A mix of fiction and memoir, this dual-book is a really interesting read. In one part, three friends relationship to one another and to two of their romantic partners implodes while someone is quite possibly lying dead in the next apartment over. In the other part. the author reflects on leaving what was in retrospect a horrifying relationship, but was one that she expected to last forever. In both parts, there are reflections on faith, sex, anorexia, friendship, romance, and life as a whole. It's really well-written and completely entrancing.

~ ARC provided by NetGalley ~

I came to this book via Catherine Lacey's fiction; however, "The Mobius Book" poses one of the most interesting blends of reality and fiction that I've ever read before. "The Mobius Book" has two parts that can be read in any order. My journey was through the memoir first and then the fictional section, which I found to be very revealing about the writing process. If done in the other order, I'm sure you'll have a totally other experience. Lacey details the dissolution of a relationship with an unnamed partner, called The Reason, who would gaslight and mistreat Lacey. On the fiction side, Lacey details a night between two friends who are exiting similar difficult relationships. I loved the ways in which Lacey's lived anecdotes appeared in the fictional side of the book, and it made the more atmospheric and ephemeral hallmarks of Lacey's writing feel even more grounded in reality. I highly recommend this book for creatives--it's a masterclass in how our lived experiences can shape and speak through the stories we tell.

I did not get along with the dual perspectives/fiction and nonfiction sides of this book but can appreciate the creative decision! It made me feel a bit disconnected from the text and found myself less interested in the fictional side.

There's something to be said for going in blind. I was surprised and inspired by dividing this book into two parts that bleed into one another. It's the sort of book that might make one want to write.

It's quite emotionally difficult though, so be advised for your own self.

The Möbius Book was an interesting blend of fiction and autobiography, with the choice of reading either half first. I started with the fiction section, but I think I may have preferred to start with the autobiography. There were a lot of links between the halves, and I enjoyed looking for them as I read. The book was well crafted, with great philosophical ideas interwoven throughout.

However, I found this book a little difficult to get through. Although it was deeply personal, I felt disconnected from the story. The characters in the fictional story were rather unlikable, and I found it difficult to relate to their stuggles. Nevertheless, this was a thought-provoking read. I enjoyed the innovative structure and personal elements.

Super, super interesting format. The material was, admittedly, not the kind of thing I would usually be interested in; however, the fact that I was so enthralled by it says a lot about Lacey's abilities as an author.

An extraordinary, singular reading experience from an extraordinary, singular writer. Catherine Lacey is always trying something new, and for me it works, precisely because while experimental and formally inventive, she never loses the sense of humanity.

The Möbius strip in psychology represents intertwined, inseparable dynamics, suggesting that the "inside" and "outside" of the psyche are not separate, but part of the same continuous surface. Thoughts and desires, relationships and language fold into one another. Catherine Lacey taps this with raw emotion in The Möbius Book, a formally inventive hybrid of novella and memoir. If you have a hard copy, you can flip the book over and read either part first. Exploring grief, love, religious faith, and the act of storytelling, the book asks readers to question where one story ends and another begins. I am a fan of Lacey's and enjoy her raw confessional style. But it feels like a private, voyeuristic pleasure, difficult to recommend.

[Thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an opportunity to read and share my opinion of this book.]

This was such a trip. I started with the fiction but now I wonder if it would have been more (or less, honestly) interesting to start with the non-fiction. It felt like finding easter eggs.

A difficult book to review and talk about, as I found I enjoyed the book while I was reading it but whenever I put it down I completely stopped thinking about it, which is unusual for me as a reader. The form split of an initial short story into a memoir was interesting but for me I don't think it really worked all too well as a cohesive book. Though they both had thematic links it just felt very abrupt to me when the novella ended and the memoir began. I suppose perhaps that was the point as the story in both sections is largely about a relationship ending and the place of romantic love in ones life, as well as the loss of faith and the place of God and 'spirituality' in ones life. I personally much preferred the second section of the book, the writing was brilliant and the ideas discussed were interesting. Again though, even within the second section in still felt a little messy in terms of structure and narrative, whether the point of the book was to play with traditional narrative flows or whatever, I didn't quite work for me.

