Bestselling young adult novelist Jaclyn Moriarty brings her unfettered imagination and a buoyant sense of humor to Gravity Is the Thing. She explores difficult subjects, such as the loss of a sibling, with a light touch. As Abi accepts an invitation to re-examine her life, readers may laugh, cry and even reflect on their own paths of discovery.
Moriarty soars in this raw, dryly funny adult debut ... Moriarty offers an examination of modern womanhood, a satire of the self-help industry and a searing exploration of unresolved grief ... At its heart, Moriarty's complex and nimble plot serves as a vehicle for a deeper story of the devastating, lifelong trauma caused by a great loss ... Abi relates the exhaustion and isolation of grief in wry but heartrending detail. Redemptive and hopeful, Gravity Is the Thing announces the arrival of a fresh, funny and perceptive voice in adult fiction.
... utterly unique ... Moriarty’s characters are delightfully fun and quirky, with Wilbur’s attempt to carry out his parents’ dream a heartening subplot. Though this book may beg comparison to the suspenseful work of her sisters Liane and Nicole, this Moriarty’s graceful discourse on joy is more likely to please readers of Marian Keyes and Maria Semple.
... packs in all those elements I’ve loved in her fiction for children, layered with emotional and narrative complexity befitting a novel for adults ... a heartbreaking, hopeful, very funny and, yes, possibly magical novel about what to do with the surprises --- both good and bad --- that the world hands us.
Jaclyn Moriarty’s title, Gravity Is the Thing, is a play on words signifying each level of her multifaceted, masterful new work. On one plane (the obvious, plot-driven one), Gravity Is the Thing is about the possibility of human flight. It asks readers to consider: Can humans fly if they believe they can? ... In many ways, Gravity Is the Thing is straightforward existentialist literature. (Or is it magical realism?) In nonlinear and sometimes episodic fashion, the book tells the story of Abi and Robert’s close relationship, his disappearance, their family’s attempts to find him, and their various ways of coping. This storyline arises out of life’s uncertainties, fully illustrates despair, depicts Abi’s frantic attempts at finding meaning in life, and posits being and becoming as self-creating roads to authenticity ... Those who need to connect to characters could quickly lose patience, but Moriarty is always taking us somewhere. Stick with Abi and you’ll be fully absorbed in her family’s story, hopeful for resolution about Robert, and curious about whether these oddballs are really going to fly.
... tender and frank ... With an eye as keen for human idiosyncrasies as Miranda July’s, and a sense of humor as bright and surprising as Maria Semple’s, this is a novel of pure velocity; it sucks the reader into Abi’s problems and her joys in equal, brilliant measure. A complex dissection of the self-help industry, as well as a complete and moving portrait of a difficult, delightful woman, Moriarty proves her adult novels can live up to her YA work’s reputation.
Abigail’s view of the world is filtered through her wry sense of humor, giving Moriarty’s prose (well-honed through years as an award-winning YA writer) a style reminiscent of a Wes Anderson film, so even the most tragic events still carry a tinge of the absurd ... Quirky and beguiling, this witty quest for the truth will delight anyone mending their own broken life.
