"We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves" Summary

Introduction

Imagine waking up one day and realizing your entire childhood has a missing piece—a secret that changes everything you thought you knew about love, family, and yourself. That’s the emotional rollercoaster Karen Joy Fowler invites us on in her acclaimed novel, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. This book isn’t just a family drama; it’s a witty, deeply moving exploration of memory, identity, and what it means to be human. With a narrative voice that’s both sharp and vulnerable, Fowler draws us into a story that’s as surprising as it is profound—perfect for college readers craving thought-provoking fiction and anyone interested in the tangled web of nature versus nurture.

Historical Context

Set primarily in the late 20th century, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves reflects the era’s evolving attitudes toward psychology, animal rights, and family dynamics. The novel’s backdrop includes the 1970s and 1980s, a time when behaviorist psychology and animal research were hot topics in academic and ethical debates. The story’s central premise—raising a chimpanzee as part of a human family—echoes real-life scientific studies like the Kellogg experiment and the famous Nim Chimpsky project, both of which questioned the boundaries between humans and our closest animal relatives.

This historical setting is crucial: it frames the ethical dilemmas the characters face, highlights changing societal values, and invites readers to reflect on our responsibilities toward both family and the animal world. Throughout, Fowler weaves in references to academia, pop culture, and activism, making the novel a lively snapshot of its time.

Brief Synopsis

Plot Overview

At first glance, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves seems like a quirky coming-of-age tale about Rosemary Cooke, an eccentric college student with a fractured family. But just as you start to get comfortable, Fowler drops a bombshell: Rosemary’s “sister” Fern was a chimpanzee, raised alongside her as part of a psychological experiment. When Fern disappears under mysterious circumstances, the family unravels—her brother Lowell runs away, her mother becomes emotionally withdrawn, and Rosemary is left grappling with guilt and confusion.

As the narrative jumps between Rosemary’s childhood and her college years, secrets are slowly revealed. The novel explores how the experiment’s fallout reshapes each family member’s life, ultimately challenging our assumptions about love, loss, and what it means to belong.

Setting

Fowler’s story unfolds in two main locations: Bloomington, Indiana, where the Cooke family lives during the experiment, and Davis, California, where Rosemary attends college. The Midwestern home is a place of both warmth and scientific scrutiny, filled with the chaos of raising two human children and a chimp. The college campus, by contrast, is a space of reinvention and self-discovery, where Rosemary tries to escape her past but finds it’s never far behind.

The atmosphere is a blend of academic rigor and emotional turbulence—a place where philosophical debates spill over into family arguments, and every memory feels both precious and precarious.

Main Characters

Here’s a quick guide to the Cooke family and other key players:

Plot Summary

The Disappearing Sister

Rosemary Cooke starts her story in the middle, as she’s instructed to do in her childhood storytelling classes. We meet her at college, drifting through life, haunted by memories she’s not sure are real. Her brother Lowell has been missing for years, their father is a shell of his former self, and her mother is lost in grief. But it’s Fern—their missing sister—who haunts her the most.

Childhood Chaos and Experimentation

As a child, Rosemary was chatty and wild, always in the thick of things with Fern. The two were inseparable, blurring the line between human and animal—sharing food, toys, and even language. Their home was filled with graduate students observing their every move, as their father’s research aimed to answer big questions about animal cognition and the roots of language.

But as Fern grew older, the experiment’s cracks began to show. Mischief turned into mayhem, and the family’s isolation deepened. One day, Fern was abruptly sent away. No explanation, no goodbye. Rosemary’s world shattered.

College Years and Secrets Unearthed

Years later, Rosemary is adrift at college, keeping her past a secret. She meets Harlow, a whirlwind of chaos who drags her into trouble—and, ultimately, toward self-discovery. When Lowell resurfaces, he’s an animal rights fugitive, obsessed with finding Fern and exposing the truth behind her disappearance.

Rosemary is forced to confront the reality of her childhood: the ethical murkiness of the experiment, her parents’ complicity, and her own complicity in Fern’s fate. Through reunions, confrontations, and confessions, the Cooke family’s story comes full circle—offering both heartbreak and hope.

Themes and Motifs

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves brims with big questions and recurring motifs. Here’s a look at the heart of the novel:

Literary Techniques and Style

Karen Joy Fowler’s writing is a masterclass in narrative playfulness and emotional depth:

• Unreliable Narrator: Rosemary tells her story out of order, withholding key information to mimic the fragmentation of memory. This draws the reader into her confusion and pain.
• Nonlinear Structure: The timeline jumps between past and present, childhood and adulthood, keeping readers on their toes.
• Humor and Irony: Despite the heavy subject matter, the novel sparkles with wit—Fowler isn’t afraid to poke fun at academic jargon or the absurdities of family life.
• Symbolism: Fern’s presence (and absence) operates on multiple levels—as beloved sister, ethical dilemma, and lost innocence.
• Realism and Surrealism: The detailed psychological portraits are grounded in reality, but the premise (a chimp as a sister) adds a surreal, thought-experiment quality.

Author’s Background

Karen Joy Fowler is a celebrated American novelist and short story writer, best known for blending speculative fiction with literary realism. Before writing We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, she gained acclaim for works like The Jane Austen Book Club and numerous short stories.

Fowler’s fascination with psychology, animal behavior, and social dynamics shines through in this novel. She draws inspiration from real-life animal research, particularly experiments with chimpanzees and language acquisition. Her distinctive style—mixing humor with heartbreak, science with story—has earned her numerous awards, including the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.

Fowler’s legacy is her ability to make readers question their assumptions, laugh at life’s absurdities, and empathize with even the most unconventional characters.

Key Takeaways

• Memory is unreliable: Our recollections are shaped by trauma, guilt, and love.
• Family isn’t just blood: The bonds we form can transcend species and defy convention.
• Ethics matter: Scientific curiosity must be balanced with compassion and responsibility.
• Loss shapes us: Grief can fracture or forge deeper connections.
• Humor heals: Even in the darkest moments, laughter can offer relief and perspective.

Reader's Takeaway

Reading We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves is an emotional and intellectual adventure. You’ll find yourself questioning the boundaries between human and animal, reconsidering what family means, and marveling at the complexity of memory. Fowler’s blend of humor and heartbreak delivers both catharsis and insight—perfect for anyone navigating the messiness of growing up or the ambiguities of ethical choices.

Expect to be moved, challenged, and maybe even a bit unsettled—this novel lingers long after the final page.

Conclusion

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves isn’t just a story about a girl and her chimpanzee sister. It’s a powerful meditation on memory, identity, and the messy, beautiful business of being human. Karen Joy Fowler’s novel is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking, making it a must-read for students, lecturers, and anyone looking for fiction that sparks both laughter and reflection.

If you’re ready for a book that will surprise you, challenge your assumptions, and leave you emotionally richer, don’t miss this one. Dive in—and prepare to see your own life, and the world around you, just a little bit differently.