The Story of Forgetting

Title: The Story of Forgetting
Author: Stefan Merrill Block
First Published: 2008




My Rating: 3/5



"Fifteen-year-old Seth Waller is devastated when his mother is diagnosed with a rare, early-onset form of Alzheimer's. When he was growing up, his mother always brushed aside questions about her past and family, and Seth realises that soon he will lose his chance to find out any more. He decides to uncover the truth about her life, their family history and the condition, and what he discovers is more surprising than he ever could have imagined.

Inspired partly by the author's own family history, The Story of Forgetting is a moving and exhilarating novel of love, loss, hope and genetic destiny."

I have literally just finished reading this book, and it is perhaps too soon to write a review of it. My initial impression is disappointment. It's one of those hyped up books that I was expecting big things from, but in the end it just didn't deliver for me. I empathised with the characters, but did not really like any of them. It is a devastating illness, but I was not moved to tears (as I am usually very easily, it has to be said!). I found the "science" bits rather too clunky and didn't feel they integrated into the story very well. I did like the story of Isidora, however, which reminded me somewhat of Narnia, and the (too brief?) glimpses of Jamie's deterioration and Seth's sense of loss were touching.

Perhaps I'm missing something deeper in this novel, but it just did not live up to its' promise. Moving? Exhilirating? Not for me. A disappointing 3/5.