Agnes

Book 54 of my 2018 Reading Challenge

**I received an ARC of this book from a book convention and would like to thank the author and/or publisher for the opportunity to read and honestly review it**

Agnes by Peter Stamm

Summary (via Goodreads)
"Write a story about me," Agnes said to her lover, "so I know that you think of me." So he started to write the story of everything that had happened to them from the moment they met.
At first, he works with Agnes to create a narrative that is most true to life, but as time passes and he grows more enamored with the narrative he has begun, he continues writing on his own, imagining a future for them after he reaches the present. Happy couples do not necessarily make for compelling reading, and as Agnes sees the unexpected plot he has planned for her, the line between fiction and reality begins to blur. 
 In this unforgettable and haunting novel Stamm incisively examines the power of storytelling to influence thought and behavior, reaching a chilling conclusion.

My Opinion
It started off with a spontaneous, organic idea that seemed innocent enough but I knew from experience that it was not going to go well.  Asking someone to write a story so you know what they think of you is asking for trouble.

I could tell it was translated from a foreign book because it made the distance between Chicago and New York much smaller than it actually is, having the characters travel between the cities for a day or two multiple times in the book.

This may not be a fair assessment since I read an ARC but since I read what I was given, I felt the book itself was similar to the 'book within the book' - filmy, hazy, incomplete, and unfinished.