A year into her dream job at a cutthroat Silicon Valley start-up, Cassie finds herself trapped in a corporate nightmare. Between the long hours, toxic bosses, and unethical projects, she also struggles to reconcile the glittering promise of a city where obscene wealth lives alongside abject poverty and suffering. Ivy League grads complain about the snack selection from a conference room with a view of unhoused people bathing in the bay. Start-up burnouts leap into the paths of commuter trains, and men literally set themselves on fire in the streets. Though isolated, Cassie is never alone. From her earliest memory, a miniature black hole has been her constant companion. It feeds on her depression and anxiety, growing or shrinking in relation to her distress. The black hole watches, but it also waits. Its relentless pull draws Cassie ever closer as the world around her unravels.
What seems bright and shiny and filled with promise on the surface is really soaked through with misery, misfortune and pain ... Taking in Etter’s explosive, often grotesque prose in one sitting isn’t for the faint of heart. In a weird way, reading Ripe feels like being hit over the head with a cast-iron frying pan, then willingly going back for more ... Etter’s true-to-life depiction of Cassie’s abortion and its aftermath is worth a gander, too. Her clear-eyed portrayal of the harrowing ordeal serves as a powerful reminder of yet another right we Americans have given up in this post-Roe world — the freedom of choice and equal access to necessary, life-affirming resources.
Absorbing and sharp ... Ripe can feel repetitive...but Etter’s exquisite prose powers the book. There are also moments when one wishes that Cassie might seek more connection with others, might reflect a bit more deeply about those around her. However, Etter doesn’t grant us such easy ways out. Sometimes embracing the darkness is the only way to get through it.
Hopeless ... Surrealist writing, with its disorienting, even anarchic associations, exposes the inherent absurdity of human behavior ... Harrowing ... Encapsulates a profound journey of self-realization and how one confronts the impending shadows of unhappiness ... [A] vivid expression of our contemporary reality.
