The Schrödinger Girl

Brett’s psychedelic and nostalgic debut centers on a professor in the late 1960s and the unraveling of his life. Behavioral psychology professor Garrett Adams has become uninspired by his job; after he meets 16-year-old Daphne at a Manhattan bookstore when both are browsing the same book about quantum physics, the two strike up a friendship. Over the following months, the two explore New York City, but Garrett realizes Daphne is never quite the same person each time he sees her. At first, she seems to be a rebellious high schooler. But after she deserts him in an art gallery, Garrett believes she is the muse of the artist, renowned painter Galen Green. The next time they meet, Daphne is a Vietnam protest organizer. With each encounter coming on Daphne’s terms, the multiple versions of her force Garrett to explore the boundaries of what he thinks of as reality, to reckon with the societal changes roiling the era, and to confront long-buried feelings about his ex-wife and his longing to have a daughter. Brett skillfully depicts self-described “old fuddy-duddy” Garrett as a wry representation of the “silent generation”—kind and thoughtful, but also idealistic, overly protective, secretive, and lost in his own world. Brett’s imaginative, amusing debut will appeal to fans of Nell Zink. (Jan.)