Book
The strange case of Jane O. : a novel / Karen Thompson Walker.
"A woman born with perfect memory suddenly develops a series of eerie psychological symptoms--blackouts, hallucinations, premonitions, an inexplicable sense of dread. It is the first year after her child is born, and she and her untraditional psychiatrist struggle to solve the mystery of what is happening to Jane, to her mind. Then Jane suddenly goes missing and is found a day later lying unconscious in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, with no memory of her missing hours. A police detective becomes suspicious of Jane, and begins to track her, convinced that Jane is lying. What happened to Jane, and what do these peculiar experiences, including in something called a fugue state, have to do with a hallucination Jane has about a young man she knew twenty years ago, who warns her of a disaster ahead? The extraordinary mystery behind Jane's symptoms leads the forward-thinking young Dr. Byrd to reassess everything he thought he knew about Jane, the mind, psychology, and reality, including the events of his own life. This stunning novel is a provocative literary puzzle about memory, identity, consciousness, and the tender bonds of love between people, as well as a celebration of the gymnastic capabilities and the unexplained nature of the human mind"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781984853943 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 275 pages ; 25 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Random House, [2025]
- Copyright: ©2025
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Memory > Fiction. Mothers > Fiction. Physician and patient > Fiction. Psychiatrists > Fiction. Psychology > Fiction. |
| Genre: | Psychological fiction. Novels. |
Available copies
- 0 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cookstown Branch | FIC Walke | 31681010407898 | FICTION | Checked out | 01/07/2026 |
- Baker & Taylor
After giving birth, Jane experiences amnesia, hallucinations, and premonitions, leading to her sudden disappearance and a subsequent episode of dissociative fugue; her psychiatrist investigates the links between her struggles and a traumatic past, he grapples with questions of memory and reality, while a ghostly figure warns of impending disaster. - Random House, Inc.
In this spellbinding and provocative novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Age of Miracles, a young mother is struck by sudden and puzzling psychological symptoms that illuminate the mysterious dimensions of the human mindâand of love.
A Belletrist Book Club Pick
A year after her child is born, Jane suffers a series of strange episodes: amnesia, premonitions, hallucinations, and an inexplicable sense of dread. Three days after her first visit to a psychiatrist, Jane suddenly goes missing. A day later she is found unconscious in Brooklynâs Prospect Park, in the midst of what seems to be an episode of dissociative fugue; when she comes to, she has no memory of what has happened to her.
Are Janeâs strange experiences the result of being overwhelmed by motherhood, or are they manifestations of a long-buried trauma from her past? Why is she having visions of a young man who died twenty years ago and who warns her of a disaster ahead? Janeâs symptoms lead her psychiatrist ever deeper into the farthest reaches of her mind and cause him to question everything he thinks he knows about so-called realityâincluding events in his own life.
Karen Thompson Walkerâs profound and beautifully written novel is both a speculative mystery about memory, identity, and fate and a mesmerizing literary puzzle about the bonds of loveâbetween mother and child, between a man and a woman, and among those weâve lost but who may still be among us.
