It is cold, and a somewhat desolate winter in 1970′s Copenhagen and that seems to fit our protagonist state of mind perfectly in Judy Sandra’s first published novel, The Metal Girl.
The 25-year old American woman is traveling alone this winter and has secured herself a room in a cheap hotel near the red light district of Copenhagen. She has been recently dumped and downsized, with her new found freedom; she travels to Europe to become a “woman of the world”. Although, she clearly has no idea what that means. She is adrift in the world and in herself. She envisions that she will be a certain type of woman, a modern woman but it is only a vague idea.
She meets a series of interesting characters in her explorations of Copenhagen, such as the mysterious old woman who insists she must see the little mermaid statue, the book’s namesake. She forms attachments to strangers in a window but rejects the advances of friendly Danes. She encounters a Swedish woman named Elizabeth and shares an immediate connection to her.
Elizabeth also seems to be lost and the two identify with each other, claiming “you and I- are the same person.” The American woman wants to cling to Elizabeth, while Elizabeth remains elusive, alternating encouraging and avoiding her friendship.
Sandra gives a matter-of-fact portrayal of a twenty-something woman on the cusp of realizing who she is. Her observations of the locale and the locals are so hyper-real that it feels you may be able to reach out and touch the metal girl, like the protagonist, feel the coldness of the unknown. Sandra weaves the feeling of loneliness in each personal interaction.
This is a short novel but Sandra’s writing easily entices the reader to come in from the cold and stay a while.
The Metal Girl by Judy Sandra was received as a free review copy by Boston Book Bums
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