Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Tell Me an Ending

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5 Stars

I heard about this book on a podcast (sorry don't remember which one!) and I thought the premise sounded fascinating. I've been wanting to branch out and this seemed like a good step toward Science Fiction. I'd say it's fairly light on sci-fi, set up to allow for really amazing questions about life, love, memory, trauma, and morality. I loved how the book was set up to follow different characters with different connections to Nepenthe, a company that has developed a method for removing painful memories. When I told my spouse, a sci-fi buff, about it, he said "Yeah, it's been done before," but the author alludes to this with references to Star Trek and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, instead of pretending that know one has ever asked, "What if we could delete traumatic memories?" I was originally put off by the fact that the audiobook is 16 hours long, but I couldn't turn it off. The narration was flawless. Each chapter follows one of five characters and I found all the stories equally interesting. Harkin creates multi-dimensional characters and relationships that feel real. There are no heroes or villains (there's a great quote near the end about that, but as I don't have the print edition I can't find it!) Similarly, the resolution feels realistic: no black/white, right/wrong ribbons to tie it all up. Some characters get happy endings and others don't.

This would make such a fantastic book club read, I certainly wish I had someone to talk to about it. I find myself thinking "If I could remove a memory, would I? What memory would it be? How would my life be different if suddenly it was as if that event never happened?" And on and on. I will certainly be following Jo Harkin from now on.

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tbretc's review

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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boocwurm's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-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

4.0

What if you once had a painful memory removed? And what if you were offered the chance to get it back? Tell Me an Ending follows four characters grappling with the question of what to remember—and what they hoped to forget forever.

Hello speculative fiction goodness! Tell Me an Ending was a gripping, thought-provoking, sad and page-turning read from start to finish. Noor, the introductory character, works at a memory removal clinic, Nepenthe. When Nepenthe lands in hot water regarding failed procedures, Noor discovers that not everything at Nepenthe is what it seems. Mei, Finn, William and Oscar each struggle with their own circumstances regarding their memories, each with their own tragic or happy endings.

I really appreciated how to-the-point the opening scenes were in establishing what Nepenthe is, what they do and what the major conflict is. Not all dystopian/spec fiction books do this well, but this one certainly did—no confusion to be found.

Each of the main characters were distinct and interesting, with their own unique voices and conflicts. The POVs throughout the book change at great points to kept the reader guessing. The timelines differ a little, so it was confusing at times to place events in the correct order. However, by the end, you can clearly see all the stories connecting. I really enjoyed how everything got tied together by the ending. I grieved for some characters, celebrated others, and contemplated how some could possibly move forward.

In some instances, I was expecting worse “reveals” and was surprised that not everything was as severe as I anticipated. However, this actually worked in the book’s favor, highlighting how deeply a singular event could affect someone and how someone could or could not move on.

I found the story to be cohesive and satisfying overall. It’s a very intriguing story that kept me thinking long after I turned the final page.

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dbookerj's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

I love the movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” This book is a more nuanced exploration of memory removal, and how it impacts not only the person getting the memory removed, but the doctors who do it, the relationships around the person, and the community where one of the clinics is located.

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carley's review

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

If you could delete a traumatic memory, would you do it? What if you found out you'd already had a memory delete? Would you want it back?

Tell Me An Ending is a story about an alternate present that centers on a group of characters who have undergone memory deletions. A company called Nepenthe preforms procedures to erase memories of both "self-informed" knowing patients, and those who have decided to erase the memory of the procedure as well. After a spat of legal trouble, Nepenthe agrees to offer their past patients a chance to get their deleted memories back. Throughout the story, Tell Me an Ending introduces its readers to a slew of different characters: some considering memory deletion; some who are informed that they already had memories deleted; and some who work for the memory clinic itself. The book tackles trauma, morality, and the idea of the self.

What an intriguing concept for a novel! The book dives into each characters personal struggle as they decide whether regaining a memory that's been deleted is the best choice, and how that decision affects not only the patient but those around them. I enjoyed that sometimes we as readers were better informed on the full picture than the characters in the novel, yet somehow, there was still enough mystery and withheld information that the story didn't feel predictable. There was just enough science fiction to allow for some world-building and creative license, but it was centered so well in reality that it's easy to believe something like this could happen in our lifetime. This is a really strong read for contemporary and sci-fi readers alike.

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