Before Everything by Victoria Redel
Before Everything is a poetic and visceral exploration of friendship, life and death, and how we accept losing someone we can’t imagine life without. At the age of 11, Anna, Molly, Ming, Caroline and Helen decided to name themselves ‘the Old Friends’. Decades later, the Old Friends have witnessed and supported one another through careers, marriage, children, divorce, fame, children and illness. That is, until Anna has had enough. After being diagnosed with cancer again, Anna tells her friends and family: no more; she’s done with treatment.
Redel’s successful weaving of the past with the present deftly explores the continuing relationship between memory and life as it’s lived. The novel’s strongest connection is between Helen and Anna. Their relationship is presented as rocky in the present-day, with Helen the most obviously (and verbally) against Anna’s choice. Moving back and forth in time, the friendship between the two women builds authenticity for the reader through its layers, and its focus on various incidences where they overcame difficult challenges together. Reflecting on these memories, Redel is able to explore both Helen’s anger at Anna for wanting to stop treatment and her hope that they can overcome this challenge, as they have others in their storied past.
The shifting time-frames may initially cause the reader to confuse or forget characters. Yet as the novel progresses, Redel slowly fleshes out the characters, forming a unique and memorable voice for each of them. The time span also allows the characters room to grow and change over the years.
Before Everything is a powerful exploration of friendship, choices, and death. Redel creates immersively real relationships and characters, each shaded with their own positive and negative traits. This novel intertwines dry humour with wisdom and empathy. It artfully explores memory and grief, while sustaining a winning humour and humility throughout. The death of someone we love affects us all, eventually: this novel explores and celebrates these emotional ties in a unique and provoking way.