First-time novelist Neil Abramson is a partner in a Manhattan law firm, married to a veterinarian. He has written a book that centers on a Manhattan lawyer married to a veterinarian. Before you roll your eyes, take pause. Unsaid is told from the point of view of the lawyer's wife, Helena. Who is dead.
Abramson has incorporated a single element of fantasy (the whole work is narrated by Helena's ghost) into a story that otherwise reads very realistically. The technique is effective: Helena has an opinion on matters as the story unfolds and her omniscient presence allows readers to witness different scenes simultaneously.
Helena's brokenhearted husband, David, grieves for his departed wife as he struggles to care for her beloved menagerie of animals, keep his high-powered career and retain his sanity. When a former colleague of Helena's turns to David for help regarding an extremely gifted chimpanzee, it's a pivotal moment that turns the whole story on its ear. David, fueled by the memory of his dead wife's passion for animals, begins a quest to save this unusual chimp from a battery of torturous experiments such as being injected with HIV, operated on without anesthesia and ultimately killed.
Whether or not you've ever had a pet, and regardless of your feelings about animal rights, you'll be fascinated by the insights offered here and moved to tears at the conclusion of this novel. --Natalie Papailiou, author of blog MILF: Mother I'd Like to Friend