Cannibals in Love

In Roberts’s debut novel, Mike finds his way through the America of the early aughts, panicking about love, terrorism, and finding and keeping a job. The chapters jump in time and are largely unfocused. Characters come and go as Mike moves around the country finding work counting lampposts in upstate New York, painting apartments in D.C., babysitting in Portland, and writing spam emails, though his passion is working on his novel about cows, which he describes as an allegory about the Iraq War. The narrative momentarily comes together when a romance emerges between Mike and thinly sketched tomboy Lauren. One of the most frustrating aspects of the novel is that whenever Mike finds himself in trouble, it seems as though his only way to resolve issues is to walk away, which always somehow—miraculously—works for him. The world that Roberts creates is familiar, and Mike’s voice is immediately recognizable. Though at times the writing becomes repetitive, there are shining moments where Roberts’s novel moves seamlessly from humor to heartbreak and back again. (Sept.)