Ida

How do people decide on a path, and find the drive to pursue what they want?

Ida struggles more than other twentysomethings to work this out. She can shift between parallel universes, allowing her to follow alternative paths.

One day Ida sees a shadowy, see-through doppelganger of herself on the train. She starts to wonder if she's actually in control of her ability, and whether there are effects far beyond what she's considered.

How can she know, anyway, whether one universe is ultimately better than another? And what if the continual shifting causes her to lose what is most important to her, just as she's discovering what that is, and she can never find her way back?

Ida is an intelligent, diverse and entertaining novel that explores love, loss and longing, and speaks to the condition of an array of overwhelming, and often illusory, choices.

About the Author

Alison Evans writes about people who don’t know what they want, relationships and Melbourne. They are co-editor of Concrete Queers, a maker of zines and a lover of bad movies. Their work has been published in various Australian and international magazines, lit journals and zines.

Review by Emily Meredith

Ida perfectly encompasses that in-between feeling you get when you’re not sure what your next step will be.

Ida, the titular character, has just finished school and isn’t sure what direction to go in. She’s just surviving, but sometimes she isn’t – near-death experiences seem to follow her. Luckily, she can jump backwards in time and change her choices. But lately, this power hasn’t been working right…and suddenly, a government official is taking a keen interest in Ida.

With an incredibly diverse cast of characters, Alison Evans has written a marvellous story about a difficult time in a young adult’s life and identity. My only complaint – I wanted more!