PositiveThe New RepublicGilbert can be mordantly, self‑indictingly funny ... The harrowing quality of this descent is dark catnip for the reader: The more gothic things get, the more gripping the story becomes ... The question is whether Gilbert can pull it off. I’d say mostly yes, because she’s such a likable writer, matched by few in her sprezzatura on the page. Coherence isn’t entirely required when her goofy, self‑deprecating charm is so winning—at any rate it wins me ... Gilbert’s pop feminine style is unlofty to a fault. Perhaps it’s why her invite to the table of canonical American questers and seekers seems to have been lost in the mail ... But then there’s Gilbert’s ingenuous ability to yank you, out of the blue, to surprising uncharted places.
