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The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker

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The Strange Case of Jane O.

Publisher
Manilla Press
Publish Date
24 February 2025
Run Time
8 hours 14 minutes
Format
Audiobook
Rating
5.0 (1 review)

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What to expect

'Moving and unexpected. It lingers in the mind' Guardian
'An extraordinary book' Daily Mail
'Brilliant and unforgettable' Karen Russell
'A tantalising and satisfying mystery' Claire Fuller
'Mind-bending and soul-altering' Jessamine Chan
'Mesmerising' Publisher's Weekly
'An exhilarating and riveting must-read' Kirkus Starred Review
'Heart-expanding . . . inquisitive, brilliantly-crafted' Florence Knapp

WHAT IF YOU COULD REMEMBER EVERYTHING, EXCEPT THE DAY YOU DISAPPEARED?

A young woman, Jane O., arrives in a psychiatrist's office. She's been suffering a series of worrying episodes: amnesia, premonitions, hallucinations and an inexplicable sense of dread. But as the psychiatrist struggles to solve the mystery of what is happening in Jane's mind, she suddenly goes missing. When she is found a day later, unconscious in a park, she has no memory of what has happened to her.

Are Jane's strange experiences related to the overwhelm of single motherhood, or long-buried trauma from her past? Why is she having visions of a young man who died twenty years ago, who warns her of disaster ahead? Jane's symptoms will lead her psychiatrist to question everything he once thought he knew . . .

Profound and beautifully written, THE STRANGE CASE OF JANE O. is a speculative mystery about memory, identity and fate, a mesmerising story about the bonds of love between a mother and child, a man and a woman, and the haunting, unexplained mysteries of the human mind.

Critics Review

  • An extraordinary book. The author takes familiar psychological thriller tropes and throws them up in the air to produce something truly original . . . The flawless storytelling is shared by Jane and Dr Byrd, and produces a narrative that successfully operates on several levels - simultaneously asking questions about the nature of being alive while still being a good old-fashioned page-turner.

    Daily Mail

  • Both moving and unexpected . . . An unusual, involving read. Jane's case is strange indeed; more than that, it lingers in the mind.

    Guardian

  • A mesmerizing tale about the mysteries of the brain, the limits of rationality and the magic of love.

    People Magazine

  • A novel that begins quietly becomes an exhilarating and riveting must-read and then read-again.

    Kirkus starred review

See more reviews
  • An astonishing novel-a mind-blowing blend of page-turning mystery and deep philosophical inquiry into the nature of memory and reality itself. Karen Thompson Walker has created an unputdownable book with a haunting twist ending I'll be thinking about for a long time.

    Angie Kim, New York Times bestselling author of Happiness Falls and Miracle Creek

  • A tantalising and satisfying mystery.

    Claire Fuller

  • Heart-expanding . . . inquisitive, brilliantly-crafted. If you enjoyed Kazuo Ishaguro's Never Let Me Go, Stephen Gosz's non-fiction The Examined Life, or The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks, then I think you'll love this novel.

    Florence Knapp, author of THE NAMES

  • Mesmerising.

    My Weekly

  • Part deep psychological drama, part twisty, sci-fi-laced mystery, this genre-bending tale is like nothing we've read before . . . when Jane disappears, her case ramps up into a true mystery, stacked with genius, jaw-dropping twists . . . By the time Walker had us hunting for Jane throughout NYC through snippets of CCTV footage, we were questioning reality on every level - and loving every minute of it.

    Apple, Best Book of the Month

  • A page-turning mystery that's simultaneously moving and often nail-biting.

    BookPage

  • The Strange Case of Jane O. is a brilliant and unforgettable novel, at once a metaphysical thriller, a psychological mystery, and a profound love story-a book for every haunted heart. I couldn't put it down.

    Karen Russell, Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Swamplandia!

