Book Review: We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler is a memorable, deeply moving novel about a loving family that abruptly breaks its close ties when one of the members is suddenly missing.

The story begins in 1966 when Rosemary Cooke is 22 years old and a college student in Davis, California. Ten years have passed since she last saw her beloved brother, and seventeen years since she last saw her sister, Fern. Rosemary rarely speaks to her parents, and she only goes home to Bloomington, Indiana on Thanksgiving.

Rosemary was five years old when her adopted sister suddenly disappeared, resulting in the family becoming profoundly dysfunctional. The sudden change in family dynamics affects every member. As the story develops, we learn through twists and turns what triggered the upset.

An intricate part of the story involves the concerns of animal experimentation by scientists and laboratories. The author goes into shattering, gruesome detail about the
handling of test animals.

Karen Joy Fowler’s voice in this first-person novel is superb. Her wit and depth of characterization and plot is remarkable. I highly recommend We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves.