Losing Clementine

Ream’s debut kicks off with a brash introduction to brazen artist Clementine Pritchard, who’s fired both her shrink/lover and her well-meaning assistant for the same reason: she’s decided to kill herself in 30 days. Depressed and at odds with her antipsychotic meds, Clementine has no immediate family and no one to care for (except Chuckles the cat). Structured as a countdown, unfolding chapters deliver Clementine’s biting humor and comically methodical approach to undertaking the tidiest suicide possible, including final errands like meeting prospective caretakers for Chuckles and a quick trip to Tijuana for her poison of choice. The narrator’s abrasive attitude toward her ex-husband (she tells him that she’s terminally ill, for starters) and assistant both thwart and illuminate her character. But beyond Clementine’s fresh and witty voice is a genuine survey of the complex emotions that accompany those affected by depression. Ream doesn’t let Clementine shy away from her poor decisions, but she doesn’t let her get away with them either. This novel, spiked with dark humor (“you only die once, right?”) is an entertaining and moody whirlwind. Whether readers love or hate Clementine, they won’t soon forget her. Agent: Barbara Poelle, the Irene Goodman Literary Agency. (Mar.)