In Kind of, Sort of, Maybe, But Probably Not, Imbi Neeme conjures 1990s Melbourne/Naarm. Phoebe Cotton is 25 years old: she’s single and doesn’t have a driver’s licence. She works as a librarian, a job which almost – but not quite – enables her to escape from the ‘too-loud world’. The cause of this aural escapist attitude is her misophonia: a strong emotional aversion to seemingly innocuous soundscapes.
For Phoebe, the sound of mastication is almost unbearable: from the elastic rasp of gum in the mouth, to the wet grind of apple between teeth, the sound of eating causes her to feel a sense of discomfort and rage. Only her parents know about Phoebe’s condition. Each time they dine together, the Cotton family plays Handel at high volume, drowning out the sound of eating. Neeme’s interrogation of misophonia is an interesting centre point for the novel – a gamble, given how easily Phoebe could have easily become a flat character as a result – while also raising awareness of the experience.
Alongside the apparently mundane daily pressures of her condition, Phoebe starts to receive postcards, ostensibly sent to the wrong address. Written to someone named Elisabeth Winston, and signed, simply, “T”, these missives are clearly the product of clandestine, extramarital desire. The postcards are a mystery that lead Phoebe to Suze. A 90s postgrad goth, Suze is everything Phoebe would like to be, but isn’t.
Together, the two women attempt to trace the source of the postcards, in order to help them reach their intended addressee. This adventure cruises along throughout the scope of Kind of, Sort of, Maybe, But Probably Not, with some fun romantic side-plots, before being saved by an unexpected development at the end of the novel.
Kind of, Sort of, Maybe, But Probably Not is Neeme’s second work of fiction and it provides insight into a life lived with extreme sensitivity to sound, which the author translates to the page with a deft hand.
Read: Book review: Tilda is Visible, Jane Tara
The novel also tackles intergenerational life –particularly the relationships between grandchildren and grandparents – carefully, and with an observant eye.
Kind of, Sort of, Maybe, But Probably Not, Imbi Neeme
Publisher: Viking (Penguin Random House)
ISBN: 9781761341069
Pages: 336pp
Publication Date: 20 February 2024
RRP: $34.99
