Rock, Paper, Scissors

Feeney, Alice. Rock, Paper, Scissors. New York: Flatiron 2021. Print.

First Sentences:

My husband doesn't recognize my face. I feel him staring at me as I drive, and wonder what he sees. Nobody else looks familiar to him either, but it is still strange to think that the man I married wouldn't be able to pick me out in a police lineup.

Description:

I'm a big fan of Alice Feeney's twisty-turny novel, Sometimes I Lie, so was really looking forward to plunging into another of her books, Rock, Paper, Scissors. Well, it was lulu, too, so much so that when I read the last page, I immediately turned to the first pages to start it again, looking with newly-aware eyes at every thought, person, and incident. Not many books will make you do that.

Feeney is the master of the unreliable narrator(s) and edgy circumstances. In Rock, Paper Scissors, husband Adam and wife Amelia have agreed to try to save their marriage with a weekend away at an isolated inn, a converted chapel in the backwoods of Scotland. 

Along with faithful dog, Bob, they suffer a long car trip through a blinding snowstorm and unplowed dirt roads to reach their destination. Constant bickering ensued throughout the drive and memories emerge as the story's narration shifts between each person, unfolding their past lives and personal challenges from vastly differing perspectives.

Sounds like it's going to be a fun weekend, huh? 

To have wasted so much of our lives by not really living them, makes me feel so sad. We weren't always the people we are now, but our memories of the past can make liars of us all.

Add to these two smoldering individuals an environment full of clues that would warn any sane person to get the heck out of there: creepy, dusty living quarters; oddities glimpsed out of the corner of their eyes (or right in front of them); breathy whispers in the dark woods; electrical outages (with no available flashlights, of course); locked and then mysteriously unlocked doors; and, of course, no cell phone coverage. Naturally, a huge snowstorm prevents them from immediately fleeing upon arrival at this freezing spot. 

As they wait in these unwelcoming quarters, the narrators unravel the backstories behind their lives and marriage, although each remembrance is a bit different, tainted by the emotions, desires, and distrust of the other person.

You can feel it when someone you love is lying. What I don't know, yet, is why....

These seemingly rational narrators often do the exact opposite of what any normal person would do. They peer into and enter unnerving spots like the dank wine cellar located in the chapel's crypt. They open the door marked, "Danger. Do Not Enter" and walk right in. They lean on and then almost fall through the tall bell tower's crumbling wall. 

Soon, they begin to realize something very odd is going on besides their unraveling marriage and mounting suspicions about their partner. But don't worry, readers. I'm not one to read or recommend horror stories or slasher tales. Rock, Paper, Scissors, while definitely unnerving and edgy, does not offer a bloodbath, just the impending threat that something unsettling is just about to happen. It's a genuine thriller, one where you constantly say, "Don't go there" and "Don't do that," reading line after line between your fingers that partially cover your eyes.

I cannot reveal any more than this barest of backgrounds to get you absorbed into this tale of sad people trying to figure out what future is best for them, either with the other person or without. The choice to recover their relationship or forget it entirely and start afresh proves a challenge neither seems up to. And the lies continue to flow...

The reason why a person lies is almost always more interesting than the lie itself. My husband shouldn't tell them; he isn't very good at it.  . 

 Happy reading.

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

O'Nan, Stuart. The Odds: A Love Story.   

A couple decides to take all the money they possess and use it all to bet on the future of their marriage -- on one roll of the dice. Win and they stay together; lose and they part. Narrated by each person on their drive to Niagara Falls, a reader will probably sympathize with one person, then reverse opinion after hearing the other side. Their fate is revealed only in the very last sentence. "Wow!" is all I can say.  (previously reviewed here)