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bitterindigo 's review for:
The Sudden Appearance of Hope
by Claire North
Call it three and a half stars. Claire North has a talent for writing about people who have unusual gifts or traits - being reborn hundreds of times, being able to transfer consciousness between bodies, and in this case being forgotten by everyone she meets as soon as she leaves them. I once tried to write a short story about a man who had a similar problem, actually, but couldn't figure out how to make it viable. North does the job, although I would have liked a little more background, a little more time spent on her childhood and the development of the issue.
Making her an international jewel thief adds a nice dimension of intrigue, and her interactions with people - interactions that affect her but never them, not in any lasting manner - are bittersweet and moving; seeing her meet people, friends or enemies, for the first time over and over again is both frustrating and heartbreaking. The Perfection angle was interesting and appropriately horrifying - present technology taken to its extreme logical conclusion - although a few times I felt like the harping on the "perfect smile, perfect body, perfect clothes" thing was a little overdone. The introduction of Byron then takes the story off the thriller track and off into philosophical meanderings, to which the subject matter lends itself very well, although the plot might be a bit slower than some readers would expect from the synopsis.
Overall this is a diverting read that poses some challenging questions about how memory impacts relationships and how alone a person is if they can't be connected to the people in their lives an ongoing, meaningful manner.
A Kindle copy was previded by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Making her an international jewel thief adds a nice dimension of intrigue, and her interactions with people - interactions that affect her but never them, not in any lasting manner - are bittersweet and moving; seeing her meet people, friends or enemies, for the first time over and over again is both frustrating and heartbreaking. The Perfection angle was interesting and appropriately horrifying - present technology taken to its extreme logical conclusion - although a few times I felt like the harping on the "perfect smile, perfect body, perfect clothes" thing was a little overdone. The introduction of Byron then takes the story off the thriller track and off into philosophical meanderings, to which the subject matter lends itself very well, although the plot might be a bit slower than some readers would expect from the synopsis.
Overall this is a diverting read that poses some challenging questions about how memory impacts relationships and how alone a person is if they can't be connected to the people in their lives an ongoing, meaningful manner.
A Kindle copy was previded by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.