Open Me

Written by Lisa Locascio

Narrated by Stina Nielsen

“Locascio’s story of a young American abroad is unflinching in its portrayal of sex, desire, racism, and the excitement and confusion of youth. Infused with erotics and politics, this is a novel that will haunt you.”―Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer

Roxana Olsen has always dreamed of going to Paris, and after high school graduation finally plans to travel there on a study abroad program―a welcome reprieve from the bruising fallout of her parents’ divorce. But a logistical mix-up brings Roxana to Copenhagen instead, where she’s picked up at the airport by Søren, a twenty-eight year old guide who is meant to be her steward. Instantly drawn to one another, Roxana and Søren’s relationship turns romantic, and when he asks Roxana to accompany him to a small coastal town for the rest of the summer, she doesn’t hesitate to accept. There, Roxana’s world narrows and expands as she experiences fantasy, ritual, and the pleasures of her body, a thrilling realm of erotic and domestic bliss. Seduced by this newfound connection, Roxana doesn’t object when Søren requests that she spend her days alone in the apartment while he goes to the library to work.

As their relationship deepens, Søren’s temperament darkens, and Roxana finds herself increasingly drawn to a local outsider, Zlatan, whom she learns is a Muslim refugee from the Bosnian War. The cycle of awakenings sparked by these two relationships challenge and open Roxana in ways she never imagined.

A coming-of-age like no other, from a magnetic new voice in fiction, Open Me is a daringly original and darkly compelling portrait of a young woman discovering her power, her sex, and her voice; and a propulsive exploration of estrangement and what it means to belong.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Mar 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9781721336005

Lisa Locascio

Lisa Locascio’s work has been published in The Believer, Salon, n+1, Bookforum, Tin House, American Short Fiction, The Los Angeles Review of Books and elsewhere. She is co-publisher of Joyland and editor of 7x7LA. Open Me is her first novel.

Reviews for Open Me

[Calen Brandt · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like this. There were parts that I liked, but it felt like the author held back on the story. I couldn't get into the story, but stuck it out because it is the first book I've ever read about a Danish person/setting. I love Denmark and Danish people so hearing about their faults just didn't align with my personal experiences. I also wanted to know how she would leave Søren but again was very disappointed by it.

[theampersand · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As a work of literature, "Open Me" falls short on a number of fronts. American tourists aren't exactly the most worldly travelers, but Roxana, the novel's main character, is so naive that she badly strained my credulity. While I realize that a lot of gap-year tourists, by definition, haven't seen a lot of the world, I would expect a girl from the Chicago suburbs to be familiar with the concept of a bike lane, which, in this novel's first few pages, Roxana doesn't seem to be. While the author tries hard to establish a backstory for her, I can't say that there's all that much to Roxana, and the fact that much of "Open Me" takes place in anonymous, tightly circumscribed spaces doesn't always do much to help her character development along. The fact that at various points throughout the book Locascio gives in to her tendency to overwrite doesn't help things either. So far, so terrible, but there is a reason to read this one, and it's the sex. While it's not a good novel, it works pretty well as a portrait of female desire and a chronicle of sexual yearning and satisfaction. Locascio is, quite frankly, a better writer of sex scenes than of more respectable prose: she carefully threads the needle between bodice-ripping sensuality and cool matter-of-factness here. Roxana's desire comes across as achingly believable, and the sexual encounters described are both undeniably physical and emotionally liberating -- a difficult balance to strike. It's also nice that the author is smart enough to not make this one of those books were a more experienced man teaches some young ingenue about the joys of love-making. Roxana's almost completely sexually inexperienced when the book starts, but she's also honest enough with herself -- and with the reader -- to give us admirably complete picture of what turns her, how much she enjoys feeling her own sexuality mature, and how painfully she comes to need sexual contact. Seen in the best possible light, "Open Me" is a story of a young woman growing into her sexual self, if sometimes painfully. It's interesting to see how much our main character's sexual identity develops when she's by herself. To give credit where it's due, it's been a while since I read a novel where a character's body seemed so completely inhabited as Roxana's does here. Of course, I think that the author might be trying to make an argument that the kind of functional, well-regulated society that Denmark is described as isn't really enough to sate our more profound needs. As another reviewer mentioned, this political angle isn't done all that well, and it's not that much fun to watch Roxana hang out in nice, clean apartments furnished with fashionably minimalist furniture, even if the sex scenes that sometimes take place are written with real inventiveness and verve. "Open Me" isn't a completely unsuccessful exercise, but the good bits -- and what else are we going to call them? -- occur too infrequently to make this one really recommendable.