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waclements7's review against another edition
5.0
This is a pretty amazing book. I could be reading way more into it than the author intended. A summary of the basic plot is given with the book—I’m not particularly good at coherent and cohesive summaries. What I find so compelling about this book is that while setting it in an alternative Montreal where there is no racism, it seems to address it in an entirely different way. Mems are memory extractions from their “source,” the true original. They are a way for the source to get rid of unwanted memories, for whatever reason: they are too traumatic, too sad, or too difficult to deal with. The problem lies in the fact that when too many memories are extracted, the source fractures.
Dolores Extract #1 is an extraordinary Mem because she is self-aware—she knows she is a mem but has grown beyond that, and unlike any of the other mems, she has lived outside of the vault for most of her existence—she is the only mem capable of doing this, as the others are sort of on continuous replay of their particular extracted memory. The other mems eventually fade out and “die.” Dolores Extract #1 has given herself her own name, Elsie, and from the very beginning her skin was darker than that of her source, so in a way she is the more solid and real of the two—she isn’t faded at all and it’s this difference which possibly makes her different from the other mems.
When Dolores/Elsie is required to return to the vault and leave her outside life, she sees the condition of the other extractions from their original source, Delores, and it is even more obvious she isn’t like them at all. In the meantime, the legal question of who really owns the mems and the ethics of rewriting over an existing mem to prevent further fragmentation has started occurring. One man even goes so far as to take a mem his elderly mother had extracted for him to remember her by and rewriting the mem with _his_ own memory—his memory will have a female form but he had a “free” extraction with no danger of his having an issue of fragmentation.
The whole concept of this memory extraction and fragmentation of the source is fascinating in itself. By taking racism out of the picture, it makes it easier to see how racism and people’s memories of it are fragmented and rewritten to suit their own purposes and to form their own narratives, and how easily they can be controlled by others. Elsie is the one true memory who isn’t erased.
This is such a complex book when you really start to get into it. This is just my interpretation and could be way off base. The author says that there are a lot of misconceptions about racism in Canada, and yes, it did exist, but she wanted Elsie to exist in a world where it didn’t. I think I will definitely need to read this more than once.
Highly recommend.
Dolores Extract #1 is an extraordinary Mem because she is self-aware—she knows she is a mem but has grown beyond that, and unlike any of the other mems, she has lived outside of the vault for most of her existence—she is the only mem capable of doing this, as the others are sort of on continuous replay of their particular extracted memory. The other mems eventually fade out and “die.” Dolores Extract #1 has given herself her own name, Elsie, and from the very beginning her skin was darker than that of her source, so in a way she is the more solid and real of the two—she isn’t faded at all and it’s this difference which possibly makes her different from the other mems.
When Dolores/Elsie is required to return to the vault and leave her outside life, she sees the condition of the other extractions from their original source, Delores, and it is even more obvious she isn’t like them at all. In the meantime, the legal question of who really owns the mems and the ethics of rewriting over an existing mem to prevent further fragmentation has started occurring. One man even goes so far as to take a mem his elderly mother had extracted for him to remember her by and rewriting the mem with _his_ own memory—his memory will have a female form but he had a “free” extraction with no danger of his having an issue of fragmentation.
The whole concept of this memory extraction and fragmentation of the source is fascinating in itself. By taking racism out of the picture, it makes it easier to see how racism and people’s memories of it are fragmented and rewritten to suit their own purposes and to form their own narratives, and how easily they can be controlled by others. Elsie is the one true memory who isn’t erased.
This is such a complex book when you really start to get into it. This is just my interpretation and could be way off base. The author says that there are a lot of misconceptions about racism in Canada, and yes, it did exist, but she wanted Elsie to exist in a world where it didn’t. I think I will definitely need to read this more than once.
Highly recommend.
booksandladders's review against another edition
4.0
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I really enjoyed this one and thought there was so much good conversation about "true" selves and what constitutes "yourself." I loved the alternative history aspect to this, but found it was really hard to be anchored in the year/time because it was never quite clear if it was the past, present, or some variation of the future. It also took me a bit to get into this one, but once I did, I couldn't stop reading! I got hooked on the characters, their development, and even their relationships. If you like the idea of holding onto memories, losing memories, and being a Person, this is definitely the book for you.
I really enjoyed this one and thought there was so much good conversation about "true" selves and what constitutes "yourself." I loved the alternative history aspect to this, but found it was really hard to be anchored in the year/time because it was never quite clear if it was the past, present, or some variation of the future. It also took me a bit to get into this one, but once I did, I couldn't stop reading! I got hooked on the characters, their development, and even their relationships. If you like the idea of holding onto memories, losing memories, and being a Person, this is definitely the book for you.
saracosk2's review against another edition
3.0
2.5??
science fiction really isn't my thing and i can't fault this book for that.
science fiction really isn't my thing and i can't fault this book for that.
greenikat89's review against another edition
3.0
Loved this different take on 1920s scifi that's more of a speculative fiction. Easy and quick read but I will be following this new author.
yellowchevron's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-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? No
4.75
erin_is_reading's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
hurlyburlywitch's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Enjoyable, but meandering. It didn't drive forward in the way I anticipated, seemingly unsure if it were a dystopian alt-history, ponderous lit-fic, or a historical romance.
bookheart_dreams's review against another edition
4.0
4.50
Following my last thought for this book, when I finished. If you didn't read this please do it, it is a wonderful, sad, thoughtful book.
It is not long but really worth it!
My last thought: Oh thank God, it ended with a warm feeling and happy... It did not crush my heart.
Following my last thought for this book, when I finished. If you didn't read this please do it, it is a wonderful, sad, thoughtful book.
It is not long but really worth it!
My last thought: Oh thank God, it ended with a warm feeling and happy... It did not crush my heart.
maia_eve's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
monarcadelibros's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book but it really fell flat. It felt sci-fi/romance at the start but just felt more like drama and romance by the end. I wanted more conflict with a better resolution and just didn't feel enough of that.