In late 2024, an unnamed British author living in Paris is working on an essay about Gertrude Stein, a prominent modernist writer and art collector known for her experimental style and influential role in early 20th-century literary and artistic circles. The author, however, has been sidetracked by a peculiar situation involving her friend Eva, who is searching for her cat—named "it" in lowercase, a choice that has led to confusion about whether Eva has lost her cat or her sense of clarity. To ease the confusion, another friend, Fanny, has rechristened the cat "Bob," simplifying the discussions among their group. Gertrude Stein, born in Pennsylvania, was a key figure in the modernist movement and was famously painted by Pablo Picasso. She was also closely associated with writers like Ernest Hemingway and was known for her stream-of-consciousness writing style, which influenced many later authors, including James Joyce. While Stein’s work gained commercial success later in life, particularly with The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, a biography of her partner, it was one of her more accessible works compared to her more abstract and challenging prose. The author admires Stein’s innovation but also finds her writing frustrating at times, noting, "Sometimes, when I read her baffling and beguiling writing, I want to smack it in the chops. [Stein] longed for her readers to find her, yet there was a part of her that could not bear to be found." The author’s reflections are woven into Deborah Levy’s ninth novel, a blend of fiction and biography, which is narrated by voice actor Kristin Atherton. Her narration is described as cool, precise, and perfectly paced, enhancing the narrative’s depth. The author visits Père Lachaise cemetery, one of Paris’s most famous cemeteries, to find Stein’s grave and reflects on the lives of other literary figures as well as the complexities of her own friendships. Stein is portrayed as fearless and innovative, with a forward-looking mindset so strong that she "never learned to reverse her Ford Model T," a metaphor for her inability to look back or change direction. The audiobook version of Levy’s novel is available through Penguin and lasts 3 hours and 54 minutes. Other notable audiobooks include Nonesuch by Francis Spufford, available via Faber and lasting 15 hours and 29 minutes, and The Delusions by Jenni Fagan, a satirical novel about the afterlife, read by the author herself and lasting 8 hours and 19 minutes.