Caitlin Barasch Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Caitlin Barasch is an American fiction author. She’s a former bookseller and currently works as a writing instructor for adults and teens at Writers Circle.
Caitlin holds an MFA from New York University and BA from Colorado College. Her debut is A Novel Obsession has been featured in more than a dozen publications, including The Forge, Catapult and Hobart

She loves reading about cultural criticism essay collections, short stories, and literary fiction. Caitlin’s hobbies include horse riding, hiking, travelling, bouldering and wandering in New York City. She likes flawed, unhinged and complicated characters that make mistakes.

A Novel Obsession
Naomi Ackerman is a twenty -four -years old bookseller so desperate to write her debut novel. She’s desperate to begin writing but struggles to find the right topic to tell. Naomi believes that great stories come from real-life experiences but hasn’t found one yet. After years of tinder dates, she meets Caleb, a decent man whom she falls in love with.

Caleb is patient, and Naomi finally feels he is the right man for her. After some time of dating, she feels that she can write about love. Things get more interesting when she finds out that Caleb, her boyfriend, has an ex who lives not far from each other in New York City.

Caleb is of Welsh accent and followed his American ex-girlfriend rosemary to New York, but their relationship didn’t make it. After they broke up, Caleb decided to remain in New York, where he eventually met Naomi.

It becomes easier when she finds that she isn’t far away as she earlier thought. However, she feels threatened and intrigued at the same time. Rosemary sounds like an improved version of Naomi on paper and believes that falling in love with the same man means they have something in common.

Naomi is jealous and insecure but is ready to be bold in the whole matter. She becomes obsessed with Rosemary and starts stalking her to write the novel. She develops an interest in her as she gets more ideas on what to write about her.

Naomi is determined to know what they’ve in common and starts following her on social media platforms. She later starts stalking her in real life out of curiosity. Later it leads to a friendship based on pretence. She doesn’t feel like leaving Rosemary alone or stopping writing about her. She not only stalks her but becomes friends with her while lying to Caleb about her obsessive motive by justifying her wrongs.

Their relationship seems to be on a good track, but Naomi’s curiosity sabotages everything.

She doesn’t care about her relationship with Caleb; all she wants is to get a good story out of it. At some point, she gets her relationship with Caleb into problems, but she thinks it’s worth it provided she gets a good story out of it.

Her lies get out of control, finding it hard to keep facts and fiction separate. Naomi uses the people who matter to her to get the novel moving. She doesn’t think of how she might ruin her chance to have a serious relationship with Caleb.

She even becomes her friend under pretence and doesn’t seem to quit it. Naomi can’t stop writing about Rosemary either, as she believes she has found the perfect subject for her novel. Facts and fiction become hard to separate as the lies get out of hand. She starts manipulating important people in Rosemary’s life, including her friends and family, while pursuing her craft.

Could she be ruining her chance of having a successful relationship with Caleb by stalking his ex-girlfriend? The story is addictive and hard to put down once you begin reading.

The novel is an entertaining story of obsession and what it takes to get what one wants. It’s a fast-paced novel that will hook the reader from the beginning to the last page. The premise is interesting.

A Novel Obsession is a story about an unhealthy female friendship featuring a writer who doesn’t know the difference between delusion and reality. There is a lot of tension building as Naomi finds her way into Rosemary’s life.

The dynamics between the two ladies are fascinating, and one wonders whether they’ll have a happy ending. How’ll it work out for her in the end after Rosemary realizes that she has been using her? For the first time, when Naomi is so desperate for love, she can’t help herself but destroy it.

Naomi is a complex, flawed yet sympathetic character. She struggles with loving herself, but the author mainly focuses on her relationship with Caleb and Rosemary. She is still dealing with the trauma she experienced in the past.

Barasch gives the real side of Naomi’s obsessive behavior and the emotional detachment to show she’s a deeply damaged yet compelling young lady. A Novel Obsession is a thrilling debut about people being their best and worst.

The novel vividly portrays human loneliness and longing for affirmation from people. It’s about searching for self and an agonizing quest for artistic redemption. A Novel Obsession is about desire and what it takes to get what one wants in life. It’s a story within a story and will leave you craving for more.

Barasch has the skill of balancing discomfort and empathy while pushing the reader away and then taking them back. The novel takes a thoughtful and sharp depth of obsession, self-sabotage, and curiosity.

The characters are engaging, taking the reader on a roller coaster ride. Caitlin’s writing overflows with intrigue, compassion, and the chaos of identity and life.

Spiral
Ashley has recently graduated from college and currently lives with her mother and brother. She’s so sure that her traumatized mother will take her to a support group where she’ll have to learn about her uncle’s journey into mental illness.

Ashley keeps on wondering if there is anything that stands in her way of meeting the same fate. She decides the only way is to test her sanity. Her behavior becomes more irrational as her experiment unveils the line between reality and delusion, and sanity and insanity become blurred.

The story is told in the first-person point of view to show the character’s brave side. The writing is vivid, giving the necessary information about the intriguing main character.