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Reviewed by Karen Pirnot for Readers' Favorite
In "Oxford Messed Up", Andrea Kaufman has presented the reader with a fascinating and realistic glimpse into the mind of a woman with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. As with many such diagnosed individuals, Rhodes Scholar Gloria Zimmerman is a very intelligent individual whose daily life is highly dysfunctional due to her intrusive ritualistic habits. The last place the reader would think to find Gloria would be in a highly stressful environment such as Oxford University in England. But there she is, complete with another dysfunctional student named Henry Young. Henry has his own set of demons and because of them, he considers himself a loser who will never be able to initiate, much less complete, his doctoral dissertation. Although it is not unusual for dysfunctional people to be attracted to one another, it is a highly unusual occurrence to see them actually motivated and capable of helping one another. While Henry undertakes Cognitive-Behavioral programming with Gloria, Gloria takes it upon herself to demonstrate to Henry his innate potential as a scholar and responsible young adult. Through their individual efforts to help one another, the two actually come full circle in evolving into themselves.
In Gloria and Henry, Kaufman has created unforgettable characters with whom even the most rational reader might identify. The progression of the story is logical and delightful so that the reader begins to cheer the efforts of the characters to succeed and indeed, to give back gifts of derogation and disrespect which they never should have accepted from their significant others. A beautiful story which will linger in the memory for some time to come.
