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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
DNF AT 35%. The concept was fascinating but it is too slow paced. The stories were not connected and it felt more like short stories to me.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It took me a few days to write this review bc I’ve been marinating in the message of this novel. For some reason this winter is about questioning the movement and mayhem of the universe, so this book asks the question “Who are you without your memories?” I was satisfied by the answer. We are something new. We ARE our memories. We remake them, and in doing so remake ourselves. A character references Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and for good reason - it wrestles with the same theme. This book is like if that movie started cynical and kept scraping the bottom until it found release. I enjoyed it.
Thought provokingly Awesome! If you enjoyed Black Mirror this one is for you!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Excellent, thought-provoking debut that explores the concepts of self and memory. The book follows five characters and is centered around a company, Nepenthe, that has learned how to delete specific memories from people's minds. Noor, an emotionally repressed psychologist at Nepenthe, idolizes her boss Louise even as she uncovers evidence that the company is behind some serious wrongdoing. The other four narratives follow people who have had memories erased, and what they will decide to do when offered a chance to get their memories back. Some of the narratives and characters connect in rather small ways, but I thought the book was heading towards a larger connection amongst all the narratives, and was disappointed when that didn't happen. Nevertheless, the writing is superb and the story will make you think hard about what makes a life fulfilling and meaningful. Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for a review copy.
"The facts of love are gone- the biographical notes redacted- but the love is still there. There is no sunshine; there is no spotless mind."
As others have mentioned, this book is very Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and Vanilla Sky-esque, and even references similar media in regards to the discussion of targeted memory loss.
At first, I was decently confused as there are multiple POVs, seemingly unconnected, but as time goes on, you see that they do have one big similarity: Nepenthe.
I do like that this book went further into specifics and the philosophy of memory erasure and the idea of self than most other similar works have. The topics that these movies/books usually make you think about afterwards were discussed from multiple POVs in the book, which I really enjoyed, as it felt like a discussion within the book itself. The specifics of exactly which memories could and couldn't be deleted was also discussed, mentioning that childhood traumas could/should not be erased because of everything that is linked to those memories throughout the rest of your life.
As anyone that has gone through a traumatic time/moment, I have thought about this topic often. Who would we be without the constant shadow of that trauma following us around?
I have often asked myself who I would even be without childhood trauma and the effects it had on me during such an important time in my developmental stage. It brings up the discussion of self, of who we are, what we are: is it our actions that are our selves? Is it a conscious thing or something deep within? Who are we without our traits and would we be the same "self" if those traits did not exist?
I'm getting into a whole discussion with myself, because this book really does make you think and I definitely won't be able to stop thinking about it for a while. Well written, compelling, thought provoking. The mystery kept me reading and there were moments when my jaw dropped open at revelations.
As others have mentioned, this book is very Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and Vanilla Sky-esque, and even references similar media in regards to the discussion of targeted memory loss.
At first, I was decently confused as there are multiple POVs, seemingly unconnected, but as time goes on, you see that they do have one big similarity: Nepenthe.
I do like that this book went further into specifics and the philosophy of memory erasure and the idea of self than most other similar works have. The topics that these movies/books usually make you think about afterwards were discussed from multiple POVs in the book, which I really enjoyed, as it felt like a discussion within the book itself. The specifics of exactly which memories could and couldn't be deleted was also discussed, mentioning that childhood traumas could/should not be erased because of everything that is linked to those memories throughout the rest of your life.
As anyone that has gone through a traumatic time/moment, I have thought about this topic often. Who would we be without the constant shadow of that trauma following us around?
I have often asked myself who I would even be without childhood trauma and the effects it had on me during such an important time in my developmental stage. It brings up the discussion of self, of who we are, what we are: is it our actions that are our selves? Is it a conscious thing or something deep within? Who are we without our traits and would we be the same "self" if those traits did not exist?
I'm getting into a whole discussion with myself, because this book really does make you think and I definitely won't be able to stop thinking about it for a while. Well written, compelling, thought provoking. The mystery kept me reading and there were moments when my jaw dropped open at revelations.
