Donna Has Left the Building

Such a weird book. Donna (University of Michigan grad/punk from the 70s, now a mother of two in Michigan) has a crisis in her marriage. She drives off in a state of hysteria and, after some pretty funny mishaps, finds herself in New York. Among other things, she considers going to Rockaway Beach to ask Patti Smith for advice. I'm totally with her so far! I expected the comedy to continue, but then people behave badly, and additional unappealing characters are thrown into the mix. The story turns dark, and then it ends dark.

The writing's perfectly sound but, ugh! These middle-age coming-of-age tales leave me bored. I'm not going to pretend I read all of this; I read the beginning and the end and skipped over most of the middle. Its funny in an absurdist way and I can see how someone might like it more than I did.

Thanks to the publisher who were kind enough to send me an advance copy for review.