  • In her brilliant and mesmerizing new novel, Karen Thompson Walker invites readers to consider the mystery of the human brain and asks thrilling and vital questions about perception, memory, consciousness, and the limits of our known world. Elegant, propulsive, ingeniously structured, and intellectually rich, The Strange Case of Jane O. is both mind-bending and soul-altering. I loved it.

    Jessamine Chan, NYT Bestselling author of The School for Good Mothers

  • Scenes vibrate with the high-key hopes and anxieties of adolescence, the inherent loneliness of being a person in the world.

    New York Times

  • The mesmerizing latest from Walker (The Age of Miracles) is a fantastical tale of a mother's mysterious visions and memory lapses . . . As [the] tone becomes more confessional, the narrative opens up an alluring vision of how personal history and memory intertwine. This one is tough to shake.

    Starred Review, Publisher’s Weekly

  • A captivating, deeply psychological novel with restrained yet potent characterisations that jump off the page. I couldn't put it down.

    Lisa Ballantyne, author of The Guilty One

  • Stunning. I know I'm going to think about this book for the rest of my life.

    Deborah O' Connor

  • I absolutely loved this astonishing novel. It's so beautifully written, with a central puzzle - elegantly narrated, and deeply, deeply unnerving . . . It's a subtle, eerie and profoundly moving story, truly haunting, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

    Amanda Mason, author of The Wayward Girls

  • What's the nature of memory, of self, of love, of time? The Strange Case of Jane O. reads like a thriller, but challenges your mind and your heart.

    Julie Mae Cohen, author of Bad Men

  • A master of building tension, Walker has written a thought-provoking novel that lingers long after the final page.

    Seattle Times

  • [Karen Thompson Walker] creates what is in effect a case study - both of a young mother, Jane O., and the psychiatrist treating her . . . Dr Henry Byrd tries to find out what's going on in her head, and thereby finds out plenty about himself.

    Brisbane Times

User Reviews

Book 5.0

Narration 5.0

  • 5.0 5.0

    A really interesting, thought provoking read which is ultimately mindbending.
    Exploring, mental illness vs magical thinking vs metaphysics, it put me in philosophical mode, examining life, the universe and everything...

    GardensofPaper 2026-04-27

Details

Author
Karen Thompson Walker
Narrator
Alex Sarrigeorgiou, Jay Myers
Duration
8 hours 14 minutes
Release Date
24 February 2025
ISBN
9781786585059
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Manilla Press
Genre
Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Crime and / or mystery fiction, Thriller / suspense fiction, Speculative fiction, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Narrative theme: health and illness, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss
Rating
5.0(1 review)
Narration
5.0(1 review)

Synopsis

'Moving and unexpected. It lingers in the mind' Guardian'An extraordinary book' Daily Mail'Brilliant and unforgettable' Karen Russell'A tantalising and satisfying mystery' Claire Fuller'Mind-bending and soul-altering' Jessamine Chan'Mesmerising' Publisher's Weekly'An exhilarating and riveting must-read' Kirkus Starred Review'Heart-expanding . . . inquisitive, brilliantly-crafted' Florence KnappWHAT IF YOU COULD REMEMBER EVERYTHING, EXCEPT THE DAY YOU DISAPPEARED?A young woman, Jane O., arrives in a psychiatrist's office. She's been suffering a series of worrying episodes: amnesia, premonitions, hallucinations and an inexplicable sense of dread. But as the psychiatrist struggles to solve the mystery of what is happening in Jane's mind, she suddenly goes missing. When she is found a day later, unconscious in a park, she has no memory of what has happened to her.Are Jane's strange experiences related to the overwhelm of single motherhood, or long-buried trauma from her past? Why is she having visions of a young man who died twenty years ago, who warns her of disaster ahead? Jane's symptoms will lead her psychiatrist to question everything he once thought he knew . . .Profound and beautifully written, THE STRANGE CASE OF JANE O. is a speculative mystery about memory, identity and fate, a mesmerising story about the bonds of love between a mother and child, a man and a woman, and the haunting, unexplained mysteries of the human mind.

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