Book Review: "The Woman in the Window" by A.J Finn

As you know, I'm a medicated agoraphobe and hypochondriac. I know how it feels to see something and not be believed because everyone thinks 'it's the pills' or 'it's your own mind playing up'. So when I found this novel, I cannot tell you how relatable I found it. The main character is an agoraphobe who has an online community of agoraphobes, like myself. The character does pretty much the same thing I do day by day (except, I don't spy on people) and the main character wants to help other people as well. I thought this book was written especially well because it employed many different relatable qualities of modern life. Also, I feel representation in the fact that the main character is so relevant to my own life. I would like to say a thank you to the author for actually doing their research on this condition and not making assumptions of any kind. It was lovely to read someone like myself going through the same things I have been through concerning the condition. Even though they both came from different places.

The book is about a woman called Dr. Anna Fox - the first name is even similar to mine (weeps in joy). She has separated from her husband and an agoraphobe. She spies on her neighbours from the window of her house and sees a woman in the Russell house get stabbed, her body covered with blood. But when she tries to tell the police, the husband she separated from, her neighbours child and others, nobody believes her. She keeps persisting that she even met this woman, but then again there's nothing. She is online in a chatroom for agoraphobes (I have never read anything more accurate) and explains to a friend about her life. She will never know the huge mistakes she has made along the way and the consequences of these actions. Everyone has been tricked. Every single person is looking in the wrong direction - even Dr. Anna Fox.

Once I finished this book, this terrible joy surged through my body. Again, I had never read a book in which there is a well-researched and well-formed agoraphobic character before and so, I was happy. I was happy that there was actual representation and I felt happy that this was the main character (I've never seen that before). But another thing that I loved about this book is the massive twists in which the character questions her own psychology. Through the doctor that comes to prescribe her pills, I can honestly say that there is a great amount of psychological research that has gone into this book. And as someone who has also taken their 'do not take with alcohol' pills with alcohol, I can say there is a great amount of research that has gone into this book because yes, taking your psyche-medication for agoraphobia does make you hallucinate - would not recommend.

The book is written brilliantly as well because it employs different modernist techniques such as conversations online, phone calls, text messages and very high-intensity conversations, even non-verbal communication. All of these means play a role in the story and none are just there for the sake of making it look ‘modern’. They all have a major role in the way we understand the story and it is basically one of the most brilliant thrillers you will ever read.

In conclusion, apart from me freaking out over the fact that there is a character like me as the main character of the book (and I’m researching around my PhD at the moment too!), I adored this book - again, thank you A.J Finn for doing your great amount of research on our condition in order to make the character an accurate representation of us rather than something stigmatised. As a sufferer of agoraphobia for about ten years, I say thank you.