Quantum Girl Theory
Based loosely on the December 1946 disappearance of Paula “Paul” Welden, this novel muses on Paul’s many possible lives after her disappearance, and her efforts to remain undetected. In 1961, drawn by a ‘missing’ poster for a young white girl (confusingly nicknamed Paul), Mary Garrett finds herself in the small-town Jim Crow South, enticed by the hope of temporary food and lodging while she imparts her visions to grieving parents, as she’s done many times before. Danger threatens in the form of a menacing local sheriff as Mary divines too much, including a connection to two missing Black girls.
This is a disturbing book, edgy, raw, a difficult, sometimes frustrating read which is open to interpretation as to context and meaning. Mary is a lost soul, plagued by memories of hers and/or Paul’s previous lives. Although she evokes pity, she is not a sympathetic character and is easy to dislike in a cast of unlikeable people. In her visions Mary sees flashes of family history, often unpleasant, often involving indictments of parents. The novel uses time with abandon, making it hard to keep track of where we are and with whom. The crossover between Mary’s personal memories and those of the missing girls blurs the line between reality and the imaginary. Fortunately, the chapters delineate name, place, and date.
It doesn’t do to overthink the novel, as its maze-like complexity hinders most attempts to unmask its secrets. I could find no fault with the quality of the writing, which overflows with an unrelentingly harsh but profound truthfulness about humanity, but my overall impression is that the author is the only one who knows what is going on. I was left as baffled by the end as I am by the science of quantum physics, and the conclusion provided no satisfactory resolution for me.
