Vacuum in the Dark
By Jen Beagin
Scribner, January 2020, 240pp.

The Short of It:

This book continually snapped in my face to get my attention. It was unhinged and I kind of loved that about it.

The Rest of It:

Mona cleans houses for a living and she’s seen some things. People who defecate and leave little presents all over their homes for her to find. Soiled sheets (use your imagination). A person can tell a lot about you by the sheets you leave behind. Although she prefers to do her work in an empty house, sometimes her clients show interest or provide additional information to an otherwise confusing personal item.

She knows the bedroom habits of her clients. What’s happening, and what’s not. Her quiet, not adverse reaction to chaos draws people in. Enough so, that clients cross line entering her personal space and become something more. Exactly what, she’s not sure.

Everything has happened to Mona. She’s been raped, more than once but didn’t want to make a big deal of it. She’s been used as a muse for art, exposing her naked body for others to gaze upon and define. She’s had relations with married men and well out in the open. Open relationships should be less confusing. Right?

Although Mona seems to have done it all and doesn’t appear to be the worse for it, she’s suffering from a lack of self-worth and a deep yearning for home, whatever that is. Enter Claire, Mona’s mother who shacked up with some weirdo but has suddenly given up drugs and wants Mona to come for a visit.

Everyone in this novel is flawed beyond belief. They do despicable things and yet, you can’t hate them because of the honest way they just lay it all out. It’s like walking through a door and saying this is who I am, deal with it. Mona and many of these character experience life changing scenarios. Ones that initially confuse but eventually provide clarity.

I’ve been vague about the plot because you have to experience Vacuum in the Dark for yourself. It caught me completely off guard but I loved Beagin’s last book Big Swiss so I dived in.

This was a follow-up to another book but it felt like a standalone.

Read it.

Source: Borrowed
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