This is an odd and disparate story I enjoyed. Eleanor is a PhD student, from a long line of quitters, who with surprising efficiency nearly blows up her life after she drops out of her program and makes a series of choices concerning the research animals in her husband's lab. The story resides at the muddled intersection of grief, disillusionment, and complacency with surprising clarity.

The writing hit my sweet spot. Eleanor is an analytical and dry individual who is curious and not over-explained. My book club did not vibe this book. They needed more insight into why she made the undeniably odd but rather mundane choices she made. But I found her refreshingly honest and subtly fascinating.

Chang starts with Eleanor in 1st person present day, and goes back to her parents' early years in Taiwan using a 3rd person narrative. It was an efficient way to employ a dual timeline with clarity, even when switching back and forth between Eleanor past and present.

This story is very much about grief and coming to terms with a damaging parental relationship. The animal depictions: not entirely benign but I'm also easily triggered and did not consider DNF. It doesn't go where On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous went (does anything?), as Eleanor's analytical narration keeps the focus on her weirdness. I was enthralled to see what she was going to do next. Which is probably why I enjoyed this book. I couldn't have written it.

It ends with a lot of unanswered questions. Her husband almost seems a different man in the beginning than he does at the end. Eleanor remains messy. This isn't about a transformation of character or becoming better, or even failing. I walked away contemplating the mediocrity that permeates life and the drudgery of getting through it. The little things we do to insulate. Buried under the quirky layers of honesty was a willingness to not succeed I found refreshing.