There may not be any actual ghosts in Jenn Ashworth's novel “Ghosted” but there are many different kinds of ghosting. The story begins when Laurie's husband Mark vanishes and she fears that he might have simply walked out of their relationship or “ghosted” her. But, alongside the complexity of this fading marriage, the narrative explores in many different ways the tension between presence and absence. There's the question of lineage, the condition of dementia, the loss of a child, the textures and patterns physically left in a house from previous inhabitants, the people who perform labour for us that we never see, the mystery of a murdered local girl, a medium who claims she converses with spirits and an awareness of a looming environmental disaster. The author meaningfully explores the lines between what's known and what's imagined and what we project into reality in order to make sense of or embellish it.
We follow Laurie's point of view in the weeks and months following Mark's disappearance so alongside deeper ideas there's also a tantalizing question about how much we can trust her perspective. She takes a suspiciously long time to report that Mark is missing and easily lies to those closest to him pretending that he's still there. She has a fascination with crime dramas and the reader wonders if she's a fantasist that's had something to do with Mark's disappearance. This makes for a mesmerising tale as well as a subtly moving one. Scenes of domestic drama are shown with refreshingly realistic details which give a sense of how emotional and sexual interactions can be infused with unresolved anger and grief. The language evocatively reflects a Northern English dialect and a point of view not often depicted in fiction. This is richly-involving, multilayered, excellent storytelling.
