The Woman in the Library

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I have read other books within a book that worked well, this I thought was a mess and the letters from Leo just broke up any interest or tension I felt for the story that Hannah was writing. THE AUTHOR: Once upon a time, Sulari Gentill was a corporate lawyer serving as a director on public boards, with only a vague disquiet that there was something else she was meant to do. While I don’t want to say too much more (although other reviews do…beware), I’ll add that this novel serves food for thought on racial equality and pandemics in writing. Racism was also dominating headlines as she wrote, including the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is explored in her Hannah-Leo narrative.

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill | Goodreads

When they discover a woman has been murdered, someone at the table wonders which one of the other three is responsible.Freddy is writing a book and she decides to incorporate these three people into her book, a sort of writing what she sees. This mystery is a story within a story that's fun and playful but knowing too much before you begin might spoil it for you. I’ve never read anything like this novel before in regards to how it was formatted and let me tell you, it was quite refreshing. But it had nothing to do with the case…Leo wasn't a suspect, he didn't give any new information about the case, nothing!

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill Book Review: The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

When Freddie encounters the other three in the library, she morphs into a person whose exterior life is just as intense as her interior life. The parts with Leo were downright boring and increasingly confusing, this didn't work for me at all. Hannah also names another character in the book, Freddie’s friend, neighbor and fellow scholar, Leo). what really ruined the book is the additional plot of someone corresponding with the author of the story (this is a story within a story within a story).

In the primary story, Hannah, the author is based in Australia during Covid and relying on a friend in Boston to fact-check her understanding of the city. Plus, an unbelievable stunt to the writing when you don't know or forget which characters are made up! This thrilling excursion into metafiction from Australian author Gentill ( Crossing the Lines) wittily examines the writing process itself. From the title and blurb I was expecting for most of the book to be based in the library, I was so interested to see how the author would pull that off.