An absurdist multiverse adventure
Andrew Hunter Murray is a writer and comedian. He is one of the writers and researchers behind the BBC show QI and also cohosts the spinoff podcast, No Such Thing As A Fish, which, since 2014, has released 250 episodes, been downloaded 200 million times, and toured the world. It has also spawned two bestselling books: The Book of the Year and The Book of the Year 2018, as well as a BBC Two series No Such Thing as the News. In his spare time he performs in the Jane Austen–themed improv comedy group Austentatious, which plays in London’s West End and around the UK. The Last Day is his debut novel.
Andrew H. Murray’s, Everything Happens So Much, is a wild story about a disheartened young woman, Esme Good, who is determined to escape her current life by using a drug to explore The Elsewheres—glimpsing alternate versions of her existence throughout the multiverse. It reminded me of Everything, Everywhere, All At Once combined with The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (which I loved).
The concept was intriguing behind the Elsewheres and I loved the idea of accessing the multiverse—a theory that really interests me, and that I’ve enjoyed in other novels like Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. Esme’s current reality was grim so escaping in order to explore other versions of herself hooked me immediately. The scenes were vivid and immersive, but ultimately so absurd that they left me feeling confused. I appreciate a fast pace, and although this story started on the slower side, it quickly ramped up. But it felt like the plot left the character development behind, and I found my mind wandering, not able to connect to Esme the way I wanted to.
The footnotes and narrator’s commentary really threw me off, slowing the pace, and pulling me out of the story. I appreciate the creative choices made by the author but it didn’t work for me in written format. I could imagine it working more for screen and would definitely watch it.
If you want something smart with a sarcastic tone, and plot moving at breakneck speed then pick this up!
Synopsis:
Esme Good is an unremarkable young woman working a dead-end job in an unremarkable city. Her only escape is The Elsewheres: tiny potions that allow you to disappear for fifteen minutes into alternate versions of yourself. Sadly, these only confirm her suspicion that she is, in a cosmic sense, living her worst life.
Then, after a workplace incident that could have happened to anyone, Esme unintentionally becomes the most important person in this―or perhaps any―universe. We don’t have time to get into exactly why this is, but to remedy it, Esme must find an uncharted land and fulfill a prophecy that has been on hold since the dawn of time.
She has spent her whole life trying not to become a main character. Now, a lot of things are about to happen to her: in fact, everything, and so much.
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