By Faith Smith

“A Novel Obsession” by debut author Caitlin Barasch is a twisty sort of story within a story. It is a first-person narrative of the general fiction genre.

In “A Novel Obsession,” we meet Naomi Ackerman, a 24-year-old New York native and bookseller. She is desperate to write her first novel but just has not found the right story to tell. Ackerman believes the best stories come out of real-life experiences, and she has had moderate success with a couple of short stories, but for that big one, she has nothing. 

Her lack of inspiration begins to change when she meets a guy, Caleb. Ackerman starts to believe that maybe love is possible, and that maybe she is worth loving. 

Throughout this novel, there are flashbacks to Ackerman’s past relationships – some tough experiences involving men, including rape and unprotected sex, which haunt her in her present life.

The writing for the flashbacks was intense. Reading it, you will want to scream at her. These men from the past influence her insecurities about love and self-worth. 

After Ackerman dates Caleb for a while, she finds out that Caleb came to America following an ex-girlfriend, and they are all living just subway stops away from each other in New York City.

Ackerman is an insecure and jealous character, but she is willing to be bold. She becomes obsessed with Caleb’s ex, Rosemary. Not only with Rosemary, but with the idea of stalking Rosemary as a premise for her elusive novel. 

The story unfolds with Ackerman going further and further down a rabbit hole that twists and turns in delightfully crazy ways. Ackerman lies to Caleb and her best friend, and her obsession with Rosemary drives her path of self-destruction into overdrive. 

Ackerman needs to decide how her fiction story will end without ending her real-life fixation. She talks herself into believing that she was only doing it for the fiction, but her obsession has bled into her life with Caleb, and she does not want her friendship or relationship to end. It was inevitable that Ackerman’s whole charade would blow up eventually.

The novel is written in first person, which also suits this specific story very nicely. It puts the reader in Ackerman’s mind; a necessary device as she is not an inherently likable character. 

In terms of character development, Barasch could have developed Ackerman a bit more. As the main character, she should be more understood by the reader. That way, the reader could really dig deeper into why she makes the choices she does. 

The ending is ultimately a disappointment. With how fast it wraps up the story, you may find yourself saying “what?,” and not in a good way. There were so many better ways to draw a conclusion to the story. 

It was fascinating to read about Ackerman and about just how far she was willing to take things while never quite feeling like she really knew what was going on. 

The novel marks a strong debut for Barasch. The plot is fast-moving enough to keep you hooked without feeling rushed. It has a creative premise and lots of tension throughout the story. 

“A Novel Obsession” will make you nauseous at many points. It is a serious lesson, which will remind you that no one is safe online when sharing even the most minute things. An obsessive and possessive stalker novel that would make an awesome movie. 

Image from CaitlinBarasch via Twitter