Remember How I Told You I Loved You?
In taut prose and a deadpan narrative, Linden navigates the uncertainties of college life and beyond in a series of linked stories. Karen—and other characters tangentially connected to her—experiences her twenties and early thirties with great trepidation about adulthood. There’s Daphne, who moves in with Dennis, only to be told, “I’m not sure if I love you”; Leila, on the phone to customer relations, objecting to the nightclub/bowling alley that keeps her awake at night; and Karen, living in a mouse-infested apartment with a puppy in need of training. Many readers of a similar age will relate to the unglamorous situations and to the endless loop of self-doubt playing in each character’s head. At the same time, the detached writing style holds readers at arm’s length from the characters; the result is a novel that’s not so much about who’s who as it is a meditation on the impermanence of love and the challenges of transitioning from one phase of life to the next. Debut-author Linden uses language precisely in this slim volume that’s heavy with emotional resonance. --Ann Kelley