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A review by chrissymcbooknerd
The Art of Forgetting by Camille Pagán
4.0
When I first saw the cover of THE ART OF FORGETTING, I knew that I needed to add it to my "to be read" list. Sure, it's shallow, but I'll admit -- I do judge a book by its cover. And, just look at this cover! It's spectacular, no?
A few weeks ago, I was leafing through an issue of one of the (ridiculously high) number of magazines I'd bought at the checkout counter, and I found a brief mentioning of THE ART OF FORGETTING, calling it "Chick lit with a brain". I love chick lit, and I love brains, so I was further intrigued. Thus, when I found THE ART OF FORGETTING on NetGalley for advanced reading, I was quite excited and immediately decided to give it a go!
So, starting with the story. THE ART OF FORGETTING centers on your stereotypical chick-lit friendship. We have Julia, the beautiful, perfect blonde-bombshell, always accustomed to getting her way with men, and Marissa, the intelligent, mousy brunette who seems fairy content with lurking in the shadows of her best friend's spotlight. While the dynamic between the girls, on the surface, is pretty much what you'd expect from a chick lit novel, there actually is a bit more going on underneath it all. Despite the fact that the girls live in the perfect chick lit city, holding down the perfect chick lit careers, they are thrust into an (actual) real-life difficult scenario within mere pages of the opening of the book -- one that's a big tougher than the expected "tragic" question of "OMG, which of these two beautiful, rich, fabulous men do I end up with (for the week?)."
Anyways, on her way to meeting her best friend Marissa for lunch, Julia gets hit by a car. It turns out that the rapid blow to the brain left her with what could end up being permanent brain damage, and doctors warn Marissa that Julia may undergo spurts of memory loss as well as drastic changes in personality, demeanor, and interests. Forced to deal with a "new" best friend who seems more impulsive and selfish than ever before, Marissa finds herself questioning the basis of this lasting friendship, simultaneously struggling to find herself and her own inner strength.
One particular incident from the past has been particularly troubling Marissa lately. She remembers a guy, the one she presumed was her "soulmate" if ever a thing existed, and she remembers the way the relationship made her feel happy, excited, and new. She ended that relationship because Julia, finding herself falling for her best friend's boyfriend, demanded that Marissa put her friendships first, discarding any man that could cause trouble between the two of them now. Sure, Marissa has moved on now -- she's in a stable, comfortable relationship with a mature man who, although he doesn't make her necessarily feel excited, seems to be a prime candidate for marriage -- so it's more a matter of principle now -- right?
Of course I'm not going to tell you how it ends, but the process is more important here than the outcome, regardless, I think. The novel does a nice job of pulling the reader into the characters, leaving us sympathetic for Marissa and hopeful for her path of growth and self-discovery. That said, I am a huge sucker for a strong ending, and this one didn't deliver QUITE as much as I hoped. But, I'd still give THE ART OF FORGIVING a strong 4 or 4.5 stars and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is a fan of women's fiction. Not only does this one have "brain" -- I think it has "heart" as well.
A few weeks ago, I was leafing through an issue of one of the (ridiculously high) number of magazines I'd bought at the checkout counter, and I found a brief mentioning of THE ART OF FORGETTING, calling it "Chick lit with a brain". I love chick lit, and I love brains, so I was further intrigued. Thus, when I found THE ART OF FORGETTING on NetGalley for advanced reading, I was quite excited and immediately decided to give it a go!
So, starting with the story. THE ART OF FORGETTING centers on your stereotypical chick-lit friendship. We have Julia, the beautiful, perfect blonde-bombshell, always accustomed to getting her way with men, and Marissa, the intelligent, mousy brunette who seems fairy content with lurking in the shadows of her best friend's spotlight. While the dynamic between the girls, on the surface, is pretty much what you'd expect from a chick lit novel, there actually is a bit more going on underneath it all. Despite the fact that the girls live in the perfect chick lit city, holding down the perfect chick lit careers, they are thrust into an (actual) real-life difficult scenario within mere pages of the opening of the book -- one that's a big tougher than the expected "tragic" question of "OMG, which of these two beautiful, rich, fabulous men do I end up with (for the week?)."
Anyways, on her way to meeting her best friend Marissa for lunch, Julia gets hit by a car. It turns out that the rapid blow to the brain left her with what could end up being permanent brain damage, and doctors warn Marissa that Julia may undergo spurts of memory loss as well as drastic changes in personality, demeanor, and interests. Forced to deal with a "new" best friend who seems more impulsive and selfish than ever before, Marissa finds herself questioning the basis of this lasting friendship, simultaneously struggling to find herself and her own inner strength.
One particular incident from the past has been particularly troubling Marissa lately. She remembers a guy, the one she presumed was her "soulmate" if ever a thing existed, and she remembers the way the relationship made her feel happy, excited, and new. She ended that relationship because Julia, finding herself falling for her best friend's boyfriend, demanded that Marissa put her friendships first, discarding any man that could cause trouble between the two of them now. Sure, Marissa has moved on now -- she's in a stable, comfortable relationship with a mature man who, although he doesn't make her necessarily feel excited, seems to be a prime candidate for marriage -- so it's more a matter of principle now -- right?
Of course I'm not going to tell you how it ends, but the process is more important here than the outcome, regardless, I think. The novel does a nice job of pulling the reader into the characters, leaving us sympathetic for Marissa and hopeful for her path of growth and self-discovery. That said, I am a huge sucker for a strong ending, and this one didn't deliver QUITE as much as I hoped. But, I'd still give THE ART OF FORGIVING a strong 4 or 4.5 stars and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is a fan of women's fiction. Not only does this one have "brain" -- I think it has "heart" as well.