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emily_dirkse's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tallonrk1's review against another edition
5.0
An incredible novel. Lyrical in its writing, traumatic in its contents, The Memory of Love is a patient read that interweaves the lives of disparate characters-- all of whom have an unspeakable past, and an uncertain future. I enjoyed every moment of this novel, every attention to the minute details, and every twist the narrative throws at you. Simply wonderful. 9/10.
"I sought solace in the very thing that caused me pain"
"I sought solace in the very thing that caused me pain"
shelleyanderson4127's review against another edition
5.0
Gorgeous writing about complex issues. A Western psychologist decides to escape his family problems by volunteering to work in post-war Sierra Leone. Strong women characters, as usual, though in this case the main narrators are men.
aishaayoosh's review against another edition
5.0
I got this book as a birthday gift and I’m so glad I did. Thank you Jamilla
tsipi's review against another edition
3.0
The book is very well written, and yet I was disappointed. I choose to read books by women because for so many decades I was immersed in the masculine western canon, and only got to see the stories of women through men's eyes.
I was excited to read a book by a woman of color, taking place in Africa... But the entire story is about men and their lives, wants and needs, and the women are only the objects or catalysts of these.
Forna is clearly a very talented writer, but I wouldn't have read this book if I'd known in advance how women are presented in it.
I was excited to read a book by a woman of color, taking place in Africa... But the entire story is about men and their lives, wants and needs, and the women are only the objects or catalysts of these.
Forna is clearly a very talented writer, but I wouldn't have read this book if I'd known in advance how women are presented in it.
eliz_s's review against another edition
4.0
Really more like 4.5 stars. It's a slow starter, but the last third of the book was difficult to put down. I'm looking forward to reading more from Ms. Forna.
melbsreads's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars.
This...was a strange book. It's told from the perspectives of three different men in Sierra Leone - Adrian, a British psychologist who's determined to help the entire population of Sierra Leone. Kai, a gifted surgeon with a troubled past. Elias, a former lecturer basically making a deathbed confession about his experiences 30 years earlier.
Kai's story was by far the most interesting of the three for me. His past was intriguing, his commitment to his patients was sweet (when he finds out one patients was fascinated by an article about the Terracotta Warriors, he goes to the library to borrow a book about them so his patient can learn more), and the almost father-son relationship between his and his young cousin was adorable.
Elias' story was.......kind of icky, to be honest? Like, he becomes so obsessed with his colleague's wife that he finds a bunch of excuses to go to their house when he knows his colleague isn't home. And then.
Honestly, the biggest issue I had with this? Was the way that the sex scenes were written. They were all...just odd, frankly. Like...one ends with something about the guy holding his partner's nipple between his second and third fingers like it's a cigarette?? And...WHUT.
So yeah. If it had JUST been Kai's story, I would have enjoyed this a lot more than I did.
This...was a strange book. It's told from the perspectives of three different men in Sierra Leone - Adrian, a British psychologist who's determined to help the entire population of Sierra Leone. Kai, a gifted surgeon with a troubled past. Elias, a former lecturer basically making a deathbed confession about his experiences 30 years earlier.
Kai's story was by far the most interesting of the three for me. His past was intriguing, his commitment to his patients was sweet (when he finds out one patients was fascinated by an article about the Terracotta Warriors, he goes to the library to borrow a book about them so his patient can learn more), and the almost father-son relationship between his and his young cousin was adorable.
Elias' story was.......kind of icky, to be honest? Like, he becomes so obsessed with his colleague's wife that he finds a bunch of excuses to go to their house when he knows his colleague isn't home. And then
Spoiler
when he gets arrested by the police for involvement in shady anti-government activities that he's not actually involved in, he basically dobs in his colleague, who then ends up dead. Allowing Elias to marry his wife. Who doesn't actually WANT to marry him. So when being married to her doesn't meet up with Elias' expectations of being married to her, he basically immediately starts cheating on her, and aaaaaaaaaarghHonestly, the biggest issue I had with this? Was the way that the sex scenes were written. They were all...just odd, frankly. Like...one ends with something about the guy holding his partner's nipple between his second and third fingers like it's a cigarette?? And...WHUT.
So yeah. If it had JUST been Kai's story, I would have enjoyed this a lot more than I did.
elenasquareeyes's review
1.0
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and this is definitely one of those books I would’ve DNF’d if I was physically reading it. I really didn’t like The Memory of Love for a lot of different reasons.
