At the end of the undergraduate experience, each of us is left with but one question to answer: now what? In her debut novel, "Making Scenes," Adrienne Eisen employs a spunky, independent, yet nameless woman to explore the possibilities of post-college life. From the first page, societal expectations are cast aside as Eisen"s principal character begins, "I announce that I am no longer accepting money from my family. I write a letter to my advisor thanking him for all the honors-student-research-money he finagled for me during the last four years, and p.s. I withdrew all my applications to graduate school I want to play professional beach volleyball."

Fortunately for the suspecting reader, Eisen"s work does not develop into a defiant rags-to-riches tale. Her heroine fails several times, in several ways. There are endless troubles involving work, love, as well as her physical and mental well being. The constant struggle enables readers to empathize with Eisen"s generic first person narrator throughout her eccentric twists and turns.

If the description so far remains vague, it is the strategic working of Eisen herself. She has structured the book so that the narrator"s name is never revealed, even in the midst of several passages of dialogue presented in screenplay form. This main character, without exception, refers to herself as "I" and is referred to by others as "you." Many concrete biographic details are also omitted. We never learn where the narrator attended college, or where exactly she grew up.

When she does begin to reveal intimate experiences she shares only enough to create an enticing tale, and carefully avoids letting the outside world in to view her true feelings. One such instance occurs as she allows her father to photograph her in the semi-nude. She concludes her description of the event by divulging, "For the last shot he ties my arms above my head with his belt and I struggle to get loose." The audience is left wondering about the exact nature of this strange father/daughter relationship, or how the narrator herself feels about it. There are other similarly sexually twisted tails that remain unexplained throughout the novel.

Since much of the emotion of the work remains on the surface, this book quickly becomes a plot driven romp through the life and times of a gutsy, yet anonymous woman. There are numerous twists of fate and changes of heart to keep things interesting. Eisen"s narrator has an affair with a married man, tests the waters of lesbianism, and steals thousands of dollars from the home furnishing favorite, Crate & Barrel. So much of the driving force behind the piece relies on the action of the story that it becomes weird, grotesque, and at times pornographic in its attempt to keep the pages turning. This woman, while lacking any interest in discussing her attraction to her father, or her bulimic hatred of her perfectly toned body, has absolutely no qualms about openly sharing her erotic encounters with a rubber spatula. With the wildness of her work, Eisen risks the alienation of her audience as it becomes too embarrassing at times for some readers to stay connected with the book.

Amidst the eerie sexually explicit recounts there are some light-hearted moments reminiscent of Helen Fielding"s Bridget Jones. When ending an evening with her ex the narrator slams the car door. She recounts, "I do it dramatically, and when he drives away, I fall over because my beach bag is caught in the door." These tidbits are what salvage "Making Scenes" and offer a glimmer of hope for future Adrienne Eisen works.