TO & FRO

In this tale of philosophical and spiritual self-discovery, two girls—one living in a fairy-tale-like world and the other in New York City—share commonalities despite the ways their stories set them apart.

Cohen’s new novel is split into two distinct stories. One follows Ani, who finds her life turned upside down when the Captain, the man who has ostensibly been looking after her, leaves the grounds of his home without any coherent explanation. Determined to find him and bring him back, Ani leaves as well, with only her bicycle and a small, helpless kitten that shouldn’t be away from its mother—and is, on some level, undoubtedly a metaphor for Ani herself—for company. Ani’s journey is a strange and winding odyssey in which she meets a bevy of strange and wise characters and recounts the trauma of her own youth to readers as a story within a story. Meanwhile, in New York City, Annamae Galinsky is dealing with her own trials and tribulations as she navigates young adulthood alongside her mother and older brother, Danny. Deeply lonely despite the companionship she finds in the odd inhabitants of her Manhattan neighborhood, Annamae feels the pull of friendship and a reflection of herself and her struggles, which readers will know to be Ani navigating her own faraway fantasy world. The thing about this novel that will capture the attention and imagination of readers is the original format in which it is told. While Ani and Annamae’s tales can be read in chronological order, it’s noted that the sections can be read in reverse order as well, and the final chapters are printed in columns so that both stories can exist on the same page. It’s a fascinating premise (though better suited to a physical edition of the book), and the result works almost as an artistic Choose Your Own Adventure book.

A slow and muddled coming-of-age tale that relies on its innovative style to carry the day.