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victoriaknow 's review for:
The Sudden Appearance of Hope
by Claire North
A fascinating idea - thoroughly thought through and well executed. An absorbing speculation offering a glimpse into the life of a person that everyone forgets. There are echoes of Groundhog Day here, except without the repetition of time and events. Hope has the ability to make a dozen first impressions, trying again until she gets it right. She can wriggle through the usual rules, safe in the knowledge that anyone who sees her will immediately forget her. But on the other hand, accomplishing anything that requires an association of more than one meeting is impossible. She is utterly alone.
With Hope's chosen (and somewhat necessary) career as a thief, the book contained a lot of suspense and excitement. This, more than anything kept me reading. Had it not been for the gripping plot, I might have been discouraged due to the fact that much of the book is a lament of loneliness. She is brilliant, skilled, knowledgeable but utterly alone. She pines for the people who could have been friends and lovers, torturing herself by following them around and having several first meetings with all of them, but ultimately being forced to let them all go. The few people who try to get to know her or study her are forced to rely on their own notes and recordings to convince themselves of having met her before. There is a suggestion that she is better off, because the total lack of emotional ties makes her independent from society. However, she does not believe this herself and part of the book she is focused on finding a "cure", which (as with anyone who has a special talent and no friends) ultimately ends with her being exploited.
The style of writing takes some getting used to. It is written almost like a stream of consciousness novel, with thoughts, observations, facts and lists being interspersed in the narrative. Hope talks to herself all the time and also counts random things as a way to remain calm and maintain her equilibrium. However, once you get used to the writing, it's fairly easy to follow, and one can skip sections that seem unnecessary. It also seems to contain a lot of commentary on the modern world and how everything is monitored through social media and how people feel pressured to conform to society's ideals of being perfect. In the end I wasn't quite sure whether the book was trying to make a serious comment about these things or whether they were simply a plot device to give the characters something to strive for.
A very well-written book, but hard to engage with and from my perspective, not ultimately satisfying.
With Hope's chosen (and somewhat necessary) career as a thief, the book contained a lot of suspense and excitement. This, more than anything kept me reading. Had it not been for the gripping plot, I might have been discouraged due to the fact that much of the book is a lament of loneliness. She is brilliant, skilled, knowledgeable but utterly alone. She pines for the people who could have been friends and lovers, torturing herself by following them around and having several first meetings with all of them, but ultimately being forced to let them all go. The few people who try to get to know her or study her are forced to rely on their own notes and recordings to convince themselves of having met her before. There is a suggestion that she is better off, because the total lack of emotional ties makes her independent from society. However, she does not believe this herself and part of the book she is focused on finding a "cure", which (as with anyone who has a special talent and no friends) ultimately ends with her being exploited.
The style of writing takes some getting used to. It is written almost like a stream of consciousness novel, with thoughts, observations, facts and lists being interspersed in the narrative. Hope talks to herself all the time and also counts random things as a way to remain calm and maintain her equilibrium. However, once you get used to the writing, it's fairly easy to follow, and one can skip sections that seem unnecessary. It also seems to contain a lot of commentary on the modern world and how everything is monitored through social media and how people feel pressured to conform to society's ideals of being perfect. In the end I wasn't quite sure whether the book was trying to make a serious comment about these things or whether they were simply a plot device to give the characters something to strive for.
A very well-written book, but hard to engage with and from my perspective, not ultimately satisfying.