The Shape of Things to Come - by Maud Casey (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Isabelle, a woman in her thirties without any of the trappings of a grown-up life, has just been fired from her job at a San Francisco phone company. Returning to the midwestern suburb of her childhood, Standardsville, Illinois, she contends with her dating single mother, a neighbor who once appeared on The Honeymooners, and an ex-boyfriend. She also becomes a mystery shopper for a temp agency, posing as a variety of potential tenants for newly built suburban communities to access their exclusive services.

Enchanted by the possiblities of disguise, Isabelle spins a web of lies that keeps the world at a distance until she unearths long-kept secrets that force her to rethink everything she thought she knew.

Review Quotes

"Casey is a stand-up philosopher posing vexing questions about human existence. She's funny, inventive...dazzling narrative dare." -- The New York Times Book Review

"Complex, mature and compelling." -- The Chicago Tribune

"Maud Casey's accomplished first novel, takes up with the endearingly subversive Isabelle . . . -- Elle

"A startling debut. [Casey's] fresh voice emerges like a song that's bound to be a hit." -- Virginia Quarterly Review

"Isabelle is so vivacious that even though she's utterly confused about her future, we know it'll turn out just fine." -- Redbook

"Casey is very good at creating characters who are torn between the strong emotions they experience . . . " -- Ann Beattie

"Casey deftly writes about the struggle out of the tomb, the restoration of sanity, the search for a small peace. -- Mark Richard

"Full of lovely sentences, empathetic characters. This story is as engaging and scintillating as one told by a best friend. -- Darcey Steinke

"Isabelle is a millennial treasure. The journey from child to woman . . . is poignant and funny.". -- Anne Rivers Siddons

"This is a wonderful account of our need to both invent and reinvent ourselves. A deft and generous book. -- Margot Livesey