Reviews

Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal

stacksoftbr's review

adventurous mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A novella set in a future world where everything is recorded and everyone relies on AI and the elusiveness and intangibility of memory when such access is lost. 
Simple but elegant prose, unreliable narrator, poses a lot of questions but not too many answers. 
Great cover. 

apiecalypsejen's review against another edition

to-read

zainabsaba's review

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

crafty_crow's review

4.0

I've had my eye on this for a while, waiting for a copy in Overdrive. As I was reading it earlier today, I thought it seemed familiar. The story and timeline felt awfully like the shared METAtropolis setting. And therefore I was pleased to see, at the end of the book, the copyright notice that, yes, it was published as METAtropolis: Green Space by Audible.

I am silly. And now, to listen to the third installment of METAtropolis.

And yes, I enjoyed it!

mylifeincurls17's review

adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

acidicorchid's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

Simple, straightforward, and elegant prose packs a punch in a novela about memory and uncertainty that's unlike most books I've laid my hands on.

I picked this up on a whim while browsing the stacks at the library and was happily not disappointed. Kowal takes this first-person pov narrative in an interesting direction, setting us up in the aftermath of the events being relayed to us and using not just the story, but the physical text as part of her character building. She also doesn't put us in Katya's shoes (as, arguably, many stories in this pov strive to), but instead sits us firmly in the recipient's which I think lends itself to the open-endedness of it. I definitely would have been a lot more frustrated with it otherwise.

This short book poses more questions than it answers and left me almost inexplicably unsettled. In a good way! If you're looking for more than a snapshot into a world/larger mystery then this might not be the book for you, but it's amazing for what it is.

lehc1984's review

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

isskregg's review against another edition

2.0

A story without any real conclusion, and too much telling without enough showing (which can be justified somewhat with the format of it being the narrator's voice as opposed to the author herself. Also, too many unanswered questions for no real purpose other than for the story's sake.

alexhempstxck's review

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

asimm's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0