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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
We Came Here to Forget was just not for me. It’s the story of Katie who runs away from her life by moving to Buenos Aires and starting to go by Liz. In Buenos Aires she meets a variety of expats who have all come there to escape something in their past.
While I loved the premise of running away from your life to another country, I didn’t like how Katie/Liz believe she was so recognizable and was always thinking someone would figure her out. It made her less relatable. The writing wasn’t bad, but I just didn’t appreciate the mental health rep in this book because it was such an extreme case. I also felt like it could do without the epilogue and I would have enjoyed the books more if it hadn’t tried to give everyone a happy ending.
Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
While I loved the premise of running away from your life to another country, I didn’t like how Katie/Liz believe she was so recognizable and was always thinking someone would figure her out. It made her less relatable. The writing wasn’t bad, but I just didn’t appreciate the mental health rep in this book because it was such an extreme case. I also felt like it could do without the epilogue and I would have enjoyed the books more if it hadn’t tried to give everyone a happy ending.
Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
We Came Here to Forget, publishing July 2019, is the third novel from author Andrea Dunlop. Her previous novels, She Regrets Nothing and Losing the Light, are a slow simmer of sinister motives, with characters often driven by selfish desires and unforgiving flaws. We Came Here to Forget features Dunlop’s similar dark undertones, but with an important distinction: the characters, most of them anyway, know when they’re slipping into self-destructive territory, and beyond that, actually try and help save each other.
Told in alternating chapters between past and present, the story opens in a documentary-like fashion. I’ve found that Dunlop’s style is removed in the beginning of the her books, where she describes the characters and their backgrounds in a factual way, which I think creates an ominous foreshadowing. Some people’s demons are so dark, you can’t get emotionally wrapped up, from fear that you too will be taken down by them. So as she sets the scene in this book, by introducing the players and teasing the tragedy that’s to come, your skin prickles. Your imagination runs wild. The lack of emotive language is a preview into a dark mind of the same.
As the story builds, the writing becomes more involved—the language catching feelings, and the characters revealing their human elements. We watch as Katie becomes Liz, and how her desperate need to escape herself leads her to others doing the same. In the alternating chapters, pieces of the past slowly come together, and while I found myself guessing at the eventual horror during every chapter, it’s a slow coming together, with the picture not fully formed until the end.
I loved this book. Taking the past first, there’s an addictive quality to the seemingly perfect family being shattered by something that feels both at once preventable and inevitable. These chapters are about denial, about self-obsession, about such severe focus that we miss crucial things unfolding around us. And they make you wonder whether or not Katie and her family could’ve stopped what happened many years before it was even a possibility. For me, I never questioned their guilt or complicity, but I did question their avoidance, and how it could’ve led to what happened. Being able to hold up both of these sides, to consider them as separate, speaks to Dunlop’s writing talent.
Looking at the present, Liz (Katie) struggling to escape, to just find some relief for however long, is incredibly relatable. Who among us hasn’t dreamt about disappearing and starting over? And in this case, she meets a group of people all doing the same. A rarity in Dunlop’s novels, we’re introduced to a (mostly) supportive group of people (no dark motives against each other), and eventually learn the reasons for their being in Buenos Aires. I like to think of this as less about Katie/Liz finding herself again, but more about her realizing everyone has let something tragic define their lives, but whether or not it defines a moment, or the entirety, is a choice of resilience.
The relationships explored with Luke, Blair, and Gianluca are representative of Katie’s/Liz’s stages in life, and they’re well thought-out in that way. From raw ambition, to unquestionable empathy, to pure escapism, the men here are load-bearing support to the woman’s journey. They reflect where she’s going, and without spoiling, I’ll say I love where she ends up.
This book on the surface is addictive, each page a taste until you reach the “what” that’s been so slowly teased. Deeper, though, it’s also incredibly complex, making us question how blinded we become in the chase of our achievements, how family loyalty and trust is not a given, what it means to earn and give vulnerability, and how we manage to lose and find ourselves again and again throughout our lives.
We Came Here to Forget is everything you’re looking for in a great book. And even in its darkest moments, when that reveal will make you sick to your stomach, as will its consequences, you’re reminded by Katie, and everyone around her, that resilience is part of the human condition.
Told in alternating chapters between past and present, the story opens in a documentary-like fashion. I’ve found that Dunlop’s style is removed in the beginning of the her books, where she describes the characters and their backgrounds in a factual way, which I think creates an ominous foreshadowing. Some people’s demons are so dark, you can’t get emotionally wrapped up, from fear that you too will be taken down by them. So as she sets the scene in this book, by introducing the players and teasing the tragedy that’s to come, your skin prickles. Your imagination runs wild. The lack of emotive language is a preview into a dark mind of the same.
As the story builds, the writing becomes more involved—the language catching feelings, and the characters revealing their human elements. We watch as Katie becomes Liz, and how her desperate need to escape herself leads her to others doing the same. In the alternating chapters, pieces of the past slowly come together, and while I found myself guessing at the eventual horror during every chapter, it’s a slow coming together, with the picture not fully formed until the end.
I loved this book. Taking the past first, there’s an addictive quality to the seemingly perfect family being shattered by something that feels both at once preventable and inevitable. These chapters are about denial, about self-obsession, about such severe focus that we miss crucial things unfolding around us. And they make you wonder whether or not Katie and her family could’ve stopped what happened many years before it was even a possibility. For me, I never questioned their guilt or complicity, but I did question their avoidance, and how it could’ve led to what happened. Being able to hold up both of these sides, to consider them as separate, speaks to Dunlop’s writing talent.
