In Shari Goldhagen’s latest novel, IN SOME OTHER WORLD, MAYBE, Adam, Oliver, Phoebe and Sharon, all coming of age in the early 1990s, fall in love, grow up, move away from home, pursue careers, fall out of love and then in love again. They all struggle with romantic and platonic relationships and the trappings of adulthood as they weave in and out of each other’s lives.

Growing up, Adam’s aim is to be the good son his young single mother wants him to be. He is a classic overachiever and dreams of Hollywood success. Sharon first reads the Eons & Empires comics as a 12-year-old babysitter, and her obsession with it carries a bit into her adulthood working as a journalist and struggling as a novelist. Phoebe and Oliver were high school sweethearts, but her dreams, like those of Adam, bring her to Hollywood while Oliver studies engineering before taking off for adventures in Alaska. Their lives, nominally connected by Eons & Empires, a comic book turned movie turned television series, intersect over the course of the 20 or so years that pass in the novel. All four see the movie when it comes out in 1992, but Eons & Empires itself seems to mean little to anyone but Sharon and then Adam when he lands a lead role on the series years later.

"There are finely crafted passages here and moments of real insight and clarity. Goldhagen has a knack for developing her characters, which is sure to get even better as her writing career progresses."

Sharon and Adam eventually attain the success they dreamed of, but both suffer much loss and heartbreak. Phoebe and Oliver must come to terms with what they believe they want turning out to be different from what they find actually makes them happy.

IN SOME OTHER WORLD, MAYBE is a clever character study, and the action taking place over the two decades it covers seems secondary. Goldhagen moves briskly from character to character and throws in some narrative perspective changes as she explores the feelings, motivations and responses of those she created. The characters are realistic to the point of not always being sympathetic or likable; they are self-indulgent, self-centered and, at times, totally selfish. Yet they are oddly engaging. Likewise, Goldhagen’s writing is self-indulgent, even gimmicky, but remains oddly engaging.

The tie that binds the characters, at least in the beginning, is Eons & Empires, but Goldhagen never makes a strong case for its importance. The themes in this fictional sci-fi tale could’ve been woven into the novel itself, but it remains just a passing reference only occasionally mentioned, even after Adam comes to star in the television version. It seems a lost opportunity for Goldhagen or an idea that got away from her.

There are finely crafted passages here and moments of real insight and clarity. Goldhagen has a knack for developing her characters, which is sure to get even better as her writing career progresses. In the end, IN SOME OTHER WORLD, MAYBE is full of promise (much like the characters whose story it tells) but never fully realizes that potential.