Jessica Gross On The Fascinatingly Bizarre World Of Her New Novel

In Jessica Gross’ darkly comic horror novel Open Wide, a radio journalist perplexed by human behavior discovers exactly how close she can get to her new boyfriend. Olive is incredibly bright and funny, but she’s always struggled with maintaining romantic relationships. She’s resorted to secretly recording her conversations, poring over each interaction to analyze what social cues she’s missing and hopefully uncover the root of her relationship problems. When she meets Theo, a charming brain surgeon with a unique interest in human organs, it appears that she’s finally met someone who will embrace her for exactly who she is, idiosyncrasies and all. Despite finding someone she can truly be emotionally intimate with, Olive obsesses over the idea of getting even closer to her new boyfriend. Specifically, Olive grows fascinated by the gap between Theo’s teeth, and the alarming possibility that it’s perhaps big enough for someone to slip in between and burrow inside his body. Critics have heaped praise on Gross’ extraordinary novel.