The second book for my newly minted ‘she’s not doing okay at all’ Goodreads shelf is Banal Nightmare by Halle Butler.

The story begins with Moddie, fresh from the break-up of a long-term relationship and skirting middle age, she returns to the town where she spent her university years. Her close friend, Nina, and frenemy, Pam, still live there, although their lives are very different now – mortgages, careers, thoughts of having a family dominate conversations. Moddie, once an artist but more recently a grant writer for an arts charity, struggles to fill her empty days and feels unfulfilled and discontented.

She walked for a while, feeling peaceful, happy, and optimistic, and then sat on a bench to warm herself in the sun. She starred vacantly at the coeds, who laughed and screamed, blissfully unaware of what boredom and anguish were to come a mere decade later in their lives. Continue reading →