Review:
This book is split into four stories. There is the story of hunchback Abel who has an affair with his twin's wife and that of Seth, a fifteen-year-old on a quest for information about early-onset Alzheimer's which has struck down his mother and may one day claim him, too. There is the story of how this strain of Alzheimer's came into being charting its progress to Seth's mother and finally, there is the story that Seth's family has told for generations of Isadora, a magical land of escape from memories. In the end, it is the tale of Isadora that binds these stories together.
I enjoyed the book. The stories come together with a ...okay, not seamless quality but certainly with really small needle stitches. It is timely in its publication with early-onset Alzheimer's so much in the literary news just now with Terry Pratchett's diagnosis and with many reading groups having an older membership, Alzheimer's is a subject many will have had to deal with in regard to their own parents.
Another theme that is explored in depth is that of isolation. Seth tries to isolate himself into his Nothingness while Abel retreats into a self-imposed exile from the rest of humanity until forced into the public glare, but none of the characters in the book are comfortable in the company of others until they learn to forget the past.
And then we come to the Isadora part of the novel. I think I understand what Block is trying to do - to show that forgetting is not necessarily the evil we think (without it, Seth's mother would never resolve her own conflicts), but after a few Isadora passages, it began to grate on me. It was the one part of the book I didn't like. If you've read "The Blind Assassin" you see how Atwood weaves her stories-within-stories so they become part of the whole whereas the Isadora story felt like a chunk put in afterwards to pad it out.
Do not let this put you off, however. It was still a good read and what more can you ask of a book? There is plenty for a reading group to discuss - loneliness and isolation, Alzheimer's and its effects on the sufferer and their family, free will versus fate. This is Block's first novel and I look forward to reading his next. I have a feeling we will be hearing more from this author.
I enjoyed the book. The stories come together with a ...okay, not seamless quality but certainly with really small needle stitches. It is timely in its publication with early-onset Alzheimer's so much in the literary news just now with Terry Pratchett's diagnosis and with many reading groups having an older membership, Alzheimer's is a subject many will have had to deal with in regard to their own parents.
Another theme that is explored in depth is that of isolation. Seth tries to isolate himself into his Nothingness while Abel retreats into a self-imposed exile from the rest of humanity until forced into the public glare, but none of the characters in the book are comfortable in the company of others until they learn to forget the past.
And then we come to the Isadora part of the novel. I think I understand what Block is trying to do - to show that forgetting is not necessarily the evil we think (without it, Seth's mother would never resolve her own conflicts), but after a few Isadora passages, it began to grate on me. It was the one part of the book I didn't like. If you've read "The Blind Assassin" you see how Atwood weaves her stories-within-stories so they become part of the whole whereas the Isadora story felt like a chunk put in afterwards to pad it out.
Do not let this put you off, however. It was still a good read and what more can you ask of a book? There is plenty for a reading group to discuss - loneliness and isolation, Alzheimer's and its effects on the sufferer and their family, free will versus fate. This is Block's first novel and I look forward to reading his next. I have a feeling we will be hearing more from this author.
Reviewed by:
Tess Crosbie 
