Seven Moves by Carol Anshaw

Seven Moves by Carol Anshaw

Mariner Books, 1997

Overview: Chris and her lover Taylor have built a comfortable life for themselves, with a dog, a house, and a mostly solid four-year relationship. Chris works as a psychologist, Taylor as a photographer who is often abroad completing a series of feminist travel guides. But after a seemingly inconsequential argument, Taylor disappears, forcing Chris to reexamine her own life and the picture she has constructed of the woman she loves.

My Reaction: If you are looking for a feel-good, happy-go-lucky love story, this book is not for you. I'll be the first to admit that I struggled at points, trying not to get bogged down in Chris' dark, emotional journey. Sometimes, reading felt like a fast-paced slog through a swamp, like I had to wade through the story as quickly as possible to find some relief on the other side, even if I still ended covered with mud. I think this is exactly what Anshaw, master of the beautifully-written downer, wanted the reader to experience.

Reading Seven Moves was also a little like eavesdropping on someone else's therapy session. Chris is a psychologist, goes to see a psychologist, and does a lot of self- examination. Her moods, up and down, felt real and wholly described, continuously evolving as the novel progressed. Anshaw has a talent for making the most mundane occurrences, like cleaning a flooded basement and taking a shower, significant and interesting, pieces of a larger puzzle. Maybe because I recently read it and it's fresh in my mind, I think Seven Moves has many of the same appeals as Gone Girl by Gilliam Flynn; a person goes missing, and the story draws the reader along by slowly revealing the characters until we are left with a completely transformed picture of them at the novel's conclusion (though Chris and Taylor are certainly not sociopaths along the lines of Nick and Amy, and I felt the author chose the narrative style not so much to trick the reader, but to show the way in which the characters trick themselves). The novel left me feeling emotionally drained, but not in a way that made me regret reading it - a kind of cleansing catharsis.

I have a hard time saying that I liked Seven Moves, but if you feel up to an emotional read, you would be hard-pressed to find a psychological suspense novel that deals with difficult feelings more authentically and compassionately.