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The Likely World

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( 108 ratings, 25 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
After two decades of addiction to cloud, a drug that erases short-term memory, single mother Mellie struggles to piece together her fractured mind. Supported by a determined sponsor and driven by concern for her medically vulnerable daughter, Mellie battles to maintain her sobriety. On her twenty-ninth day clean, an unexpected visitor reignites her hope, but pursuing this connection threatens both her recovery and her delicate family. Mellie must choose between safety and risking it all to save the woman who first saved her.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in contemporary literary fiction exploring addiction, motherhood, and memory with emotional intensity and innovative storytelling. Suitable for fans of emotionally charged narratives and experimental approaches.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Single mom Mellie has just emerged from a shattering addiction to the memory drug, cloud, when a stranger who may be her baby's father appears with a dangerous agenda.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Twenty years of addiction to cloud, a drug which wipes the user's short-term memory, have left single mum Mellie with her mind in fragments. With the help of a tough-minded sponsor, and motivated by her own medically-challenged daughter, Mellie clings to a fragile sobriety.

Then, on the evening of her twenty-ninth day sober, a stranger pulls into her driveway and her heart surges. However, when Mellie's pursuit of this man and the past they may share threatens her sponsor, Mellie will have to put her tiny family and her recovery at risk in hopes of saving the woman who saved her first.

The Likely World by Melanie Conroy-Goldman offers a gripping exploration of memory, addiction, and redemption in a narrative that pulls readers into the depths of Mellie's struggle.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Peter Ho Davies praises Conroy-Goldman's gritty style, comparing it to David Foster Wallace and Philip K. Dick, highlighting the emotional depth about love and motherhood akin to Rachel Kushner and Claire Vaye Watkins. Mary Gaitskill calls it "bizarre and beautiful," blending cerebral literature with raw storytelling, with a heroine unlike any other. Lidia Yuknavitch emphasises the poignant exploration of addiction, memory, and family, celebrating the book's powerful emotional resonance and innovative narrative.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781597098083

Publisher: Red Hen Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 September 2020

Country: United States

Imprint: Red Hen Press

Illustration: Illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 228.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 368

About the Author

Melanie Conroy-Goldman is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Hobart and William Smith Colleges where she was a founding director of the Trias Residency for Writers, which has hosted such notables as Mary Gaitskill, Lidia Yuknavitch, and Jeff VanderMeer. Her fiction has been published in journals such as Southern Review and StoryQuarterly, in anthologies from Morrow and St. Martin’s, and online at venues such as McSweeney’s. She also volunteers at a maximum security men’s prison with the Cornell Prison Education Program. Her work is represented by Bill Clegg at the Clegg Agency. She lives in Ithaca, New York with her husband, daughter, and step-daughters.

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