I’ve never been under any official form of hypnosis- but reading this book is what I imagine it to be like. I opened it and kind of fell inside and could not be pulled out. 

RIPE by Sarah Rose Etter takes us into the dark world and mind of Cassie, in her early 30s, a year into her job at a Silicon Valley start-up. It’s a “dream job” in the illusion she creates for everyone else but really it’s a toxic nightmare that is breaking her down day by day. Even moments with friends and the man she is dating are draining in certain ways.

Cassie is fixated on black holes. This is because she has one of her own that hovers over and around her, feeding on her anxiety and depression. I found this to be such a precise way to illustrate a constant presence of sadness, with an intensity that varies but is always there. 

She’s also preoccupied with the extreme contrast between the wealth and possibility in San Francisco and the suffering and poverty. She simultaneously witnesses both - at work, in her neighborhood, on her commute.

Weaved into the chapters of her soul sucking days in San Francisco are chapters that start with the definition of a word and connected snapshots of Cassie’s memory that give us insight into who she is and what she holds on to. I really enjoyed this structure. 

And if you haven’t guessed, there’s a pomegranate metaphor and multiple moments that give deeper meaning to the singular title word- ripe.

I grabbed a highlighter by page 5 which is its own special kind of buzz for me when reading fiction. The writing is stunning, sharp, revealing. Descriptive without being excessively flowery. Metaphorical without being intimidating.

 📁 Filed under: Mesmerizing binge reads, a reading experience I had no idea I needed.