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ashleysbookthoughts's review
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I bought this book 100% because @hellalibrary loved it and included it in her “Books that made me feel things in 2021” list. She is one of my biggest reading influences, and she was not wrong here. This book made me feel things.
We shift back and forth in time, following Sophie and Lucien before and after they are admitted to an inpatient center for abusing Mem, a drug that allows you to experience others’ memories as your own.
Throughout, I was more invested in Sophie’s story than Lucien’s, but Sophie’s was at times hard to read. I could relate to her and Westgates’s writing, particularly in Sophie’s “before” chapters, was detailed and visceral to the point that I sometimes had to take breaks. I felt Sophie’s trauma so fully. Lucien, though we spend an equal amount of time with him, I felt I didn’t know as well. Even at the end of the book, he’s still a bit of an enigma, but that works, especially since I experienced so much of the story as Sophie.
The book, though it definitely has a plot (a compelling one at that), I think is really less about the plot and more about the philosophical and ethical questions of altering memory. Like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Shimmering State asks, do our memories make us who we are? Are we fundamentally changed if we remove certain memories, even if they’re bad or traumatic? Is it worth it? Who gets to choose what we keep and what we don’t? Can you ever truly make an informed choice about something like this? What are the unintended butterfly effects of removing one person or experience from your memory?
This book made me feel and it made me think. I have a feeling I’ll be thinking about these questions for a long time.
CW: death of a parent, drug use/addiction, hospitalization, sexual assault, rape, murder, car accident, disordered eating, cancer, dementia, suicide, suicide attempt, shooting, PTSD, cutting
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Car accident, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Rape, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Suicide
rorikae's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
'The Shimmering State' by Meredith Westgate is a thought provoking novel that explores the power and danger of memory.
The story centers on Sophie and Lucien who are both patients at a center that treats people who have used Memoroxin, a drug that allows one to experience past memories of their own or others. Sophie is an aspiring dancer who waitresses to make ends meet and has come to the attention of a powerful and controlling Hollywood producer. Lucien is a photographer whose mother has recently died and whose grandmother is suffering from Alzheimer’s. The story weaves between their two perspectives, hopping between their current experiences at the Center and their lives before that brought them to this point.
Westgate does an excellent job of discussing the impact of memory on identity through the two main characters. The story shifts into and out of the past and present as well as between the two main characters in an interesting way that is easy to follow. As we learn more about Lucien and Sophie's past, we better understand how their lives became entangled with Mem. The use of two very specific character studies to explore wider questions about memory works incredibly well. Despite my ability to feel empathy for these characters and to be interested in their stories, I never truly cared for them. Though I think the commentary and ideas that this story presents will stick with me, I think that the characters will be easy to forget. Even so, I think that Westgate does do a lot in this story and presents many ideas in an effective manner. I'll be interested to see what they write next and if they continue to explore complex ideas through near future character studies.
The story centers on Sophie and Lucien who are both patients at a center that treats people who have used Memoroxin, a drug that allows one to experience past memories of their own or others. Sophie is an aspiring dancer who waitresses to make ends meet and has come to the attention of a powerful and controlling Hollywood producer. Lucien is a photographer whose mother has recently died and whose grandmother is suffering from Alzheimer’s. The story weaves between their two perspectives, hopping between their current experiences at the Center and their lives before that brought them to this point.
Westgate does an excellent job of discussing the impact of memory on identity through the two main characters. The story shifts into and out of the past and present as well as between the two main characters in an interesting way that is easy to follow. As we learn more about Lucien and Sophie's past, we better understand how their lives became entangled with Mem. The use of two very specific character studies to explore wider questions about memory works incredibly well. Despite my ability to feel empathy for these characters and to be interested in their stories, I never truly cared for them. Though I think the commentary and ideas that this story presents will stick with me, I think that the characters will be easy to forget. Even so, I think that Westgate does do a lot in this story and presents many ideas in an effective manner. I'll be interested to see what they write next and if they continue to explore complex ideas through near future character studies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Addiction, Car accident, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual assault, Drug use, Mental illness, and Violence
Moderate: Terminal illness, Suicide, and Dementia
aimsro's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Car accident, Self harm, and Drug abuse
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