to try and track her down. Seth understands this requires sleuthing, so begins emails, modern day gumshoe work. He is willing to do anything if it will help his career, stuck at a standstill.
When he thinks he has finally found her, there are hoops he must jump through to make it worth her time to allow him to interview her. This novel is not about solving the great mystery of vanishing, it is about the transformation of Edna from shooting literary star to “an invisible woman of a certain age,” and that is what makes this a brilliant read. She is not sure people care about books, art, and words these days. Seth wants to be “put on the map,” and re-discovering Edna, featuring her would be just the thing to do it! He gets a real education about what it means to be a talented woman, the measure of fame, and the cost of an ordinary life raising a child. Did she continue to write? Did she dry up? At the start, Edna is a means to an end for Seth but as she starts to look like an actual person, through their correspondence, we see “what the stuff of life,” and all the people in it, can do to a talented woman. Why did the past swallow her up when she was just getting started?
It is a clever novel, Seth does not know himself, he is obsessed with ambition and what he thinks should come to fruition in his life. He does not ask the right questions, he is concerned too much with his tortured self and feels the world (or Edna) owes him the secret to success, all the while the truth about writing is going over his head. Will he get what he wants? I was surprised by this story and what happens with Seth and I understand a lot of what Edna feels.
For aspiring writers, book lovers, and all those “invisible women of a certain age” this is a surprisingly meaningful read.
Published April 30, 2024
Red Hen Press
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