Ruth is alone, unnoticed, and at a loss: her marriage has ended, her daughter is leaving home, and her job is leading nowhere. But luckily Sookie is back in her life-vivid, self-assured Sookie, who never spared the time for Ruth when they were teenagers, but who now seems to want to be friends Ruth is caught up in Sookie's life, she sees that everything is not as Instagrammable as Sookie would have you believe. As the truth about Sookie becomes clearer, so too does the choice Ruth will have to make.
Sharp ... There are quiet novels that attempt to go out in a cacophony of violence and twists. But Lane grants us an ending true to Ruth’s demeanor: unassuming, in possession of a strange and unpleasant power. I can think of few final scenes as barbaric as that of Other People’s Fun, and not a drop of blood is spilled.
Lane explores themes of belonging, self-erasure, and the desperate desire to be seen. The result is sharp, unsettling, and quietly devastating, reminding us how much of our sense of self may be bound up in other people’s fun. A quiet, psychologically astute story that will appeal to readers who enjoy tension built from the smallest moments.
This biting yet entertaining novel shows self-serving, mean women at their subtle worst. It is also a contemporary fable about the role social media plays in the lives of people in a look-at-me world.
