What We’re Reading: Orion You Came and You Took All My Marbles

Orion You Came and You Took All My Marbles by Kira Henehan (2010)

I. Love. This. Book.

I could start off many of my reviews that way, but I’ve been saving it for this one. Kira Henehan’s novel, Orion You Came and You Took All My Marbles, follows Finley, an investigator who is, well, superbly entertaining and bizarre. 

Finley is investigating a certain Professor Uppal, but she doesn’t really know why she’s been assigned to investigate him or what she’s meant to find. She does know that puppets are involved. Her boss Binelli does nothing but confuse her, as do her fellow investigators The Lamb and Murphy. Her main problem? She can’t remember her past. Slowly, the reader, along with Finley, discovers one vague clue after another about the investigation, and Finley’s forgotten past.

Finley’s narrative voice is halting, unassuming, delightfully curious, and subtly hilarious. The novel is very Bridget Jones-esque in the kooky-yet-lovable narrator’s ability to make me laugh out loud with her internal banter. But don’t pick up this book expecting good ol’ Bridget Jones. Finley has spunk, grit, and passive aggression, all mixed together with a large serving of eccentricity.

This is a book worth a second (or third, or fourth) read. I read this for the first time over a year ago when it first came out, and picked it up again recently. The first time around, I was just following Finley blindly as she wound around and around in her meandering search for her memory and for clues to the case. This was half the fun, believe you me. However, reading it again only added my experience, since I knew what was going on, and could truly engage in the little clues left behind by Henehan, and the depth of detail in the character, plot, and writing.

Henehan lives in New York City, and has been published in many literary magazines, and is also a journalist for GQ. She was a recipient of a Pushcart Prize. This is her debut novel. I can’t wait to read more!

What novels (or otherwise) do you read over and over again, chuckling to yourself every time?