Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Hero archetypes
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Synopsis
What if your lover left you for, well, nothing? Literally nothing. Particle physicist Alice Coombs and her colleagues are on the cusp of an extraordinary discovery. They have created a void, a hole in the universe, a true nothingness that they have named "Lack." Philip Engstrand, a professor who studies other professors, has made a breakthrough of his own - he now understands how deeply he loves Alice. Lack, though, is no ordinary black hole: It swallows certain things - a pomegranate, argyle socks, mirrored sunglasses - but displays no appetite for a bow tie, an ice ax, or scrambled duck eggs. This is a void that displays the outlines of a personality: a nothingness that, as Philip comes to realize, utterly obsesses his beloved. Alice, it becomes apparent, has fallen out of love with Philip and in love with Lack.
Is As She Climbed Across the Table appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 16 and up.
This philosophical magical realism novel explores adult romantic relationships and existential themes through a comedic absurdist lens. The content is intellectual rather than graphic, dealing with a man's emotional struggle as his partner becomes obsessed with a sentient void.
What to know going in
This book has no graphic violence, mild sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include heartbreak and obsession.
Who'll love this
Mature readers will appreciate this darkly comedic exploration of what happens when love meets the literally unknowable.