Looking at the present, Liz (Katie) struggling to escape, to just find some relief for however long, is incredibly relatable. Who among us hasn’t dreamt about disappearing and starting over? And in this case, she meets a group of people all doing the same. A rarity in Dunlop’s novels, we’re introduced to a (mostly) supportive group of people (no dark motives against each other), and eventually learn the reasons for their being in Buenos Aires. I like to think of this as less about Katie/Liz finding herself again, but more about her realizing everyone has let something tragic define their lives, but whether or not it defines a moment, or the entirety, is a choice of resilience.
The relationships explored with Luke, Blair, and Gianluca are representative of Katie’s/Liz’s stages in life, and they’re well thought-out in that way. From raw ambition, to unquestionable empathy, to pure escapism, the men here are load-bearing support to the woman’s journey. They reflect where she’s going, and without spoiling, I’ll say I love where she ends up.
This book on the surface is addictive, each page a taste until you reach the “what” that’s been so slowly teased. Deeper, though, it’s also incredibly complex, making us question how blinded we become in the chase of our achievements, how family loyalty and trust is not a given, what it means to earn and give vulnerability, and how we manage to lose and find ourselves again and again throughout our lives.
We Came Here to Forget is everything you’re looking for in a great book. And even in its darkest moments, when that reveal will make you sick to your stomach, as will its consequences, you’re reminded by Katie, and everyone around her, that resilience is part of the human condition.
Tengo que decir que este libro me decepciono un poco. Es más interesante todo lo anterior a saber qué paso, que ocasiono todo, que el origen del drama. De hecho el personaje protagonista me resulto un poco demasiado dramático en un momento. De todas formas es interesante y hay gente que lo amo, pero a mí no me gusto tanto, aunque no es una mala historia, es solo que aveces es muy telenovela. Una cosa a reconocer, es que la autora verdaderamente investigo sobre dónde iba a desarrollarse la historia y eso esta muy bien y es algo a rescatar.
I couldn't put this book down because I really wanted to know what catastrophic thing happened with Katie's family and particularly her sister. Because of this, I was really engrossed in the flashback chapters and almost felt like the Buenos Aires chapters were a chore. I enjoyed the breadcrumbs throughout the chapters that led to the catastrophe, and thought the flashback chapters were really well done.
What I didn't enjoy was the main character, Katie. She seemed like a cliche "one of the boys" character and almost seemed like she hated other women, in the way that she narrates her thoughts about her sister and her friends being obsessed with makeup and boys. This character trait feels very tired to me.
What I didn't enjoy was the main character, Katie. She seemed like a cliche "one of the boys" character and almost seemed like she hated other women, in the way that she narrates her thoughts about her sister and her friends being obsessed with makeup and boys. This character trait feels very tired to me.
I liked this book, but didn’t love it. It was told in both the present and in flashback, truthfully this is my least favorite book structure. I often find myself only 1/2 interested in one of the time periods. I found the past portion of the story to be heartbreaking, and the only portion I was really interested in. I found Katie to be pretty lost in the present and not a very likable character, and I wanted more out of the ending, I felt like it needed more redemption and closure. I picked this up in part because #bookstagrammademedoit
3.5 Stars Rounded Down
You've seen the cover (wow wow wow) and you've read the summary. Katie Cleary is an Olympic skier who has a tragic family secret. The secret becoming public in concert with a career ending injury cause Katie to flee the States to Buenos Aires under a different name. The reader follows Katie in her new life with flashbacks that lead up to her decision to flee.
If you're like me, sometimes flashbacks to the past don't always work. I find myself in the camp of people who really like one side of the story and kind of have a half interest in the other. That was true to form here, but this time I was COMPLETELY ABSORBED in the past story and had difficulty keeping interest with the current story. I'm not really sure why, but I found some of the characters in Buenos Aires sort of cliché. We have all these expats with a tragic past that they are all hiding from. There is the rascal tango teacher that Katie has an affair with, which is clearly a horrible decision. So that too seems kind meh.
I thought the little hints that were dropped regarding the family secret were cleverly used throughout. Some readers argue that it took too long to find out what it is, but I felt it was perfect timing. (Quite honestly, I might have set the book down all together if the past perspective hadn't been so gripping.)
Ultimately, the stories come together, but the ending was sort of underwhelming to me too. I don't want to give anything away, but I felt the author had the chops to really make this a five star read. Overall, a kind of ho-hum review, but my 3.5 rating comes from just how much I liked the story about her past.
Thanks to the Buffalo Library for this copy to read!
Review Date: 9/14/19
Publication Date: 07/02/19
You've seen the cover (wow wow wow) and you've read the summary. Katie Cleary is an Olympic skier who has a tragic family secret. The secret becoming public in concert with a career ending injury cause Katie to flee the States to Buenos Aires under a different name. The reader follows Katie in her new life with flashbacks that lead up to her decision to flee.
If you're like me, sometimes flashbacks to the past don't always work. I find myself in the camp of people who really like one side of the story and kind of have a half interest in the other. That was true to form here, but this time I was COMPLETELY ABSORBED in the past story and had difficulty keeping interest with the current story. I'm not really sure why, but I found some of the characters in Buenos Aires sort of cliché. We have all these expats with a tragic past that they are all hiding from. There is the rascal tango teacher that Katie has an affair with, which is clearly a horrible decision. So that too seems kind meh.
I thought the little hints that were dropped regarding the family secret were cleverly used throughout. Some readers argue that it took too long to find out what it is, but I felt it was perfect timing. (Quite honestly, I might have set the book down all together if the past perspective hadn't been so gripping.)
Ultimately, the stories come together, but the ending was sort of underwhelming to me too. I don't want to give anything away, but I felt the author had the chops to really make this a five star read. Overall, a kind of ho-hum review, but my 3.5 rating comes from just how much I liked the story about her past.
Thanks to the Buffalo Library for this copy to read!
Review Date: 9/14/19
Publication Date: 07/02/19