The Imagined Life, a Literary Novel Review
Book cover image from PenguinRandomHouse
Of course I judge a book by its cover. I know it’s wrong, but a pretty cover will lure me in. The Imagined Life by Andrew Porter possesses one of those magical covers that’s not merely beautiful, but reflects equally the gorgeous writing within.
In The Imagined Life, Andrew Porter — the award-winning author of The Theory of Light and Matter and the short story collection The Disappeared — paints the memories of Steven Mills as he travels in search of what happened to his father, a professor who disappeared when Steve was a child.
As Steve gets closer to the truth of his father he examines his own life as it begins to parallel his father’s. All he knows about his father’s disappearance is that it came soon after his tenure was denied.
To make sense of what Steve remembers of that time, he goes on a trip through California to find old links to his father and hopes that if he finds out the truth of what happened, he will be able to get back on track with his life.
Contextualizing the present is important. However, the idea of completely understanding the past to live in the present is a fallacy, and as Steve’s present mirrors what he remembers of his father, he begins to question if the real truth of his father will truly fix anything.
Although there is a mystery at the core of The Imagined Life, this is a novel about nostalgia. The bulk of the story exists in flashbacks of Steve’s SoCal childhood in the early eighties, and all the evidence leading up to his father’s disappearance is buried in the nooks and crannies of Steve’s life at twelve years of age.
Primarily focused on the mystery, Steve recalls his father’s massive pool parties and love for golden age Hollywood. Soundtracked by Stevie Nicks’ voice, Steve’s memories are vivid yet have that film-like blur of the past.
The Imagined Life is character-driven, and despite the mystery, the plot is far from high energy. In fact, the revelation of the truth is almost anti-climactic. However, unlike a lot of literary fiction with character-focused plots, the novel moves at a decent — if not sometimes fast — pace.
When I first picked up the book, I intended to read only the first twenty pages but found myself struggling to put it down at fifty pages. Reading through it, I felt like a kid looking up at all the grown-ups towering over me, and not fully grasping the nuance of the relationships around me.
The Imagined Life became available in April 2025 in both hardback and ebook in stores and across many U.S. libraries. It’s the perfect quick summer read rich in both ambiance and emotion. If you still have any qualms, just look at that cover.
Need more great reads? Check out these other book reviews from our bookworms!
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- Mona at Sea – A Novel Review
- Bernice Runs Away – A Novel Review
- The Boy in the Rain – a Historical Fiction Book Review
- Three Girls From Bronzeville – A Nonfiction Book Review
- Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands, a Fantasy Book Review
Zina Mona
Zina Mona is a writer and student from Texas. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in the Trinity Review and 34 Orchard. She studies literature and economics, but in her free time, she loves watching Audrey Hepburn movies.
Visit her website to read more!
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