Jane Is Everywhere

When something terrible happens to Jane’s ex-boyfriend Ben, and she must face his father, Rudy, her life—already a shambles—disintegrates. In this quasi-allegorical novel about the search for refuge in one’s own country, everywhere begins in the mid-1990s as Jane initiates the journey that will take her from New York to Seattle and beyond. As she struggles to stay afloat, butting heads with her best friend and an ever-growing list of roommates, Jane blunders into a cast of unforgettable characters that give and take and leave her with more questions than answers as she wonders how she can regain the home she has lost for good. During the twenty years depicted, Jane’s “reverse migration” becomes a search for stability and roots that leaves her questioning her ability to choose well. Part adventure, part satire, part sociological drama, Jane Is Everywhere explores how a person enmeshed in grief during a time of lattes, laptops, and unanswered phone calls migrates towards an idealized world. Ultimately, the novel looks at the nature of growing up into a “web,” both the World Wide Web and the more ephemeral web that is spun by the mind.