"Reading Existential Labyrinths" 2019 Kristin Fouquet In Julian Gallo’s compelling novel Existential Labyrinths (Palm Frond Tea, 2018), the nameless protagonist and narrator is a writer struggling in existential crisis. He hates his job. His hot and cold relationship with a young painter named Julia is maddeningly frustrating. He becomes disillusioned with his native New York City and its denizens. His own vicious circle, his cycle of ever-questioning himself and art and its purpose, distracts him from writing his novel. The solution he fixates on is running away to Paris to retrace the steps of his literary heroes. I was reminded of two other novels while reading Existential Labyrinths . I found myself comparing the Julia in this book with the Julia in George Orwell’s 1984 . Although they have purportedly been involved for three years, the protagonist in Gallo’s novel regards his relationship with Julia as temporary, much like Orwell’s Winston views the affair ...