I have very mixed feelings about this book, but I was glad I read it. It was very clever and there was humor and also so much sadness. The protagonist was engaged in a very difficult life in all aspects. She was unhealthy, both mentally and physically, and her interpersonal interactions left much to be desired. However, she was very bright and very involved in taking care of people, whether or not she knew them. All of her personal thoughts are presented, and many are easy to identify with. I was pleased with the ending, but am uncertain how realistic it was. I also wish we lived in a world that valued every member regardless of the issues they are facing. ( )

I read this in one day because I could not put it down. Very very few books can make me cry and this one had me sobbing. The main character is funny and relatable. Overall I think this is in my top 3 books I've ever read. ( )

Browsing my library’s recent fiction shelves I pulled this one down because of the catchy title and the fact that one year back at university I lived with Emily Austin. A different one, of course, but for just a second there I did hope… anyway, it deals with two things I’m personally predisposed towards reading about, namely, mental illness and religion. I have both myself. Despite such a focus, it’s actually fairly funny.

The protagonist, Gilda, who early on in the novel takes a job as receptionist at a Catholic Church, only has one, and it’s not religion. Gilda’s got an anxiety/panic disorder, major depression, and severe existential angst. A strong atheist, placing such a character in a religious setting through accidental happenstance might lead the reader to suspect they would “find religion” or at least come closer to a religious stance through personal growth over the novel, but not here. It’s a source of humor:

Eleanor keeps texting me. I don’t feel comfortable responding at work because I’m worried Jeff and the Catholics will be able to sense I am doing something gay.
Hello?
Gilda?
Why aren’t you replying?

The novel is written in the fragmentary style, a la Patricia Lockwood’s [b:No One Is Talking About This|53733106|No One Is Talking About This|Patricia Lockwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601474686l/53733106._SY75_.jpg|84057345] the optimistic review at The Rumpus notes, though that comparison is misleading and quite unfair. Few can write sentences and images as brilliantly as Lockwood and Everyone In This Room… is more popular fiction than literary fiction. The prose here is straightforward and relatively simple and the back half features a murder mystery plot development aimed squarely at the popular reading public. What the two novels might share though is a tender love for one’s fellow humans, despite everything. I do greatly appreciate that in a novel.

And, some real humor. What I’ll remember most from this book I think is the humor. One more example below for posterity’s sake, a fragment near the beginning of the book:

Two Jehovah’s Witnesses came to my door when I was seven. They asked me if I was baptized. I answered no, and they told me that was because my parents were atheists. I remember their voices deepened when they said the word “atheists” as if it were an obscenity. Being seven years old, I was inclined to take notice of swear words - so I committed the word to my memory. I spent the next three years calling people atheists, having no clue what it meant, thinking I was a cutting trash-talker.
My teacher gave me an F on a spelling test, and I muttered, “What a freaking atheist.”
Gemma Igmund started a rumor that I was gay, and I confronted her. “Shut your God damn atheist mouth, Gemma.”
My mom made me go to bed early, and I screeched from the top of the stairs that I was living in a family of cold-blooded atheists.

( )

3.5/5 stars ( )

4.5 stars - At 22%, the scene where Gilda attended her first Catholic mass, had me laughing so hard I was in tears! This book is just about perfect. It was funny, and I can totally relate to being too tired/depressed to care about anything. Gilda's dry wit is exactly what I LOVE in a character.

The second half of the book was more dark and less-funny, but I love how everything wrapped up at the end and didn't leave me with any pressing questions!

At first I was put-off by the fact that there were no "Chapters", but instead just "Parts", but it works really well. The excellent writing really makes you feel like you're inside Gilda's head.

The last thing I will mention is that the main character's name isn't revealed until 12%, which I feel is a bit late in the story to just be learning the main character's name, and it isn't really mentioned until 78%, where the story is taking place.

I was SO thrilled to find out that Ms. Austin is a Canadian author!! I will definitely be on the lookout for future books by this author! ( )