Fruit Fly

„None of this means anything. That’s the truth. Beneath it all, beneath everything we spend all our lives creating, are we all like this?“ A one-hit-wonder author, Mallory, is desperate to escape her life and write another book. After she spontaneously downloads the gay dating app Grindr to do some research, she has a chance encounter with Leo, a young addict, looking for his next fix. What follows is a cat-and-mouse of obsession, exploitation and support. I was sceptical at first but the novel really grew into itself over the course. The take on Leo is refreshing - there’s no tragic backstory, no narrative reason for why he turned out to become an addict. Sometimes, that happens. Now, Silver does not shy away from showing the dangers of chem sex and the exhaustion of addiction. Leo is mean and manipulative but he can’t help himself. No worse, Mallory feeds into this with her need to dig deep into some sort of trauma to write her book about. It’s her perspective that took time to grow on me. As her domestic situation unfolds and we start to see the cracks, we can gauge similarities between Mal and Leo that make them end up gravitating towards eachother. The bits I cared about least were the publishing ins and outs. The third act petered out slightly but found a resolution that was satisfying and created a nice narrative loop. While not entirely a fit, I would say ‚Baby Reindeer‘ on Netflix might pair well thematically with this book. Definite recommend.

The writing is incredibly fresh, modern and easy to read. Packed with unexpected twists, the story centers on the dynamic between Mal and Leo, which is equally chaotic as engaging. An enjoyable read that kept me hooked from start to finish.