Winnowing down a decade of diaries, over a half-million words, Heti has crafted a diaristic arc unlike any other. Instead of revealing highlights of her daily emotional life for the reader to interpret, ALPHABETICAL DIARIES presents a 60,000-word excerpt arranged alphabetically by each sentence’s first word. The passage of time disappears entirely – no longer can the reader find the resolution of crumbling relationships, the evolution of job opportunities, the results of sexual trysts and desires – all that remains is pointillistic moments arrayed with the logic of the alphabet: “A book like a shopping mart, all the selections. A book that only does one thing, one thing at a time.”
(Knopf, 2024)