Leila is a lonely woman in her early 20s. She is smart and resourceful, but when it comes to social skills, or any kind of a social life, she is sorely lacking. Her mother has recently died due to complications from Multiple Sclerosis, and it is clear that she and Leila had a close, almost suffocating relationship. Leila finds solace in an internet site called Red Pill – a forum for philosophical debate and discussion, run by Adrian Dervish. Leila is flattered when Adrian contacts her directly and asks for her help in an unusual project. He has a friend called Tess, who is desperate to commit suicide, but wants to spare her family and friends the pain of dealing with it, so the idea is that Leila will learn all about Tess’s life, history and relationships, and after Tess “checks out,” Leila will maintain an online presence as Tess (updating her Facebook, answering her emails etc.) to keep the truth of Tess’s death from those who know her.
The story is told in flashback, with Leila narrating. Some time has passed since Project Tess (as Leila refers to it), and Leila is now at a commune in Spain, trying to work out what happened to Tess. However, the main bulk of the story revolves around Project Tess, and I don’t want to say too much about the specifics, for fear of revealing spoilers.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and was really drawn into the story. Naturally the idea behind Project Tess seemed ludicrous – how on earth was it going to work long-term? Surely her family would want or expect to see Tess at some point? However, as the story is told from Leila’s point of view, her own solutions for dealing with such problems are explained.
Leila was very well drawn, and I alternated from feeling sympathetic towards her, to being frustrated, and at times incredulous – not at the storyline, but at Leila herself. She is a mass of contradictions – being so naive in some ways, but in other ways perfectly describing situations and people with cringe-inducing bluntness. And she did make me wince, literally so in one particular scene in a bar in Shoreditch, in which I felt totally embarrassed for her.
The book does obviously touch on the subject of someone’s right to die, but is more detailed in its exploration of how people behave online. Near the beginning of the story, Leila talks about how people she went to school with behave on Facebook, and many of things she notes are amusingly familiar. The question of whether it is right to assist, either directly or indirectly, someone who wants to kill themselves, is an obvious theme, although Leila does not question herself with regard to her own beliefs.
I thought the book was beautifully written, and flowed easily. As well as Leila, Tess was also a very believable character, and was brought to life (no pun intended) by both the author, and Leila, posing as Tess. If you like psychological dramas, and don’t mind reading about a cast of largely unlikeable people, then I would definitely recommend this book. It gets five stars from me for sheer enjoyment, and as this is Lottie Moggach’s debut novel, I look forward to reading more by her in future.
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Between the Pages 