Contents May Have Shifted: A Novel [Hardcover]

Pam Houston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2012

Heart-stopping prose and crackling observations on a spiritual journey toward a life rich in love and freedom.

Stuck in a dead-end relationship, this fearless narrator leaves her metaphorical baggage behind and finds a comfort zone in the air, “feeling safest with one plane ticket in her hand and another in her underwear drawer.” She flies around the world, finding reasons to love life in dozens of far-flung places from Alaska to Bhutan. Along the way she weathers unplanned losses of altitude, air pressure, and landing gear. With the help of a squad of loyal, funny, wise friends and massage therapists, she learns to sort truth from self-deception, self-involvement from self-possession.

At last, having found a new partner “who loves Don DeLillo and the NHL” and a daughter “who needs you to teach her to dive and to laugh at herself”—not to mention two dogs and two horses—“staying home becomes more of an option. Maybe.”

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Houston’s latest novel finds Pam, the intrepid narrator, shuttling the world over, from Alaska to Tunisia, from Bhutan to Newfoundland, searching for authenticity, drinking up life, and maybe, just maybe, fleeing from a little conflict. As Pam first wrestles with a stagnant relationship, then enters a more promising (but arguably not easier) one, she philosophizes with girlfriends, mystics, and old lovers on all of life’s usual questions in a refreshingly witty and bold manner. The novel’s nonlinear plot builds meaning associatively through 144 minisections, each set in a new global location, enchanting the reader with unexplained characters and backstory. While a less-skilled writer would falter with this disjointed technique, Houston, in controlled, elegant prose, imbues each pithy chapter with unifying lyricism. As the flight attendant says after a plane experiencing fuel-system failure successfully lands, If your contents haven’t shifted, you must be carrying lead weights. Unapologetic and empowering, Houston’s book hammers home the idea that if you don’t have problems, you probably aren’t living. Or, to use her metaphor, we all have baggage, so we might as well get used to traveling with it. --Katharine Fronk

Review

“Starred review. Unapologetic and empowering, Houston’s book hammers home the idea that if you don’t have problems, you probably aren’t living. Or, to use her metaphor, we all have baggage, so we might as well get used to traveling with it.” (Katharine Fronk - Booklist )

“...[Houston] has...concocted a tale so vivid, intricate, and intimate that it puts high-def TV to shame...” (Natasha Clark - Elle Magazine )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (February 6, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393082652
• ISBN-13: 978-0393082654
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1.1 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #366,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Journey Well Worth It February 11, 2012

By Reads, Writes, Runs

Format:Hardcover

Pam Houston is a master of both form and content - not an easy feat to say the least. Often the writers who push form sacrifice (many times knowingly) emotion. The journey Houston takes us on - from Madison, WI to Ksar Ouled Soultane, Tunisia and everywhere in between - add up at the end in a satisfying take on what its like to admit your worst fears and insecurities aloud (to yourself and to your friends), invite them on every journey (they're coming with you anyway) and ultimately make them your best traveling companion.

The narrative shifts back, forth and sideways, both in location and time, which felt both fresh and familiar to me and at the end I understood why. Isn't this how we actually live our lives?

I've been a fan since Cowboys and this new book did not disappoint. It feels like Cowboys in a way, something that is going to get people talking about life, love, friendship and truth in interesting ways.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Who's up for an adventure? February 22, 2012

By Cara

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I eagerly waited for this book to hit the bookshelves, or better yet, my Kindle. I almost wished I would have purchased the actual book, however, because whomever has had the misfortune (or good fortune) to have been near me while reading it, was forced to listen to wherever I happened to be in the book and I wanted to force the book on them, make then take it home and read it, too. Pam Houston is a master at pulling you in and then dragging you all over the planet. Literally. You never know where you are going to end up next and that is the beauty of the book. If you want a book that offers a basic plot and then ties it all up with a neat little bow at the end, then grab a Harlequin (not that there's anything wrong with that). If you want to laugh out loud, feel scared, anxious, excited, sad, elated...whatever...read this book. It runs through the entire gamut of emotions. It will pull you in and you will be disappointed when it ends because even though Pam is finished with us for now, you'll wish she wasn't and you'll be left clamoring for more. If that happens, just read it again!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Content may have shifted April 8, 2012

By Story Circle Book Reviews

Format:Hardcover

In Contents May Have Shifted, Pam Houston invites the reader into her intimate circle of friends and takes us along on a wild ride to Ireland, Canada, Bhutan, Argentina, many US destinations, home bases of California and Colorado and more. We learn about her (often) difficult relationships with men and the constant support from her (often) wise friends.

This is a book about relationships and support, love and spiritual growth and especially travel. I found Houston's remarks about difficult situations and ever entertaining travel guides (entertaining, whether they mean to be or not) shifting between hilarious and enlightening. I often observed that what she voiced or thought was close to what my own reaction would have been.

Some readers might be disconcerted by Houston's jumps from California to Bhutan to Alaska and back again. But once I found the rhythm, I decided that this is what life is really like. We don't finish every story we tell or live all at once.

Pam Houston has written a marvelous book, both poignant and funny.

by Judith Helburn
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women