Firstly, there are the three main characters. Chapters are told from each of their perspectives and Holdbrook-Smith does a good job at distinguishing between these characters with his voice. The three men have a lot of similarities, they’re all smart, stubborn and reserved but the only one I didn’t have a huge problem with was Kai. Kai is kind, thoughtful and a great uncle, his relationship with his eight-year-old nephew is the best. The big difference between Kai and Elias and Adrian, is his attitude towards women. He’s more respectful than the other two, though can still be infatuated. Elias becomes obsessive and almost stalkerish when it comes to Saffia, the way he describes her was unsettling, especially those moments when he could tell he made her feel uncertain or uncomfortable but didn’t care. Adrian has a wife and young daughter in the UK, but that doesn’t stop him cheating on his wife with musician Mamakay. He gets very jealous over Mamakay before they’re even together, and he is often ignorant and patronising of her life. Adrian likes to think he has a connection to Sierra Leone as his mother was almost born there, but really, he’s the white saviour type character and he doesn’t even realise it. Adrian and Elisa both made me angry at different times in the book, and their love stories weren’t that loving or romantic to me.
The story itself was quite dull and very slow. It takes a long time for the connections between these three men to become clear and they all seem to drift through their lives. The Memory of Love is a story about love but it’s not a particularly romantic or even emotional story. I was never engaged with any of the characters or their pasts. There are many examples of how war as affected the country and its people, but it is always like a footnote in the three men’s lives. The people and the country have suffered a great deal of trauma, but I never really felt the full affects of that.
This is a personal taste thing but as someone that can’t watch medical dramas on TV because of the blood and the surgeries, I found listening to some of the description in The Memory of Love really hard going. When Kai is in an operating theatre everything is described in vivid detail; what he and the other medical staff are doing, the blood, the bones, the pus, and it honestly made me feel a bit queasy at times. Another thing that’s described in minute detail is Adrian’s diagnosis of various patients and the ins and outs of various mental health issues. This attention to detail made it feel more like a medical journal than a historical fiction book and made the story almost grind to a halt when it was being all educational.
In The Memory of Love two out of three of the main characters are unlikable, and at times infuriating, the story wasn’t engaging and nothing about it was memorable. I was just going through the motions listening to this on audio, just like the characters were and their lives and romances weren’t captivating at all.
Firstly, there are the three main characters. Chapters are told from each of their perspectives and Holdbrook-Smith does a good job at distinguishing between these characters with his voice. The three men have a lot of similarities, they’re all smart, stubborn and reserved but the only one I didn’t have a huge problem with was Kai. Kai is kind, thoughtful and a great uncle, his relationship with his eight-year-old nephew is the best. The big difference between Kai and Elias and Adrian, is his attitude towards women. He’s more respectful than the other two, though can still be infatuated. Elias becomes obsessive and almost stalkerish when it comes to Saffia, the way he describes her was unsettling, especially those moments when he could tell he made her feel uncertain or uncomfortable but didn’t care. Adrian has a wife and young daughter in the UK, but that doesn’t stop him cheating on his wife with musician Mamakay. He gets very jealous over Mamakay before they’re even together, and he is often ignorant and patronising of her life. Adrian likes to think he has a connection to Sierra Leone as his mother was almost born there, but really, he’s the white saviour type character and he doesn’t even realise it. Adrian and Elisa both made me angry at different times in the book, and their love stories weren’t that loving or romantic to me.
The story itself was quite dull and very slow. It takes a long time for the connections between these three men to become clear and they all seem to drift through their lives. The Memory of Love is a story about love but it’s not a particularly romantic or even emotional story. I was never engaged with any of the characters or their pasts. There are many examples of how war as affected the country and its people, but it is always like a footnote in the three men’s lives. The people and the country have suffered a great deal of trauma, but I never really felt the full affects of that.
This is a personal taste thing but as someone that can’t watch medical dramas on TV because of the blood and the surgeries, I found listening to some of the description in The Memory of Love really hard going. When Kai is in an operating theatre everything is described in vivid detail; what he and the other medical staff are doing, the blood, the bones, the pus, and it honestly made me feel a bit queasy at times. Another thing that’s described in minute detail is Adrian’s diagnosis of various patients and the ins and outs of various mental health issues. This attention to detail made it feel more like a medical journal than a historical fiction book and made the story almost grind to a halt when it was being all educational.
In The Memory of Love two out of three of the main characters are unlikable, and at times infuriating, the story wasn’t engaging and nothing about it was memorable. I was just going through the motions listening to this on audio, just like the characters were and their lives and romances weren’t captivating at all.
ldaffy's review
4.0
Very clever book and enjoyable while tackling various themes in a palatable yet thought provoking manner.
Also kind, loving, sad, hopeful
Also kind, loving, sad, hopeful