![]() ![]() Will it bring the healing Vivian craves or spiral her further down into a nervous breakdown? While Johnson’s theme-how unresolved personal traumas can cripple a life-is compelling, her execution is marred by clunky prose that makes it difficult to connect with the story (“There was something about shallow clichéd lyrics combined with a sweeping sonic landscape in the sterile setting of a CVS, Duane Reade, or Walgreens that always moved her in a Don DeLillo way”). A dreaded family reunion in which Vivian’s worst fears are realized drives her to a dramatic decision. A simple subway ride turns into a terrifying adventure in which she’s “besieged by animal fear." Vivian can only relax when she’s smoking weed with her best friend, Jane, who also survived a dysfunctional, abusive family. ![]() Haunted by dark memories of childhood sexual abuse, she holds herself together in a state of hypervigilant awareness of possible male violence. ![]() Outwardly she's cool and professional, but once the incident is resolved successfully, Vivian inwardly crumbles, and we soon learn that she's saddled with deep-rooted emotional problems. ![]() In the midst of consulting with a new client, Vivian calms a troubled teenager who has just slashed a nurse with a knife. A Black Latina lawyer represents patients at a New York psychiatric hospital while struggling with the aftereffects of her own past trauma. ![]()
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