I Fear My Pain Interests You
I Fear My Pain Interests You gives us a woman who is disengaged from existence, experiencing her life as if she was a bystander. The result is a protagonist whose distance renders her almost neutral. Neither unlikable or particularly sympathetic. Neither healed, or, as the story ends, particularly suffering. There is a nihilism in the lack of resolution. When a person who cannot feel is ignored by the world, does her pain cease to exist at all? LaCava doesn’t seem to think so. The novel ends somewhat suddenly. There is a cautious sort of hope in its abruptness. Margot is still here. Things go on.
Chloe Pingeon reviews Stephanie LaCava‘s I Fear My Pain Interests You.