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The Forgotten Hours
In this evocative debut novel, Katrin Schumann weaves a riveting story of past and present—and how love can lead us astray.
At twenty-four, Katie Gregory feels like life is looking up: she’s snagged a great job in New York City and is falling for a captivating artist—and memories of her traumatic past are finally fading. Katie’s life fell apart almost a decade earlier, during an idyllic summer at her family’s cabin on Eagle Lake when her best friend accused her father of sexual assault. Throughout his trial and imprisonment, Katie insisted on his innocence, dodging reporters and clinging to memories of the man she adores.
Now he’s getting out. Yet when Katie returns to the shuttered lakeside cabin, details of that fateful night resurface: the chill of the lake, the heat of first love, the terrible sting of jealousy. And as old memories collide with new realities, they call into question everything she thinks she knows about family, friends, and, ultimately, herself. Now, Katie’s choices will be put to the test with life-altering consequences.
362 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2019
14411 people are currently reading
23678 people want to read
About the author
Katrin Schumann
12 books221 followersKatrin is the Washington Post and Amazon Charts Bestselling author of "The Forgotten Hours." Her new novel, "This Terrible Beauty" is forthcoming on March 1, 2020. She studied languages at Oxford and journalism at Stanford, and is also the author of several nonfiction books. Katrin has been awarded fiction residencies from the Norman Mailer Writer’s Colony, The Vermont Studio Center, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Currently the Program Coordinator of the Key West Literary Seminar, she teaches writing at GrubStreet and was an instructor in PEN's Prison Writing program. She lives in Boston and Key West. For more information go to www.katrinschumann.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,234 reviews
January 19, 2019
2.5 stars
I appreciate the author's attempt to tell a story with complex characters and tough subject matter, but for me this one missed the mark. The bare bones of a good story were there but the transitions from the past and present timelines felt disjointed at times and lacked a cohesive flow. When I finished the book one thought that crossed my mind was it felt more like a good rough draft of a book but needs some work and polishing to turn it into something more meaningful.
When Katie Gregory was a teenager her best friend accused Katie's father of sexual assault. He was convicted of the crime and after serving time in prison he is set to be released. Old memories pop back up to the surface and coupled with new information, Katie seems to question just about everything in her life.
The premise for the story had potential but the execution for the most part fell flat. I wish I would have felt more for Katie than I did because obviously she was in such a tough spot given that not only was her father accused of a horrific crime, but her best friend was the accuser. But other than a few moments here and there, I just never felt all that invested in the story.
There's a similar type storyline in a book I read awhile back, The Best Kind of People, and in my opinion that one is a better read than this one.
This was my free Amazon Kindle First selection for January 2019.
I appreciate the author's attempt to tell a story with complex characters and tough subject matter, but for me this one missed the mark. The bare bones of a good story were there but the transitions from the past and present timelines felt disjointed at times and lacked a cohesive flow. When I finished the book one thought that crossed my mind was it felt more like a good rough draft of a book but needs some work and polishing to turn it into something more meaningful.
When Katie Gregory was a teenager her best friend accused Katie's father of sexual assault. He was convicted of the crime and after serving time in prison he is set to be released. Old memories pop back up to the surface and coupled with new information, Katie seems to question just about everything in her life.
The premise for the story had potential but the execution for the most part fell flat. I wish I would have felt more for Katie than I did because obviously she was in such a tough spot given that not only was her father accused of a horrific crime, but her best friend was the accuser. But other than a few moments here and there, I just never felt all that invested in the story.
There's a similar type storyline in a book I read awhile back, The Best Kind of People, and in my opinion that one is a better read than this one.
This was my free Amazon Kindle First selection for January 2019.
January 2, 2019
So much waiting, so little pay-off.
I truly wanted to love this book. The powerful #MeToo movement our country has seen surface the past few years had me desperately wanting to root for Lulu...but it was so hard. Her character was fake, belligerent, and a tad narcissistic. I know others will disagree, and that's okay. I just had a hard time feeling anything about her at all.
