Upside Down Inside Out: A Novel
What better way to reexamine one’s life than to go on holiday in Australia? So decide two people stuck in a rut—one in London, one in Ireland. Eva flies to Melbourne to see Lainey, her best friend—a well-meaning schemer who thinks Eva has abandoned her passions for art and music to work at a delicatessen. Lainey throws a welcome party and invents a “new” Eva, named Niamh, a carefree Celtic beauty who lives the artist’s life by the sea, sings for Enya, and has done commissions for Bono. Eva goes along with the liberating ploy and maintains it even after Lainey leaves on a business trip. Enter Joe, a wildly successful designer on leave from his stressful job who is mistaken for a wayward backpacker, an assumption he does not correct. When Eva and Joe meet, sparks fly. Will Eva reveal her secrets? Will Joe reveal his? Will Greg, the loathsome local café owner who is after “Niamh,” screw things up? McInerney’s delightful tricountry romp is bubbling with life, love, and unexpected twists. --Emily Cook