Our Song

I’ve been a fan of Anna Carey for a while, specifically her work on the unhinged fever dream podcast, Double Love, in which she explores the strange and terrifying world of Sweet Valley, book by book, with her co-host Karyn Moynihan. I’m now ready to inhale the Anna Carey literary back-catalogue.

I am living for the 2000s nostalgia in this book. My own memories of this era are quite different because I was a child and was not cool enough to be in a band – then or at any other time – so living vicariously through Laura, cool at all points of her life, felt like I could be cool and musical by association.

Our Song has the same vintage (sorry guys, the 2000s really are vintage now) magic as The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue, but without the bleak feeling that sometimes pervades that narrative, and has the class-dissection and Trinity College setting of Normal People without the clinical depression vibes. Even though Our Song is a romance, it doesn’t feel fluffy. The plot is very substantial and touches on serious topics (hello, endometriosis – fancy seeing you here), but without ever feeling heavy. A fine line to walk – Anna Carey is so talented.

I read this book on vacation, and it was the vibe I was looking for. There is plenty in this book – health, class, money, and toxic relationship dynamics – to exercise serious thought and reflection, but still light enough that I didn’t feel like I was having to work on my precious vacation.