Oxford Messed Up is a unique literary love story that transports readers on a meaningful and emotional journey where the academic world of Oxford, the music of Van Morrison, and an old claw-foot bathtub serve as a backdrop for learning, self-discovery, and transcendent love.
Rhodes Scholar Gloria Zimmerman is an academic superstar who has come to Oxford University to study feminist poetry. Yet the rigors of the academy pale in comparison to her untreated Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, fueled by her overachieving parents and manifested in a deathly aversion to germs and human contact.
Her next-door neighbor (who is also, to her mortification, her loomate) is Henry Young, the appealing but underachieving musician son of an overbearing and disapproving Oxford don. Still mourning the death of his supportive mother while enduring the mockery of his disapproving and merciless father, Henry is haunted by the unexpectedly serious ramifications of a reckless and tragic youth.
Gloria and Henry's relationship evolves from a shared obsession with Van Morrison's music into a desire on the part of each to fill in the gaps in the life of the other. Yet the constraints of a debilitating illness and the looming revelation of a catastrophic secret conspire to throw their worlds into upheaval and threaten the possibilities of their unlikely yet redemptive love.


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Released into the Trade Size Paperback Box, I hope it finds a appreciative reader.

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Received in the bookpatch-dancing-dog trade-sized paperback bookbox - thank you!

Differently interesting. I liked that Gloria's OCD was so real to her that it had a name (Oliver) and a very real voice in her head. This gave Gloria a very vulnerable side. I also liked that Henry was equally "messed up" but still likable. I did not expect to like this book as much as I did.

sending this to bookpatch

Thank you for sending this along--it looks like an interesting read.

True confession: For the first couple of chapters, my thought was, "Wow, I didn't realize the Doors were so poetic!" ..and then, eventually--"oh -yeah, hunh, that was Jim Morrison! (heh)" (I imagine author Andrea Kaufman facepalming right about here). Thankfully, you don't have to be a huge Van Morrison fan to be a fan of this book. :-)

I think what I liked best about this story is that it shows that you are not required to be a perfect person in order to be a valuable and valued person. Gloria and Henry are both so broken, yet as they journey together, we see them become enable to enrich each other' s lives and contribute to their academic community as well, despite their flaws. This is good news because we're all broken people in one way or another.

I also found the discussion of the "dead feminist women poets" (Gloria's field of study) interesting, and appreciated that the author had her characters question whether all the investment in these poet's frailty and sadness was a healthy thing. Would their work be as valued if they were happy?

I did not think the epilogue was necessary--the story felt complete to me without it. I did learn a lot about Van Morrison too! Thanks for sharing.

Given to a friend. Enjoy!