Review Narcissi

 

Narcissi: A Novel

By Babette Fraser Hale

Women’s Fiction/ Texas Fiction

Publisher: Winedale Publishing

Publication Date: October 15, 2026

SYNOPSIS

Ten women fall for Cole Burnett, a traveling Texas writer. He is the kind of man whose need for freedom should send lovers running in the opposite direction. But he has a lanky charisma and the gift of listening, rare enough at any time. The women he encounters in Narcissi, a novel-in-stories, find his attention compelling, and they all get hurt, or cause hurt. But hurt is never the whole story.

Each woman brings her own complicated life into her time with Cole, conflicts with husbands, traumas survived, needs postponed, children. And children grow up with questions.

Burnett understands that loneliness compels him toward the women he meets. But none of them seems to reach where the loneliness resides, where whatever’s missing pushes him to keep moving, to find a purpose for his future. Later, after the death threat, traveling becomes a way to stay alive.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Babette Hale is the author of A Wall of Bright Dead Feathers, winner of the 2022 Troncoso Award for debut fiction from the Texas Institute of Letters, and a memoir, This Familiar Heart, about her relationship with her late husband, Leon Hale. In addition to writing fiction, she has been a magazine feature writer, columnist, book editor, publisher and part owner of a bookstore. She lives in Texas and is a member of the Texas Institute of Letters. 

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Narcissi by Babette Fraser Hale is a novel told in linked stories that move amongst the 1980s. The story follows Cole Burnett, a Texas writer who takes to the road after ending his marriage. His need for freedom is juxtaposed by his need for connection which causes him to have these brief but very intense relationships. Although Cole believes he is offering something to the women he ultimately leaves behind, there is realistically a trail of hurt he leaves.

I found Babette’s writing structure for this story to be refreshing, as it is episodic rather than one rigid plot. Although it was interesting to read about Cole and his perspective, what I truly enjoyed was reading the women’s stories. These women are going through their own evolutions, each of their journeys as equally important to the overall story as Cole’s. Narcissi concerns itself with the meaning intimacy, what it means to be “free”, and accountability.

Babette’s writing is definitely observant. She is able to build a scene from everyday details - the food, weather, ordinary surroundings - by connecting those details with what the characters are feeling. We get to read Cole’s thoughts and the perspectives of the women. It is definitely a layered story focused on the entirety of the relationships, and not just what Cole’s view of a relationship is.

To learn more about the book, look for #LSLLNarcissi on your preferred social media platform.

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