"You stand in the middle of the small square, thinking about your options." Vendela Vida's (The Lovers) vivid fourth novel, The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty, is surprising in several ways, beginning with its unusual second-person perspective: you are the protagonist.
"You" are a woman traveling alone from Florida to Casablanca, fleeing troubles at home that are only gradually revealed to the reader. What you seek is unclear: a vacation? An escape? But what you find instead is the immediate theft of your passport and wallet--in short, everything you need to travel or return home. This abrupt change in circumstances is terrifying but also strangely freeing.
As the rest of the story unfolds, the unnamed protagonist spontaneously reacts to situations as they present themselves. You accept a passport and wallet that was stolen from another American woman, offered by the Casablanca police in lieu of your own, and take on that woman's identity. You accept an unlikely job offer as the stand-in for a famous American actress. You hang out backstage with Patti Smith, date an older Russian businessman, even undertake a little acting. When circumstances get hectic, however, you are tempted to use your newfound skills in spontaneity and anonymity to disappear again.
The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty is a complex, enigmatic fable about starting over, the nature of identity and the possibility of escaping the past. Vida's meticulous release of details, knowing use of suspense, colorful evocation of Morocco and tantalizing characterization make this a singular, revelatory and deliciously satisfying novel. --Julia Jenkins, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia