Review:
A complex, moving and intelligent story; just the sort of read that I look for. The author successfully weaves descriptions of a fantasyland in between the central stories of Abel and Seth. In addition, the exuberantly told 18th-century bawdy comedy of errors allows the author to provide with great panache what could have been rather cold background information. I was impressed by the way that this book shows how stories are handed down as familial inheritance in the same way that Alzheimer's is handed down as genetic inheritance.
My heart went out to Abel as he describes so poignantly his love for Mae, and to Seth as he describes the awfulness of losing his mother to Alzheimer's as well as his more common-place adolescent angst.
Seth's ‘research journey' was very well handled. Giving an opportunity to provide both objective scientific information and subjective personal accounts about the effects of Alzheimer's.
As I read I became more and more involved in the lives of the characters, picturing them in their homes and going about their lives. This is such a well-written and convincing story that the author manages to include some rather unusual aspects such as ‘the woman who falls in love with her hunchback brother-in-law' without them seeming to jar at all. The author's writing style is all the more impressive given his age and that this is his first published book.
I feel a bit mean voicing the following criticisms, because I really did enjoy this book, but here they are. I was left wondering whether Jamie is Abel's daughter or his niece, and why did the author choose to put that confusion in so close to the end of the book? I had been impressed by the timing of the ‘reveal' that Jamie is Abel's daughter and Seth's mother, because I'd guessed it, and then the author confirmed it at a perfect moment. Therefore, I found this late twist to be highly unsatisfactory. That then also got me wondering whether this form of Alzheimer's can skip a generation or not. I tried to go back through the book to find an answer to that question, but failed. Also, and this really annoyed me, why didn't Seth use the internet to find his parents' marriage certificate? Even if it didn't reveal anything, it is surely something this character would have done.
But I want to put those negatives aside because this is an excellent book that very sensitively describes the effects of Alzheimer's; the process of forgetting and the process of losing someone.
I am really looking forward to Stefan Merrill Block's next book.
My heart went out to Abel as he describes so poignantly his love for Mae, and to Seth as he describes the awfulness of losing his mother to Alzheimer's as well as his more common-place adolescent angst.
Seth's ‘research journey' was very well handled. Giving an opportunity to provide both objective scientific information and subjective personal accounts about the effects of Alzheimer's.
As I read I became more and more involved in the lives of the characters, picturing them in their homes and going about their lives. This is such a well-written and convincing story that the author manages to include some rather unusual aspects such as ‘the woman who falls in love with her hunchback brother-in-law' without them seeming to jar at all. The author's writing style is all the more impressive given his age and that this is his first published book.
I feel a bit mean voicing the following criticisms, because I really did enjoy this book, but here they are. I was left wondering whether Jamie is Abel's daughter or his niece, and why did the author choose to put that confusion in so close to the end of the book? I had been impressed by the timing of the ‘reveal' that Jamie is Abel's daughter and Seth's mother, because I'd guessed it, and then the author confirmed it at a perfect moment. Therefore, I found this late twist to be highly unsatisfactory. That then also got me wondering whether this form of Alzheimer's can skip a generation or not. I tried to go back through the book to find an answer to that question, but failed. Also, and this really annoyed me, why didn't Seth use the internet to find his parents' marriage certificate? Even if it didn't reveal anything, it is surely something this character would have done.
But I want to put those negatives aside because this is an excellent book that very sensitively describes the effects of Alzheimer's; the process of forgetting and the process of losing someone.
I am really looking forward to Stefan Merrill Block's next book.
Reviewed by:
Wendy Janes 
