The Extremities!
Chronic pain and psychosomatic maladies jar a reporter in Samantha Kimmey’s brooding novel The Extremities!
While Kim, a journalist, reports on a wildfire whose smoke permeates her coastal town, her hands throb with pain, limiting her ability to type. A doctor suggests that she has carpal tunnel syndrome. Kim seeks other explanations, determined to continue working, though both her boyfriend and her boss believe that she needs a break.
Kim, living with invisible pain, wonders if others doubt her. She adapts by using a voice transcription program, tries occupational therapy and acupuncture, and considers ergonomic approaches. Meanwhile, news covering the wildfire, town meetings about disaster preparedness, and local housing buyouts result in a sense of looming catastrophe, one that Kim admits to herself she wouldn’t mind.
Kim is an unreliable narrator, looking back on her choices and documenting her mysterious disorder into her present. Overthinking and absorbing too much input may well be part of her dilemma. Her private distress pairs with work concerns, leading to hyperbolized, self-made tension. Others give her suggestions, including to use a guided workbook for uncovering trauma and a esoteric machine that has surveillance capabilities but could tell Kim more about herself. Focused episodes track her progression through these techniques, but her isolation only builds.
Throughout, Kim ties too much of her self-worth to her job. A late realization prompts her to consider changing. And the unsettling finale hints at a horrifying fusion between Kim’s mind and the pain she sought to resolve.
A fascinating psychological novel in which visceral chronic pain becomes a woman’s excuse for evading her problems, The Extremities! is about the surprising secrets behind personal ailments.
Reviewed by
Karen Rigby
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
