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A review by readingwithhippos
Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante
3.0
Alice LaPlante's debut novel from 2011 is narrated by Dr. Jennifer White, a retired orthopedic surgeon afflicted with Alzheimer's. Her mind is already fragmented, her memory and perception unreliable, but we find out through her conversations with her caretaker and children that her best friend Amanda has been murdered, and the police believe Jennifer knows something about it.
Does she? Well, that depends on when you ask. Most of the time, Jennifer is too addled to contribute anything coherent to the investigation. Her lawyer advises her not to talk to the police, as they may consider her a suspect. Even though the narration is first-person and we're inside Jennifer's head, her inner monologue is garbled enough to obscure the truth. LaPlante keeps the tension high and the central mystery pleasingly convoluted until the very end.
In a way, this is two books in one. First, it's a mystery—we're eager to find out what happened to Amanda, and whether Jennifer could possibly have murdered her friend and then forgotten all about it. But it's also an unsettling expedition into a failing mind, providing a front-row seat for Jennifer's decline from an intelligent, capable surgeon to someone who doesn't remember to take off her nightgown before showering. LaPlante's portrayal of Jennifer is sensitive and insightful, making her bizarre behavior almost comprehensible, but it's still hard to read about a disease laying waste to a once-keen mind. Those who have known friends or relatives with Alzheimer's may find this book rubs a raw spot.
Full text of this recommendation and many others at www.readingwithhippos.com
Does she? Well, that depends on when you ask. Most of the time, Jennifer is too addled to contribute anything coherent to the investigation. Her lawyer advises her not to talk to the police, as they may consider her a suspect. Even though the narration is first-person and we're inside Jennifer's head, her inner monologue is garbled enough to obscure the truth. LaPlante keeps the tension high and the central mystery pleasingly convoluted until the very end.
In a way, this is two books in one. First, it's a mystery—we're eager to find out what happened to Amanda, and whether Jennifer could possibly have murdered her friend and then forgotten all about it. But it's also an unsettling expedition into a failing mind, providing a front-row seat for Jennifer's decline from an intelligent, capable surgeon to someone who doesn't remember to take off her nightgown before showering. LaPlante's portrayal of Jennifer is sensitive and insightful, making her bizarre behavior almost comprehensible, but it's still hard to read about a disease laying waste to a once-keen mind. Those who have known friends or relatives with Alzheimer's may find this book rubs a raw spot.
Full text of this recommendation and many others at www.readingwithhippos.com