The truth
"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." ~ Oscar Wilde
“If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” ~ Mark Twain
I've recently read Before I Go to Sleep (you can read my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), and it made me realise how many great books there are about memory loss. Here are some of my favourites:
1.
Before I Go to Sleep (SJ Watson, 2011)
Christine wakes up and surprised to see a man lying next to her, disgusted when she sees his wedding ring, and shocked when she walks into the bathroom and sees her own reflection. Suffering from an unusual form of amnesia, ever since an accident seventeen years ago, Christine can retain memories until she goes to sleep. Every morning when she wakes up, Christine's husband, Ben, introduces himself to her and explains who she is and why she cannot remember anything, as if for the first time. But is his version of events the correct one?
2.
Elizabeth Is Missing (Emma Healey, 2014)
"Elizabeth is missing." Maud keeps finding notes in her pockets with this message scrawled on it, but she can’t remember writing it. That said, she can’t remember much these days: the time of day, whether she’s eaten lunch, if her daughter’s come to visit, how much toast she’s eaten.
3.
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (Maggie O'Farrell, 2006)
In the middle of tending to the everyday business at her vintage-clothing shop and sidestepping her married boyfriend’s attempts at commitment, Iris Lockhart receives a stunning phone call: Her great-aunt Esme, whom she never knew existed, is being released from Cauldstone Hospital—where she has been locked away for more than sixty-one years.
4.
The Lives of Stella Bain (Anita Shreve, 2013)
In a field hospital in northern France in March 1916, an American woman wakes to the smell of gas gangrene, the sounds of men in pain, and an almost complete loss of memory: she only knows that she can drive an ambulance, she can draw, and her name is Stella Bain.
Other books about memory loss currently on my to-read shelf are:
1. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum, 1980)
2. The Housekeeper and the Professor (Yoko Ogawa, 2003)
3. The Last Thing I Remember (Deborah Bee, 2016)
Which books would you add to, or remove from, this list?
“If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” ~ Mark Twain
I've recently read Before I Go to Sleep (you can read my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), and it made me realise how many great books there are about memory loss. Here are some of my favourites:
1.
Before I Go to Sleep (SJ Watson, 2011)Christine wakes up and surprised to see a man lying next to her, disgusted when she sees his wedding ring, and shocked when she walks into the bathroom and sees her own reflection. Suffering from an unusual form of amnesia, ever since an accident seventeen years ago, Christine can retain memories until she goes to sleep. Every morning when she wakes up, Christine's husband, Ben, introduces himself to her and explains who she is and why she cannot remember anything, as if for the first time. But is his version of events the correct one?
2.
Elizabeth Is Missing (Emma Healey, 2014)"Elizabeth is missing." Maud keeps finding notes in her pockets with this message scrawled on it, but she can’t remember writing it. That said, she can’t remember much these days: the time of day, whether she’s eaten lunch, if her daughter’s come to visit, how much toast she’s eaten.
3.
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (Maggie O'Farrell, 2006)In the middle of tending to the everyday business at her vintage-clothing shop and sidestepping her married boyfriend’s attempts at commitment, Iris Lockhart receives a stunning phone call: Her great-aunt Esme, whom she never knew existed, is being released from Cauldstone Hospital—where she has been locked away for more than sixty-one years.
4.
The Lives of Stella Bain (Anita Shreve, 2013)In a field hospital in northern France in March 1916, an American woman wakes to the smell of gas gangrene, the sounds of men in pain, and an almost complete loss of memory: she only knows that she can drive an ambulance, she can draw, and her name is Stella Bain.
Other books about memory loss currently on my to-read shelf are:
1. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum, 1980)
2. The Housekeeper and the Professor (Yoko Ogawa, 2003)
3. The Last Thing I Remember (Deborah Bee, 2016)
Which books would you add to, or remove from, this list?
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