Vacuum in the Dark: A Novel

Metaphorically, the title works on two levels, as Mona is often cleaning in dark/dim areas and she herself seems to be moving through life in a shaded and often light-bereft manner. She even lives in a shade-side apartment, and isn’t particularly good at examining her own life, particularly moments that are emotional. Not knowing that Mona was introduced in an earlier book, and finding this story bringing her character forward to carry the novel through the four parts of the story, I will say that everything here is a surprise. Dark, often juvenile humor that dances with very adult subjects, Mona is a not always reliably contextual narrator of her life, and her voice, while intriguing with the pointed and often clever questions asked by the ”Terry in her head” don’t seem to bear any relationship to Mona’s own levels of self-awareness. The synopsis calls this a hilarious and edgy, one of a kind story. And like much else, the humor and the edginess are decided by the reader and their reaction to the story, and personally, it often felt like a piece of ‘art’ from an artist dreaming up imagery (in this case using words, situations and emotionally triggering events) to push for a reaction. It was a near constant onslaught of ‘meant to be shocking moments’ that did little more than annoy after overexposure and endless topical analysis. I’m not sure to whom this book would hold appeal, it was, for me, a clear instance of expectation far exceeding the actual story, and leaving me with several head scratching moments. Sure, having Terry Gross as your imaginary friend and voice of reason is a brilliant concept, and I can even hear her voicing her own ‘dialogue’ in the book, but that one moment that shines in a story that then becomes an overload of noise with events and words meant to shock and draw notice just doesn’t hold up. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.