GREEN GIRL

by Kate Zambreno

Although this book predates Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by six years, I read it second and it suffered mightily in comparison.  Both books are about young-ish women living in London, working in fairly dead-end jobs, and isolated from a normal social life by a past trauma and psychological difficulties.  But where Eleanor Oliphant is suspenseful, tender and ultimately uplifting, Green Girl never reveals the source of its protagonist’s issues, uses poetical language to avoid any actual storytelling, and is ultimately deeply unsatisfying as narrative and entertainment. 

The story meanders through a few months of Ruth’s life, but I honestly couldn’t tell you much about what happens.  Maybe that’s the point; she is obviously depressed.  Green Girl won a lot of acclaim when it was published and has even been compared the The Bell Jar, which I loved. I just found her depression depressing with no illumination or redemption to make it three-dimensional. (Lily)