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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
What if no one you met could ever remember you - not even your own parents? For Hope, this odd condition leads to a life of thievery and adventure. I loved the writing style and found the book hard to put down (stop listening to?). It's not a perfect novel, but a highly engaging one that I enjoyed.
I exist in this physical world as sure as stone, but in the world of men—in that world that is collective memory, in the dream-world where people find meaning, feeling, importance—I am a ghost. Only in the present tense am I real.
The whole notion of someone that people cannot remember is both fascinating and horrible. Like all ‘superpowers’, this ability seems at first amazing and liberating, but very soon one can see that it is indeed a curse. North shows us what can be achieved and what is lost in the extraordinary character of Hope Arden. Through her voice we experience her unsettling, fantastic, and lonely existence, her survival, her philosophy and thirst for knowledge, all elements, coping mechanisms really, that help her keep madness at bay, for do you exist if no one remembers you.
I wondered if the author was inspired by the symptoms of people who cannot make long term memories, which have been used in books lately, and reversed it, applying to the rest of the world instead. At other times, I thought she perhaps wanted to comment on our habit to always look at the past of future but never really in the present, by creating a character who is condemned to exist only in that fleeting moment.
All this might sound very existentialist, and yes, it is, but the author morphs this into a fast-paced adventure, whizzing you around the world, with thrilling moments and suspense. I literally could not stop reading, wanting to find out how it would all end. Due to Hope’s condition, North gives us a very different perception of the world, of people and of interactions, one that is so alien and yet recognisable, as if seen through a mirror that is just a tiny bit distorted.
The other thing that grabbed me, and scared me, was the concept of Perfection - an app that would tell you how to become perfect in a world lead by consumption and superficiality, where marketing and normalisation are in power, and where to be different and have a mind of your own is to be imperfect. The horror is that this already exists now and North only had nudge it a little and tie it up in a pretty bow. What is perfect? What is happiness? What is the right thing to do? How far is too far? Hope struggles with these concepts, as do we all.
I am really impressed by this novel and cannot believe it has taken me this long to read one of Claire North’s books. It is both an incredible adventure and a deeply thought-provoking text. The narrative sometimes takes on some unusual paths, which might not be to everyone’s taste, changing the pace, turning things on their heads, and yet I found the psychology aspects as engrossing, especially how memory, identity, and worth are linked.
The whole notion of someone that people cannot remember is both fascinating and horrible. Like all ‘superpowers’, this ability seems at first amazing and liberating, but very soon one can see that it is indeed a curse. North shows us what can be achieved and what is lost in the extraordinary character of Hope Arden. Through her voice we experience her unsettling, fantastic, and lonely existence, her survival, her philosophy and thirst for knowledge, all elements, coping mechanisms really, that help her keep madness at bay, for do you exist if no one remembers you.
I wondered if the author was inspired by the symptoms of people who cannot make long term memories, which have been used in books lately, and reversed it, applying to the rest of the world instead. At other times, I thought she perhaps wanted to comment on our habit to always look at the past of future but never really in the present, by creating a character who is condemned to exist only in that fleeting moment.
All this might sound very existentialist, and yes, it is, but the author morphs this into a fast-paced adventure, whizzing you around the world, with thrilling moments and suspense. I literally could not stop reading, wanting to find out how it would all end. Due to Hope’s condition, North gives us a very different perception of the world, of people and of interactions, one that is so alien and yet recognisable, as if seen through a mirror that is just a tiny bit distorted.
The other thing that grabbed me, and scared me, was the concept of Perfection - an app that would tell you how to become perfect in a world lead by consumption and superficiality, where marketing and normalisation are in power, and where to be different and have a mind of your own is to be imperfect. The horror is that this already exists now and North only had nudge it a little and tie it up in a pretty bow. What is perfect? What is happiness? What is the right thing to do? How far is too far? Hope struggles with these concepts, as do we all.
I am really impressed by this novel and cannot believe it has taken me this long to read one of Claire North’s books. It is both an incredible adventure and a deeply thought-provoking text. The narrative sometimes takes on some unusual paths, which might not be to everyone’s taste, changing the pace, turning things on their heads, and yet I found the psychology aspects as engrossing, especially how memory, identity, and worth are linked.
There was a great deal of promise to this book, it started very strong but as the book progresses it becomes less gripping. The book doesn't end up resolving along a single line, instead trying to follow a number of lines equally (the lack of memory of Hope, Perfection, Byron...) without bringing them completely together, and thus none are wrapped up sufficiently. I really wanted to see some more conclusion--it doesn't matter of what sort--to the fact that Hope can't be remembered, but it seems like all we get is philosophical. And, different readers may have different opinions about this, but the tendency towards stream of consciousness just distracted me, rather than enhancing my experience. There was still plenty to like throughout the book, but much of it got lost in the problems.
This is a book about the lyrics of the Macarena. It starts with an incredibly interesting premise, but I felt a bit lost around the mid-point, but the ending picks back up. The character Byron is super compelling and the last several hours of the audiobook focus a lot on her and reignited my desire to finish.
Such a powerful, thoughtprovoking and suspenseful novel. The writing style was amazing, and the characters well developed. I loved the premise, and Claire North will definitely be one of my auto buy authors. The only reason to why I'm knocking off one star is because I felt like it was a bit too long, and I was kind of hoping for different stuff that never happened, though I'm not by any means unhappy about that.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
when will goodreads inteoduce half-star ratings? this is a solid 3.5. clever, but eventually caught up in its own cleverness.