"Everyone in This Room Will Someday be Dead"

Everyone in this Room will Someday be Dead by Emily Austin

Pages: 243 Genre: literary fiction

Rating: 4 Stars

Gilda is a twenty-something, atheist, lesbian who thinks about death way more than she probably should. In facts, she's nervous about most things, landing her frequently in the ER. With her family being unhelpful and the ER not being able to identify anything physically wrong (except for the broken arm, courtesy of a car accident), she decides to check out a "free therapy" service at a Catholic church. Except when she arrives, Pastor Jeff believes she's there for a job interview. She's replacing the recently deceased Grace, and the church only has one real qualification: that Gilda is Catholic. She says yes, at least. Now confronted with an alter-ego as a good, straight, Catholic young woman, Gilda comes face-to-face with her anxieties and fears, and things get worse as it becomes clear that something is a little off about the circumstances surrounding Grace's death.

I really loved this book. It was very different than I expected it to be (the description on Goodreads sort of paints it as more of a goofy mystery instead of a character-driven literary fiction), but once I got used to it, I really enjoyed it. However, I don't think this will be a book that suits everyone. I would say the main plotline is following Gilda's mental struggles, which is dark and, at times, anxiety-inducing. Things still happen, but I wouldn't describe Grace's death as the main storyline until the end. It's more just an in-depth look at a piece of Gilda's life. That kind of thing works for me, but if it's not up your alley, then skip this book.

I loved Gilda. The author did a good job of showing how well-intentioned she is, despite her (often self-perceived) failure to support people. She felt real. I've found that it's very difficult for authors to write a character so heavily driven by anxiety, but Austin did a great job with Gilda. I found it very easy to root for her, even at her worst moments. Plus, she was funny and profound without it seeming too forced.

I liked watching her story unfold. The situations Gilda finds herself in due to her anxiety has almost a "Dear Evan Hansen"-feel to it, but in a more lighthearted way.

My one main critique would be the Grace plotline. For most of the book (up until the very end), it kind of seemed like all of the different details existed as equally important. Again, it was about Gilda and her life while working at the church. While this is driven by Grace's death, she herself is not the primary storyline until at the end. And this would be fine, except the ending was almost exclusively about the Grace plot. As a result, the B-Z storylines were unceremoniously dropped at the end, making it feel vaguely unsatisfying. I don't think a formal conclusion to every detail would've suited the style of this book very well, but I think it needed something else to make the ending feel intentional.

Anxiety-inducing stories about death, religion, and characters who are at the breaking point is my bread and butter, so I loved this book. In fact, it reminded me of the video game "Night in the Woods," which I am obsessed with. It was a difficult concept that I found to be well done. Just make sure you know what you're getting in to.