“And after all, every story is a manipulation in one way or another.”
Fran Fabriczki’s debut novel, Porcupines ( Summit Books 2026), shows a lot of promise but ultimately falls just short of the mark because it under-delivers in each timeline, bringing us to a rather unsatisfying conclusion. I love the idea – but I was rather disappointed.
Sonia, a Hungarian immigrant, and her daughter, Mila, do have that grittier Lorelai and Rory comparison (as mentioned in the blurb), but their relationship isn’t really that central. It’s intended to be as Mila has done some covert investigation and “Parent trap” activity to find her father, but the novel meanders so much that Mila’s voice gets lost and that framing gets forgotten. We have Sonia in all timelines. Sonia with her parents in Hungary. Sonia as a pre-teen living in DC with her diplomat father, mother, and sister. Sonia visiting her married sister, Rina and striving to connect with the girl she once considered her best friend. Sonia getting pregnant. Sonia raising a daughter and chaperoning a school trip. Mila’s voice is limited – a tool used to just push the story in a certain direction – and the search for her father reads like an afterthought.
Despite my issues with the story itself, the title is perfect. When Sonia visits Rina, she learns her sister has become very religious. Rina and her husband determine that Sonia needs some education on how to be Jewish. During a conversation with Rabbi Raskin, he tells Rina about the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and the parable of the porcupine. (In winter, they get cold and huddle together and then their quills prick each other so they spring apart – huddle together, spring apart, huddle together, spring apart.) This parable works well for Sonia’s family who have been huddling and springing for generations.
While the novel didn’t quite work for me, it did make me excited for Fabriczki’s follow-up; she’s only going to get better.
A Girl Named Tommi 