A young woman, Jane O, arrives in a psychiatrist's office. She's been suffering a series of worrying episodes: amnesia, premonitions, hallucinations and an inexplicable sense of dread. But as the psychiatrist struggles to solve the mystery of what is happening in Jane's mind, she suddenly goes missing. When she is found a day later, unconscious in a park, she has no memory of what has happened to her.
Are Jane's strange experiences related to the overwhelm of single motherhood, or long-buried trauma from her past? Why is she having visions of a young man who died twenty years ago, who warns her of disaster ahead? Jane's symptoms will lead her psychiatrist to question everything he once thought he knew . . .
Profound and beautifully written, THE STRANGE CASE OF JANE O. is a speculative mystery about memory, identity and fate, a mesmerising story about the bonds of love between a mother and child, a man and a woman, and the haunting, unexplained mysteries of the human mind.
IF THE ONE THING YOU CAN TRUST IS YOUR MEMORY
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FORGET?
A young woman, Jane O., arrives in a psychiatrist's office. She's been suffering a series of worrying episodes: amnesia, premonitions, hallucinations and an inexplicable sense of dread. But as the psychiatrist struggles to solve the mystery of what is happening in Jane's mind, she suddenly goes missing. When she is found a day later, unconscious in a park, she has no memory of what has happened to her.
Are Jane's strange experiences related to the overwhelm of single motherhood, or long-buried trauma from her past? Why is she having visions of a young man who died twenty years ago, who warns her of disaster ahead? Jane's symptoms will lead her psychiatrist to question everything he once thought he knew . . .
Profound and beautifully written, THE STRANGE CASE OF JANE O. is a speculative mystery about memory, identity and fate, a mesmerising story about the bonds of love between a mother and child, a man and a woman, and the haunting, unexplained mysteries of the human mind.
Praise for The Strange Case of Jane O. and Karen Thompson Walker:
'Brilliant and unforgettable . . . at once a metaphysical thriller, a psychological mystery, and a profound love story'
Karen Russell, Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Swamplandia!
'Asks thrilling and vital questions about perception, memory, consciousness, and the limits of our known world . . . The Strange Case of Jane O. is both mind-bending and soul-altering'
Jessamine Chan, New York Times Bestselling author of The School for Good Mothers
'An astonishing novel-a mind-blowing blend of page-turning mystery and deep philosophical inquiry into the nature of memory and reality itself. Karen Thompson Walker has created an unputdownable book with a haunting twist ending I'll be thinking about for a long time'
Angie Kim
'Mesmerizing. This one is tough to shake' Publishers Weekly starred review
'Harrowing, riveting, profoundly moving and beautifully written . . . this book is stunning'
Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven
'A captivating, deeply psychological novel . . . I couldn't put it down'
Lisa Ballantyne, author of The Guilty One
'Beautiful and devastating'
Red
'A mesmerising read'
Psychologies
'Thought-provoking and profound'
Cosmopolitan
'Lyrical and beguiling'
Observer
'This is a profound novel, and a deeply moving one'
Robin Black
'Powerful and moving . . . written with symphonic sweep'
New York Times
'Imaginative, disturbing and ultimately spellbinding'
Vogue
