By Ella Gill
Some friends we lose. Others we shouldn’t keep returning to and yet… we do. Pulled back by something neither logic nor distance can dissolve. Each time, the years fall away—like you were never apart at all.
Frida Slattery as Herself is a real and tender portrayal of this strange, familiar phenomenon. Author Ana Kinsella explores this experience through the ambition and connection of two aspiring creative minds, who navigate the struggles of “making it” in the theatre industry.
Frida and John’s collaboration during their creative process are the most intriguing and enjoyable moments of the novel—a big part of what makes their dynamic so immersive is their contrasting personalities. Driven by her heart, Frida is spontaneous but also dwells in self-doubt. John, on the other hand, is methodical and fastidious. He builds his confidence brick by brick; he trusts the plan over instinct. John calculates where Frida jumps. It is precisely this friction that gives their collaboration such vitality; one extracts something from the other that would have never surfaced otherwise.
Kinsella’s unwillingness to let the relationship stagnate is what elevates the book beyond a straightforward “will-they-won’t-they” rom-com. Frida and John drift, collide, and drift again over the course of fifteen years and several cities. They go through different partners, projects, and incarnations of themselves, and each time they return, they are both somewhat altered, and somehow precisely where they left off. It’s a study of human connection—more than just a love story. After all, what keeps two individuals coming back after reason dictates that they ought to be apart?
Frida Slattery as Herself isn’t really questioning if Frida and John end up together by the last few pages. It’s a more subdued and universal question: why do we continue to turn to the people who helped define who we are, even when doing so comes at a cost? Kinsella provides no simple answers, and the novel is better for it. Instead, she brings awareness to the loneliness of ambition and the peculiar intimacy of teamwork. Most importantly, it’s about the unique pain of falling in love with someone who came at the wrong, or perhaps the right, time of your life.
