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queen_perfection's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
megadeathvsbooks's review
3.0
Intriguing idea and I wish I knew more. But ultimately I didn't feel like it had enough depth around the story and characters. It felt either unfinished or tentative.
tricapra's review
5.0
This made me ugly sob and reach out to my friends. This novella digs deep into what it is to be a person shaped by trauma, born of it, in fact. I was both shocked and delighted by how philosophical this was while creating an interesting alternative history, that I immediately wanted more of. Keep an eye on Bethany Morrow.
Dolores is a Mem, a memory extracted and literally made flesh. She is unlike other Mems, in that she does not wither and die within a few days, after suffering a purgatory-like existence. Dolores is more. But what does that mean? You'll definitely want to find out.
Dolores is a Mem, a memory extracted and literally made flesh. She is unlike other Mems, in that she does not wither and die within a few days, after suffering a purgatory-like existence. Dolores is more. But what does that mean? You'll definitely want to find out.
bribeary's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
fiddler_jones's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
tatterededges's review
3.0
The writing was good and the premise was fascinating but unfortunately, it just didn’t deliver. There are some pretty big concepts in this book that never really get explored adequately. Themes of people as property, absence of rights for some sections of the community, social rules where mem’s aren’t even acknowledged. Were the mem’s really just a metaphor for slavery and racism?
Taking it on face value, the book raised far more questions than it ever answered. Who is Delores and why does she need to keep having memories extracted? And why does she need to keep extracting memories when her brain is fractured and she is, for intents and purposes, suffering dementia? If creating Elsie destroyed her, why would her family ever have supported her creating more?
I’m confused why they just let Elsie go off and live her life, this “not person” creation who never ages and is technically owned by some rich people who prefer not to think about her. Did they pay her rent? Did she work? If she worked, how did she explain her lack of aging? If she could learn and create memories of her own and feel emotions, why wasn’t she more pissed off at the notion of being reprinted? It was essentially her being pointlessly executed after all. Yet she was so apathetic about everything, which is kind of ironic given she was supposed to be an epiphany.
The ending was just odd. I’m sceptical that he would have gone and had all his memories of Elsie extracted knowing all that he did about the side effects of memory extraction, the science behind it and the uniqueness of Elsie. Which brings me to another gaping hole in the book: The Science. There was no explanation of the science behind it. Why extracting a memory require a human lookalike casing? Did the mem materialise out of nothing or did they have to grow the mem?
This book was short. I read it in the course of a few hours. I wonder if maybe this would have been better as a full novel rather than a novella. At any rate, while I was engaged in the book and enjoyed reading it, the book which had so much potential just didn’t deliver.
Taking it on face value, the book raised far more questions than it ever answered. Who is Delores and why does she need to keep having memories extracted? And why does she need to keep extracting memories when her brain is fractured and she is, for intents and purposes, suffering dementia? If creating Elsie destroyed her, why would her family ever have supported her creating more?
I’m confused why they just let Elsie go off and live her life, this “not person” creation who never ages and is technically owned by some rich people who prefer not to think about her. Did they pay her rent? Did she work? If she worked, how did she explain her lack of aging? If she could learn and create memories of her own and feel emotions, why wasn’t she more pissed off at the notion of being reprinted? It was essentially her being pointlessly executed after all. Yet she was so apathetic about everything, which is kind of ironic given she was supposed to be an epiphany.
The ending was just odd. I’m sceptical that he would have gone and had all his memories of Elsie extracted knowing all that he did about the side effects of memory extraction, the science behind it and the uniqueness of Elsie. Which brings me to another gaping hole in the book: The Science. There was no explanation of the science behind it. Why extracting a memory require a human lookalike casing? Did the mem materialise out of nothing or did they have to grow the mem?
This book was short. I read it in the course of a few hours. I wonder if maybe this would have been better as a full novel rather than a novella. At any rate, while I was engaged in the book and enjoyed reading it, the book which had so much potential just didn’t deliver.
ginaelise's review
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
snorpy's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
thomasryanjones's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
elinor_rigby's review
5.0
Mem is a short and easy read. It is also quite emotional. To make it even more emotional I once again switched back and forth between the book and the audiobook. And guys, the woman that read the book was AMAZING. She embodied the main character and added a level of emotion I didn’t know was possible in an audiobook. I finally finished it last night. This is a beautiful book. I don’t know how to describe it beyond that.
Typically I reserve 5 stars for books I would read again. I don’t think I could read this book again but not because it is bad. I have the same feeling about the TV show Fleabag. It’s amazing and thought provoking but also emotionally draining at times. If you have a tendency (like me) to over-connect with characters I would probably go slow with this one.
Typically I reserve 5 stars for books I would read again. I don’t think I could read this book again but not because it is bad. I have the same feeling about the TV show Fleabag. It’s amazing and thought provoking but also emotionally draining at times. If you have a tendency (like me) to over-connect with characters I would probably go slow with this one.