Self-Portrait with Nothing

There’s strange and then there’s this bizarre-in-the-best-way, thought-provoking debut. It opens with a missing-person case. The subject is artist Ula Frost, who’s known for A) being reclusive and B) painting portraits that allow another version of the subject to appear from another world. At least, that’s the rumor; there have long been investigations of whether the phenomenon is real, and stories of those who have been found dead with their portrait in tatters nearby, adding a tinge of horror to the rumors. Either way, Ula is now missing, which sets in motion legal proceedings she arranged to give her possessions, including her paintings, to a forensic anthropologist named Pepper Rafferty, who didn’t know Ula and wasn’t expecting this. Now Pepper is the focus of attention from both Ula’s cult-like following and the frightening Everett Group, quasi-corporate thugs who want a particular painting that’s very much not for sale. Pepper, who normally goes through her life quietly wondering if another Pepper in another world likes her husband better and is more satisfied overall, is thrust into danger and science-fiction-tinged partnerships in her quest for a way out of the predicament she’s been dropped into. By the end, readers will have been treated to both a quirky love story and a great philosophical debate (what if you could produce other yous?). In other worlds, there might be other Ettas who are reading longer versions of Pokwatka’s fascinating puzzle, but in this world, I’m so sad this book is over.