Book Club: Other People's Clothes

It’s 2008, when Britney Spears makes her first comeback, we start keeping up with the Kardashians, and Amanda Knox is falsely charged with the murder of her roommate. Gossip is fact.

This is where we find Zoe Beech and Hailey Mader, two New York City art school students studying abroad in Berlin in Calla Henkel’s debut novel, Other People’s Clothes. Introverted Zoe is recovering from the unsolved murder of her best friend, while Hailey seeks a type of fame that will outlive her. After the new roommates rent a lavish apartment from American crime writer Beatrice Becks, they begin to make a name for themselves in Berlin — but their legacy may not be what they initially set out for.

Other People’s Clothes offers a unique perspective on self-definition as a woman, especially when navigating a world that doesn’t really care how you feel (only how cool you look). How much do accusations really matter when people judge solely on appearances? Looks become everything in Other People’s Clothes, alongside explorations of queerness, grief, and vulnerability.

— Book Club Member Maya Ernest (@maya.ernest)