Never Judge a Book by the Cover
‘Imagine Me Gone’ by Adam Haslett has more to show than its basic cover
I had never understood before the invisibility of a human. How what we take to be a person is in fact a spirit we can never see.
I don’t remember much about most books I read, so when one sticks with me for months, I have to let the world know about it. I participated in a buddy read for this one, and boy, did I need that. I was able to discuss everything this book packs with someone else.
Synopsis
Haslett’s Pulitzer prize finalist, Imagine Me Gone, follows a family of five and their everyday lives. It seems mundane, but if you dive under the surface, there is much more. The author maps out different connections that each family member has with one another in an incredible yet tragic way.
There are content warnings you should think about before diving in, including suicide, loss of family members, grief, mental illness, and trials and tribulations with depression/anxiety medication.
Review
Imagine Me Gone was a five-star read for me because of the unique writing style, which caused me to hesitate at the very beginning.
The story follows each family member, and Michael takes the cake for the most interesting. He is the oldest child in the family who doesn’t connect well with his father, and you discover that it has a lot to do with poor mental health from both parties. Michael tries to live his life through parody, which confused me. It’s a coping mechanism he uses to make it through each day.
He also fixates on an individual for a lot of the story, and it causes a war of emotions for the reader. You either feel bad for Michael because the feelings are not reciprocated, or you feel bad for the other individual because it must be uncomfortable for them.
Celia is the underrated and unappreciated child of the group. I love Celia, and she was not set up for success. Her family relied on her so much and blamed her for events out of her control. I wish Haslett would have let the reader experience more from her perspective.
Alec, the youngest child, tries to care for Michael but can’t often get through to him. He is also trying to figure out who he is in the midst of the chaos. I appreciated him more at the end of the book, but he is one of the family members who try to force Celia’s involvement when she’s already giving one hundred percent.
John and Margaret are the parents who barely hold the family together. John deals with crippling depression and insists the children get through life without him while alive. Unfortunately, Margaret has a tough time being with someone who cannot function or show affection. I see both sides of the story, but Margaret could have listened to John more. She was always upset when it wasn’t his fault.
There’s nothing of my person to protect anymore. The simplicity of this is a great relief. An empty stomach and throbbing temples are no more personal than a bank of thriving weeds, or the mirage of asphalt melting in the distance along the bridge. Such distinctions are made of tension, and the tension is melting. Why fight? The inanimate world has such unimpeachable wisdom: no thought.
Final thoughts
Haslett lets intrusive thoughts win with this story, and I’m ecstatic that he did. It made a unique, dark-humored, tragic story full of day-to-day survival. I hope that this book stays with me for a long time. If you decide to read this book or have read it, let me know your thoughts.
