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Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter
Released: 2023
Setting: San Francisco, CA, modern day
Genre: Literary, contemporary fiction
Book # for author: 2
Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter book synopsis
Cassie is a woman in her 30s who moved out to San Francisco a year ago for her dream job: a high powered marketing tech combo. But the job demands everything from her, and the higher salary isn’t worth much thanks to the higher cost of living there. The gap between the aimless, disturbed people wandering around the city and the upper class work-obsessed fixed to their devices gets under her skin too. She didn’t know San Francisco was like this! Her love life is confusing too and she might be pregnant (can she raise a child in this city?!) and the issues pile up. But the truth is, as far back as she can remember a black hole has followed her everywhere, growing and shrinking but always there. Will there ever be an answer for Cassie?
Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter review
Ripe was literary fiction at its peak. It was soothing to the black hole we all have hovering near us. Like MYORAR, it’s more of a “no plot, just vibes” book, or you can focus on the plot: the pressures from her job, if her relationship is going anywhere, what will happen with her pregnancy…
Metaphors
Ripe was all about it’s metaphors: particularly the black hole and the pomegranate. They represented the two sides to Cassie’s life: death and life, because as hellish as Cassie’s experience was she did have both in her life. She had real but going-nowhere love from her semi boyfriend, care from her father, a friendship she connected with, some (but not enough) money, and also an impossible job, unbearable work environment, rising prices, inescapable depression and the list goes on. Cassie’s circumstances showed a life that was unrelenting yet still contained real, pure good. One question the book raised was is it worth it and if it is, is it possible to live a life under these conditions?
Inner processes
I loved how Ripe let us in on Cassie’s inner world so much. We saw how her fake self took over when she was stuck in any given situation. This was a blessing and a curse. It bailed her out of situations but having a fake self step in isn’t pleasant. Another question Ripe raised was, which is better? To be real and suffer more or to be disconnected from yourself and suffer less? These are questions we all ask ourselves in life, and the answers often bounce around. I appreciated having these existential questions asked head on in Ripe.
Setting
San Francisco was so interesting to read about. I’ve never been there but after this book I assume it’s like NYC on steroids. Thank you Sarah Rose for calling this dynamic out. It’s crazy that this is happening in the US. I wasn’t sure what the message of the focus on this environment was, but its presence added so much. Maybe it’s that it might seem like there’s a huge disparity between the two groups but really there isn’t.
The ending *spoilers ahead*
As we saw from the ending, ultimately a choice gets made, whether we’re in control of that choice or not. I guess Cassie had more choice earlier on in the process but when she kept choosing without thinking, and silencing herself, free choice got taken away. This showed the importance of being self aware of and not blocking things out for comfort’s sake. I’m not fully sure what the ending meant though. *Spoilers ahead* I took it that she committed suicide probably by jumping in front of an oncoming train but maybe I’m totally off. Whatever the case, Ripe was a masterpiece! See it on Amazon here.
My rating: 9.5/10
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