Act of God by Jill Ciment

by:  Jill Ciment
published by:  Pantheon
publish date:  March 3, 2015

It’s the summer of 2015; Brooklyn. The city is sweltering from another record-breaking heat wave, this one accompanied by biblical rains. Edith, recently retired legal librarian and her identical twin sister, Kat, a feckless romantic who’s mistaken her own eccentricity for originality, discover something ominous in their hall closet: it seems to be phosphorescent; it’s a mushroom…and it’s sprouting from their wall.

I will start off by saying that I didn't particularly care for this book, but that was on me because there wasn't anything wrong with it.  It was touted as part horror and part comedy.  Maybe my idea of horror and comedy are different.  I didn't find anything scary or funny in this book.  I will say that the characters in this book are quite a bit older than I am, so perhaps I didn't relate to their situations and humor because it's a generational thing?

The book is basically about a house in New York that's infested with this weird mold.  Vida, the landlord, is an actress that is famous for being in a female sexual enhancement pill commercial.  She seems to be convinced that all men only know her for that reason.  Twins, Kat and Edith, live in the rent controlled apartment.  The other resident is a Russian immigrant that snuck into Vida's apartment and is living in her closet.  The story is about these women being forced out of their apartment and having to deal with this mold and will the insurance pay for this mold infestation?  Is this mold an Act of God and how to get rid of it?

I haven't read any Jill Ciment's other books to know if this book is consistent with her writing style.  Like I said, I didn't care for it, but I didn't get it.  I was waiting for something to deliver that didn't happen I guess.