Book Review: A Fleeting State of Mind by Julia L. Mayer

Book Review: A Fleeting State of Mind

Something that I’ve noticed while reviewing books is that I usually limit myself to certain genres, and as someone who tries to keep an open mind, that’s bad. All I’ve been reading are terrible romance novels or halfway-decent dystopian books, and it feels like so long since I’ve read a book that I actually deem good. Then, I came across a book called A Fleeting State of Mind, via a recommendation from a follower. The book falls into the genre of “realistic fiction”, and has a heavy emphasis on psychology and depression. Normally, I don’t read these types of books, but this time around, I decided, “Why not?” So I sat down, read it from cover to cover, and gave myself some time to think about it. Was A Fleeting State of Mind worth me coming out of my comfort zone, or was it a huge waste of time? Sit back, relax, and read on as I review A Fleeting State of Mind by Julia L. Mayer.

The Setup:

The main character of the book is a therapist named Dr. June Gray, a woman in her thirties who ironically suffers from her own depression and psychological issues. She’s stuck in a static relationship with a robotic man named Phil, and her family isn’t incredibly supportive of her choices in life. Because of this, she lacks self-confidence, and therefore feels unable to do anything about her deadpan existence. The story follows her peregrination from depression as she finds different ways to move on from her old ways, meets new people, and gains more credence in herself.

The Characters:

Characters are always the most important part of stories such as this one. Since there are no huge battles, epidemics to fight, or a fast-moving story, the reader’s only means of investment lie in the characterization and character development. This book not only succeeds in this department, it blew any previous expectations of mine out of the water. I’ve become so used to simple motivations and personalities over time that I forgot about how complex characters are always the most relatable and understandable. Mainly, though, the main protagonist June carries the story, and I’m perfectly okay with that; the story is about her development, after all. As far as main characters go, she’s definitely one of the strongest I’ve seen in quite some time. Her characterization stems from her childhood: her parents favored her brother over her, and because of this she thinks herself to be inferior to others. She suffers from anxiety and thinks rather lowly of herself, which leads to intermittent bouts of depression. She’s trapped in a static relationship with Phi because she believes that she needs him, when in reality all he’s doing is holding her back. When she meets a man named Michael, however, and begins to write about her depression, she begins to change, but not to the point where she solves all her problems as the usual cliché states. She’s still anxious by the end of the book, but she grows to become more open and breaks out of her stale life, even if she only moves a little over an inch away. I also found it fascinating that, because of her career, she is fully aware of every single personality disorder she has, but ironically has no idea of how to fix them. This juxtaposition between the capable psychologist and the problem-ridden sides of June makes her feel very human, giving off the impression that she’s not perfect and just because you know what your problems are doesn’t mean you have the capability of fixing them. I think we’ve all dealt with a problem like this in our lives, right? Like, you know you have to finish your homework, but become so distracted that you forget about it? And every night you keep telling yourself to prioritize homework, but then the cycle just continually repeats itself because you keep on getting distracted? It’s like that, except in June’s case on a more personal level. Sometimes, it takes the intervention of another to help, which leads us to our next character: Michael. While not as complex as June, I still liked him quite a bit because of his supportive nature, and his characterization explains why he is the way he is. The side characters do their jobs, with my favorite side character being Annabelle, one of June’s patients. She serves as the exaggerated and stubborn version of June, who repeats the same mistakes over and over again because of her own anxieties in her life. She was a very interesting character, to say the least. Overall, I think that these characters are extraordinarily well written. Considering how the author is a psychologist herself, I’m glad that she used her knowledge to its fullest extent to create these incredible characters.

The Story:

Firstly, let’s start with the pacing. I thought that the book could be a little slow at times, but for the most part I was never bored while reading it. There were some clichés, like the crazy ex-girlfriend, but given Michael’s characterization as someone who sympathizes with somewhat insane people I didn’t mind it nearly as much as I thought I would. This actually proves why I think clichés can work as long as they’re executed properly, and in this book’s case, it certainly is. The main aspect that I love about this story, however, is how it delves into human interaction and how experiences are what makes you who you are. For example, June’s parents favored her brother and treated June as an inferior, so she grew up with those expectations of herself. The main message of this story appears to be that confidence in yourself is incredibly important to being happy and successful, as shown by multiple characters in the story: those without confidence are depressed and unhappy, while those who are satisfied with themselves are much happier. The book also shows how even the most confident people have their downfalls, though, because not every moment is going to be favorable for them, shown through June’s friend Emily. I love how the book tackles this concept, especially considering how there are so many people who lack confidence in this day and age. Overall, the story is excellent, with fantastic themes and an intriguing display of character interactions.

The Writing Style/Grammatical Errors:

I think that the writing style is very fitting for this story: very dry, straightforward, and filled with interior monologues, but in a good way. It gives the book a personality, which I rather liked. I also thought the way the book felt like a notebook, a very nice touch. There were no bothersome grammatical errors, so there’s nothing to complain about here.

Final Judgment:

This book is fantastic, plan and simple. While I can’t say that I enjoyed every second of it due to its pacing, I can say that from a critical perspective this book is well written, well researched, and is worth the read. I give A Fleeting State of Mind a 4.5 out of 5, and a recommendation to check it out. But, like always, it is up to you to decide your own opinions.

ScoreCard:

The next review will be on a dystopian anime. Here’s the hint: Wah, wah wah wah…wah, wah wah wah…

See you then!