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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
I wrote a whole review and lost it! So quickly this time:
This was a complicated book for me, and difficult emotionally. My father has Alzheimer's disease, and this was hard reading with that in mind - and it was also uncomfortable and scary because I very easily place myself in the main character's shoes, due to my own fears about dementia.
Emotional issues aside, though - this is such an interesting and ambitious idea, to write from the perspective of a woman with dementia. I found it successful in many ways - it was frustrating, confusing, disorienting as you would expect. It didn't really obfuscate what I thought was fairly clear about the central mystery (that the protagonist was at least involved) - but it did add to the complexity of removal, dread, and flitting horror.
That said, the characters were all extremely unlikeable. I can get behind an unlikeable character, and obviously the circumstances are ripe for understandable unlikeabilty! But they are horrible even when dementia isn't involved, and that didn't feel earned to me. The central conflict that contributed to it felt shoehorned in and emotionally flat, given its lynchpin status. It is a book about miserable people in a miserable situation who make terrible, miserable choices.
I did feel for the protagonist, and rooted for her in moments of clarity and freedom (even though those moments weren't real, just a break in fog, it was surprising how relieving they were.) This was compelling, I read it quickly. But I can't say I loved it.
This was a complicated book for me, and difficult emotionally. My father has Alzheimer's disease, and this was hard reading with that in mind - and it was also uncomfortable and scary because I very easily place myself in the main character's shoes, due to my own fears about dementia.
Emotional issues aside, though - this is such an interesting and ambitious idea, to write from the perspective of a woman with dementia. I found it successful in many ways - it was frustrating, confusing, disorienting as you would expect. It didn't really obfuscate what I thought was fairly clear about the central mystery (that the protagonist was at least involved) - but it did add to the complexity of removal, dread, and flitting horror.
That said, the characters were all extremely unlikeable. I can get behind an unlikeable character, and obviously the circumstances are ripe for understandable unlikeabilty! But they are horrible even when dementia isn't involved, and that didn't feel earned to me. The central conflict that contributed to it felt shoehorned in and emotionally flat, given its lynchpin status. It is a book about miserable people in a miserable situation who make terrible, miserable choices.
I did feel for the protagonist, and rooted for her in moments of clarity and freedom (even though those moments weren't real, just a break in fog, it was surprising how relieving they were.) This was compelling, I read it quickly. But I can't say I loved it.
The author convincingly lets the reader experience what an Alzheimer's patient is thinking and remembering (and forgetting). I felt a little anxious and claustrophobic while reading (which I guess means effectiveness on the part of the writer).
I'm not so sure about the "mystery" in this book - the motives and the way it seems to wrap up rather quickly at the end, after taking so long to get to a resolution.
But I'll still give this four stars for the excellent character portrayal of the protagonist.
I'm not so sure about the "mystery" in this book - the motives and the way it seems to wrap up rather quickly at the end, after taking so long to get to a resolution.
But I'll still give this four stars for the excellent character portrayal of the protagonist.
Loved the way this was written. Jennifer's voice was pretty easy to follow despite the disjointedness of her memories each day. LaPlante did a fantastic job of using an Alzheimer's affected narrator to tell the story. Fascinating book, very well told. Loved it!
This Indiespensible was a bit of a miss for me. (Please don’t hate me, Powell’s! I still love you!). The book was…not as described. Or maybe I just misinterpreted the provided summary:
"A page-turning literary fiction mystery with striking prose, the novel is told from the point of view of Dr. Jennifer White, a retired orthopedic surgeon who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Due to her condition, Jennifer is faced with a deeper horror: she can’t remember if she’s had anything to do with the death of her best friend."
So, from this I expected a lot more suspense. I thought it would be about this woman striving to solve this mystery before fully succumbing to her illness. It wasn’t that at all. We see Jennifer’s descent. We get occasional glimpses into the past, but Jennifer is not trying to take control of her destiny. She is not horrified by her possible involvement in the crime. She is actually quite passive, in part because of her dementia, through the whole investigation and it is left to others to suss out what happened.
It was still an interesting book, a captivating read, just not really a mystery thriller per se.
Spoiler:
After I finished it, it seemed to me almost like Grey’s Anatomy: Ellis Edition, if Ellis had killed the Chief.
"A page-turning literary fiction mystery with striking prose, the novel is told from the point of view of Dr. Jennifer White, a retired orthopedic surgeon who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Due to her condition, Jennifer is faced with a deeper horror: she can’t remember if she’s had anything to do with the death of her best friend."
So, from this I expected a lot more suspense. I thought it would be about this woman striving to solve this mystery before fully succumbing to her illness. It wasn’t that at all. We see Jennifer’s descent. We get occasional glimpses into the past, but Jennifer is not trying to take control of her destiny. She is not horrified by her possible involvement in the crime. She is actually quite passive, in part because of her dementia, through the whole investigation and it is left to others to suss out what happened.
It was still an interesting book, a captivating read, just not really a mystery thriller per se.
Spoiler:
After I finished it, it seemed to me almost like Grey’s Anatomy: Ellis Edition, if Ellis had killed the Chief.
I think I might have liked this book better if I hadn't read Still Alice first. It was a good concept, and entertaining enough to keep me going, but I didn't like the characters, and I found it difficult to read. Sometimes it was difficult to tell who was talking, because there were no quotation marks. It also annoyed me how the chapters went from 1st person, to 2nd person, to 3rd person. That was probably supposed to show her degeneration, but I found it distracting.
Jennifer’s fragmented mind comes through clearly in the writing. So many twists and secrets.
I wanted to like this book, but never did. I knew it might be a difficult read, but it never engaged me.
This book was interesting. It gave good insight into the mind of a person with Alzheimer's. Moved quickly. I would recommend it.
A very interesting story, so well written. All of the characters were so disfunctional, some so hard to like and throughout the story the Alzheimer’s that Jennifer has continues to get worse. On some levels this story was very depressing. I pretty much figured out the ending, but how it all came together was so very sad...
Really enjoyed this book even if some of the clues were a bit obvious. So interestingly written from the point of view of a woman with dementia.