Impossible People

Lyndsey (Girl in the Dark) captures the horror of having one’s chronic illness dismissed by others in her scattershot latest. After Tom Jenkins, a British PhD student in physics, starts experiencing headaches and nausea, he takes part in the psychology department’s study of self-described “reactors,” people who believe they have electromagnetic hypersensitivity. Tom comes to believe that he’s a reactor, too, when he notices the symptoms lift as he spends time away from campus, which has just installed a high-powered Wi-Fi system. After many reactors drop out of the study, Tom and his psychologist friend Kevin band together to report on its problems. When their concerns are brushed under the rug and Tom’s girlfriend dumps him, claiming he’s imagining his condition, he retreats to the countryside and joins a camp of fellow reactors. As he recuperates, he hatches plans for an experiment that will prove what they’re enduring is real. Rigorous discussions between Tom and the others about the scientific method throttle narrative momentum as the plot veers from Tom’s inner turmoil to hints of a far-reaching conspiracy. Still, Lyndsey paints a realistic picture of what it means to cope with a condition that is not recognized as a medical diagnosis, but which still has the power to shape one’s life. It’s a provocative tale. (Self-published)