The Notebooks

"I'm Allison Ellison-Ellison, and a promise is a promise." In The Spiral Notebooks: The Journal of Allison Ellison-Ellison, a woman narrates her life in Reagan-era Chicago. With echoes of Lawrence Sterne's Tristram Shandy, the novel's diaristic form grants us deep insight into the life and mind of protagonist Allison Ellison-Ellison. In the form of a series of 35 "notebooks", we learn the story of her life, from the...
More Description

"I'm Allison Ellison-Ellison, and a promise is a promise."

In The Spiral Notebooks: The Journal of Allison Ellison-Ellison, a woman narrates
her life in Reagan-era Chicago. With echoes of Lawrence Sterne's Tristram
Shandy, the novel's diaristic form grants us deep insight into the life and mind
of protagonist Allison Ellison-Ellison. In the form of a series of 35 "notebooks",
we learn the story of her life, from the circumstances her Shandyean-esque
conception, to the comedy of errors that lead her to acquire her unfortunate name.

Incorporating diverse content including linguistic theory, Chicago football,
theological debates, and extramarital affairs, these notebooks follow Allison's life
as she faces a series of ethical quandaries. These quandaries confront her at
every stage of her life, on the large and small scale, as she attempts to live, raise a
family, and pursue a career, in a way that aligns with her morals and her
politics.

Erudite, bitingly satirical, yet warmly written, this debut novel ultimately
explores what it means to attempt to live a moral life in the face of constant ethical
dilemmas, as well as the power of a promise and the great lengths one goes to
fulfill it.