The conceit of using a memoir to frame a fictional narrative is not new, but it’s hard to think of an author who deploys the format as intriguingly as award-winning sports journalist Kate Fagan does in her entrancing debut novel, The Three Lives of Cate Kay.
In The Three Lives of Cate Kay’s foreword, readers are informed that the reclusive author of a bestselling trilogy has finally decided to come forward and claim her true identity by sharing her life’s story. While the world may now know her as Cate Kay, she reveals that she was actually born Anne Callahan (known as Annie to her best friend, Amanda), then later changed her name to Cass Ford, before finally adopting her pen name. She warns that the tale she is about to relate is filled with moments of which she’s not proud; nevertheless, she is finally ready to own her truth.
Fagan makes the ambitious choice to share Cate/Cass/Annie’s story as a multi-perspective memoir: Beginning when she was in the fourth grade, Cate’s life is recounted through not only Cate’s own voice, but also the impressions of various individuals whose lives intertwined with hers over the years. The way these independent storylines from disparate points in Cate’s life slowly begin to intersect with one another is magical, sometimes resolving lingering questions and at other times twisting the plot in a startling new direction.
In addition to whiplash-inducing twists, The Three Lives of Cate Kay also packs an emotional punch as Fagan thoughtfully explores complex topics including identity, sexuality, ambition and female friendships. Although the book’s eponymous heroine is a creation of Fagan’s imagination, she is depicted with the nuance and messiness of a real woman. Readers will find that her story is as relatable as it is riveting.