This was a really interesting concept, that was generally executed very well. It was engaging, and hooked me from the first few pages. The idea behind everything is that the UK has advanced in a way which means people can 'delete' memories. They can't delete massive chunks of their life, but they can delete short periods of time (such as a single incident and the few days afterword). This happens by talking about the memory whilst lasers essentially zap the part of your brain which is lit up. This was a similar concept to that in 'The Binding' by Bridget Collins - which honestly I thought was executed more effectively - but set in the modern age in medical clinics as opposed to in a fictional Victorian era.
My main criticism of this book is that it falls into the stereotype of 'new technology corrupts those in charge as they use it to make money'. There was some variation on this trope but not enough to make the plot twists particularly surprising. I also felt that the ending dragged on too long, especially as it was from Noor's POV rather than the, more interesting, characters who had their memories tampered with. More focus on the reasoning behind choosing to have a memory reinstated (as a legal case dictates before the book begins) or not would've been appreciated also. Finally, the time jumps could often be a bit confusing as sometimes the transitional statements weren't as clear as they could have been (but this also may be in part because I was reading a copy which is formatted differently to how the book will actually be laid out).
Overall an interesting book that was easy to fly through and examined a cool concept. However, a bit under baked perhaps.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free advanced e-copy in return for a honest review!
My main criticism of this book is that it falls into the stereotype of 'new technology corrupts those in charge as they use it to make money'. There was some variation on this trope but not enough to make the plot twists particularly surprising. I also felt that the ending dragged on too long, especially as it was from Noor's POV rather than the, more interesting, characters who had their memories tampered with. More focus on the reasoning behind choosing to have a memory reinstated (as a legal case dictates before the book begins) or not would've been appreciated also. Finally, the time jumps could often be a bit confusing as sometimes the transitional statements weren't as clear as they could have been (but this also may be in part because I was reading a copy which is formatted differently to how the book will actually be laid out).
Overall an interesting book that was easy to fly through and examined a cool concept. However, a bit under baked perhaps.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free advanced e-copy in return for a honest review!
I wasn't ready to enjoy this book as much as I actually did. I'm pretty shook. It's a beautiful Black Mirror episode without a beginning or ending and no resolutions, just stories about people.
Don’t let the dystopian label on this book fool you, because this book is in no way dystopian. I have no clue why it’s labeled that way, because it’s rather futuristic and not really a story that matches with the concept of a world filled with great suffering and injustice. Does the plot revolve around something that is allegedly meant to alleviate great suffering? Yes. But the rest of the world inside this book seems quite analogous to our world today, just that in the world inside this book there’s a company that you can pay to remove memories. That’s just something out of science and contemplative fiction. That’s not dystopic–it’s a thought experiment.
“Tell Me An Ending” is a deeply philosophical book, but the questions it asks aren’t new ones at all: do our memories shape who we are? Would we be the same people we are today if one of those life-shaping memories was scrubbed out as if we had taken an eraser to our brains? Or would the erasure of that memory, once accomplished, possibly put us on uneven enough ground we could find ourselves unable to navigate our lives without this deep-seated feeling that something is missing. Something is wrong. Something is lost. Could we look in the mirror and reconcile our reflection outside to the one outside?
I will tell you: this book is long, and it’s a mosaic of a story. It’s told in bits and pieces from different POVs until they all start to intersect with one another, and then the picture becomes clearer, but even at the end the picture still hasn’t been completely clarified. This is a book for readers that love to read and think about the big questions. It will take you time to read, that’s for sure. Is it an excellent book? Yes, I think so. It’s just not going to be a book for your average reader.
Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.
“Tell Me An Ending” is a deeply philosophical book, but the questions it asks aren’t new ones at all: do our memories shape who we are? Would we be the same people we are today if one of those life-shaping memories was scrubbed out as if we had taken an eraser to our brains? Or would the erasure of that memory, once accomplished, possibly put us on uneven enough ground we could find ourselves unable to navigate our lives without this deep-seated feeling that something is missing. Something is wrong. Something is lost. Could we look in the mirror and reconcile our reflection outside to the one outside?
I will tell you: this book is long, and it’s a mosaic of a story. It’s told in bits and pieces from different POVs until they all start to intersect with one another, and then the picture becomes clearer, but even at the end the picture still hasn’t been completely clarified. This is a book for readers that love to read and think about the big questions. It will take you time to read, that’s for sure. Is it an excellent book? Yes, I think so. It’s just not going to be a book for your average reader.
Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.