That being said I still enjoyed it, glad I read it, and will continue to read anything and everything Catherine Lacey writes because her brain is incredible and her writing always gives you sometimes to chew on.

(3.5 stars, rounded up)

After reading and enjoying Biography of X I was really intrigued to read The Möbius Book by Catherine Lacey. I loved the unique writing structure of this book! It’s written in two parts; one nonfiction and one fiction which can be read either way with neither being the true start to the story. This book explores relationships, heartbreak, and faith. I think this is a book I want to read again as I read it starting with the nonfiction and I’m curious to read it starting with the fiction. I listened to the audiobook and the two narrators for each section, the author for the nonfiction and Gabra Zackman for the fiction were excellent. I love the format of the physical book as well!

This didn't work for me. I didn't really see the point in smooshing two books into one despite me really wanting it to be interesting. Just genre bending for the sake of genre bending feels silly to me.

Major thanks to NetGalley and FSG for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts:

𝘐𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯? 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘨.
𝘕𝘰.
𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦? 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦?
𝘔𝘦.
𝘈 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦?
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳.
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦? 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥.
𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺, 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵—
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦?
𝘔𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺.

Comedic. Heartfelt. Absurd. Self-referential. Honest. Spiritual. Completely human. Refreshed after this. Inventive and playful, raw and emotional, blending memoir and fiction, tethering between kept-truth and tell-all. What is a writer to do when the emotions are at the hight of their intensity?

One of the most daring books to be published out of 2025 with the literary gossip but also experimental form this takes on. Would really love to have my hands on the physical copy as it’s incredibly interactive. And to each their own with how it will be read as everyone will take on a different experience whether you start with the memoir or the fiction.

Fiction is alive and well. My favorite of the year!!!

My least favorite Lacey work so far, but still consistently compelling and interesting. I think the dual narrative here doesn't quite work together (with the "flipping" way of reading a bit gimmicky) but her writing is so impressive, I kept with it. I prefer Lacey's novels for sure, but this work was still very worthwhile.

This book was, surprisingly, not for me, since I like both autofiction and experimental works. I did prefer the autofictional half of the book, though works about writers divorcing are not usually something I enjoy. But the fictional narrative was entirely unbelievable to me from the moment the protagonist spots the blood under her neighbors door without knocking or calling 911 or anything. It made me examine more closely everything that came after, including the idea that at the end she would be taken in as a suspect to be interrogated rather than as a witness, and that the investigating officer would have time or interest in her philosophical musing in the dead of night on Christmas.

A lovely complement of fiction and non-fiction. Catherine Lacey writes pristine prose, carried along by the story of a relationship breakdown. She processes a new life in anecdotally wonderful company, finding a way through - and a new way of writing. The Mobius Book will sell itself, but I'll happily put it into the hands of anyone who will listen.

I wanted to love this book because I love Catherine Lacey’s prose, but the format of this book didn’t work for me like I wanted.

from beginning to end, this book delighted and confused and challenged and interested and titillated me. it has one big change, between two books of sorts, but somehow it is both ever-changing and always the same. it is about love and the lack of it, and faith, and trust, and violence, and spirituality, and the smallness of the world and its hugeness. it holds so many contradictions and all of them make sense and none of them do. that's my favorite thing about it.

Thanks to NetGalley and FSG for the ARC of this title.

I adored Lacey's last book and was excited by the premise/structure of this one, but the fiction side didn't pop for me, and the non-fiction side was nice in how it echoed the fiction side, but also left me feeling at arm's length, for the most part. It might just be reading this as an e-book? There's something to the flippability of the physical copy of this one that may have been what I was missing here in a more linear e-book format.

I’m obsessed with this book. Both sides are perfect and perfectly paired. I do wish I had read nonfiction first, as I think the fiction side could have cut even deeper. But, reading as I did, we watch story become reality, and that is incredible.