<![CDATA[The Story of Forgetting: A Novel]]>

false <![CDATA[The Story of Forgetting: A Novel]]> 2052367 7 In Stefan Merrill Block’s extraordinary debut, three narratives intertwine to create a story that is by turns funny, smart, introspective, and revelatory. <br><br>Abel Haggard is an elderly hunchback who haunts the remnants of his family’s farm in the encroaching shadow of the Dallas suburbs, adrift in recollections of those he loved and lost long ago. As a young man, he believed himself to be “the one person too many”; now he is all that remains. Hundreds of miles to the south, in Austin, Seth Waller is a teenage “Master of Nothingness”–a prime specimen of that gangly, pimple-rashed, too-smart breed of adolescent that vanishes in a puff of sarcasm at the slightest threat of human contact. When his mother is diagnosed with a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer’s, Seth sets out on a quest to find her lost relatives and to conduct an “empirical investigation” that will uncover the truth of her genetic history. Though neither knows of the other’s existence, Abel and Seth are linked by a dual legacy: the disease that destroys the memories of those they love, and the story of Isidora–an edenic fantasy world free from the sorrows of remembrance, a land without memory where nothing is ever possessed, so nothing can be lost. <br><br>Through the fusion of myth, science, and storytelling, this novel offers a dazzling illumination of the hard-learned truth that only through the loss of what we consider precious can we understand the value of what remains. 2057425 1 4 2008 The Story of Forgetting: A Novel total:461|5:85|4:185|3:148|2:37|1:6| 461 1689 1028 170 5 3 false false Sun May 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 18 22:45:55 -0700 2008 Thu May 15 22:07:10 -0700 2008 “Could there be anything more sad and more lonely than remembering what terrible things the future will bring?”

In his ambitious debut novel Stefan Merrill Block shows off the wide range of his talent. “The Story of Forgetting” combines elements of science, history, and fable i...more...]]> 3 3 false false Thu Apr 03 08:20:19 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 03 09:25:55 -0700 2008
But...more...]]> 4 3 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 16 15:37:39 -0800 2007 Mon Jan 07 13:56:29 -0800 2008 The Story of Forgetting, Stefan Merrill Block’s debut novel. It had been so long since I’d read so many words at one go…I guess I’d forgotten how one can becom...more...]]> 5 2 false false Sat Apr 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 13:30:43 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 29 06:11:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon Mar 02 00:32:54 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 01:49:29 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 00:32:54 -0800 2009
We follow two people over the course of the book.

Firstly, there is Seth, ...more...]]> 4 2 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed May 28 16:29:07 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 09 08:17:38 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon May 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 27 13:20:06 -0700 2008 Mon May 12 15:52:41 -0700 2008
I have to confess that Alzheimer's ranks right up there among Diseases I'm Petrified That I Might Get--I can't imagine anything more terrifying than to slowly lose my mental...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Jan 24 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 21 20:42:01 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 24 20:40:19 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Jan 13 17:56:02 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 13 17:57:01 -0800 2009
Abel Haggard is an elderly hunchback who haunts the remnants of his family’s farm in the encroaching shadow of the Dallas suburbs, adr...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Dec 17 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 19 01:41:51 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 19 01:43:55 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 22 10:28:01 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 22 10:28:10 -0700 2009
-The first is an elderly, disfigured Abel recounting on the love of his life (also his twin brother's wife) and his mom.
-The second is the "teenaged" version of Seth, telling in present tense what...more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed May 13 13:11:51 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 13:12:10 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Sep 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 25 07:06:58 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 14:38:15 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false true Sun Jun 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 02 17:41:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 19:24:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue May 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 05 16:02:24 -0700 2009 Mon May 25 14:46:00 -0700 2009 ينقلنا بشكل متقطع بين مشهدين
الأول هو لـ آبيل ؛ الأحدب الذي يعيش مع أخيه وزوجة أخيه
وابنته من (زوجة الأخ)، التي تقرر فجأة -بعد أن تسوء ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Sep 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 03 14:47:30 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 15 00:31:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jul 17 17:55:47 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 18:44:11 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Sep 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 05 14:27:14 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 05 14:46:42 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 27 14:56:04 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 01 10:27:35 -0700 2009
I liked that this story contrasts two viewpoints - Seth who is 15 and Abel who is 65 - and it's neat how their stories intersect. I a...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jun 10 15:53:04 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 16:00:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2052367