As for Katie...yuck. She was aggravating. In this day and age, when EVERYTHING is splashed all over the internet, we're really supposed to believe she didn't even know who testified at her father's rape trial? Really? Unless she's an ostrich with her head buried in the sand, it's simply not plausible. I don't mind suspending belief a bit, but come on.
Charlie and David could have added so much texture and insight, but the author instead chose to make them meaningless, secondary characters who added nothing at all to the tapestry of the story.
The main problem for me? The book was just horribly boring and anti-climatic. Nothing happened except page after page of Katie's internal dialogue--long, rambling, tedious passages. The story also jumps back and forth over multiple time periods, but the changes aren't identified in any way at the start of the chapters. Makes for a bit of confusion.
Overall, I give this book 1.5 stars. I had such high hopes, but what a disappointment.
I truly wanted to love this book. The powerful #MeToo movement our country has seen surface the past few years had me desperately wanting to root for Lulu...but it was so hard. Her character was fake, belligerent, and a tad narcissistic. I know others will disagree, and that's okay. I just had a hard time feeling anything about her at all.
As for Katie...yuck. She was aggravating. In this day and age, when EVERYTHING is splashed all over the internet, we're really supposed to believe she didn't even know who testified at her father's rape trial? Really? Unless she's an ostrich with her head buried in the sand, it's simply not plausible. I don't mind suspending belief a bit, but come on.
Charlie and David could have added so much texture and insight, but the author instead chose to make them meaningless, secondary characters who added nothing at all to the tapestry of the story.
The main problem for me? The book was just horribly boring and anti-climatic. Nothing happened except page after page of Katie's internal dialogue--long, rambling, tedious passages. The story also jumps back and forth over multiple time periods, but the changes aren't identified in any way at the start of the chapters. Makes for a bit of confusion.
Overall, I give this book 1.5 stars. I had such high hopes, but what a disappointment.
January 8, 2019
I just have a lot of mixed feelings about this book and need to sort them out.
January 5, 2019
I’d rather reread a good book than slog through a boring one.
Amazon Prime First Read books aren’t what they once were. Most in recent months have been DNF, one or two stars. None of the December options interested me. We were allowed to choose two books for January, but I could only find one.
THE FORGOTTEN HOURS seemed like a decent possibility, but I couldn’t get into the Katie’s narration. I was more interested in Lulu’s story, but she was barely a minor character. I skimmed to the end.
Amazon Prime First Read books aren’t what they once were. Most in recent months have been DNF, one or two stars. None of the December options interested me. We were allowed to choose two books for January, but I could only find one.
THE FORGOTTEN HOURS seemed like a decent possibility, but I couldn’t get into the Katie’s narration. I was more interested in Lulu’s story, but she was barely a minor character. I skimmed to the end.
January 9, 2019
Please note that I got this via Amazon's Kindle First Reads.
I really loved the premise of the "Forgotten Hours" (a teenage girl loses her best friend and father after a rape accusation and trial). This type of plot feels very timely. That said, I thought that the story being told in third person point of view actually pushed me away as a reader. I think if it was told in the first person point of view I would have felt more entwined with Katie and her choices. Also, if it had been first person point of view, I would have given more leeway on the secondary characters (Zen, Lulu, her father, mother, brother, etc) being written so shallowly. However, writing in third person point of view, I think she could have tapped into everyone's emotions a lot more and the backstory. I needed to get into Lulu's and her father's head more.
"The Forgotten Hours" goes back and forth following the events that broke up Katie Gregory's family more than 6 years ago. Katie's best friend from childhood accuses her father of rape, after two years of investigation/trial, he is found guilty. This ends up causing her family to fracture. Now that he is getting out of jail, Katie is focused on getting her family back to the way it was. There are complications however with her father wanting her to return to their family's cabin, and make it ready for him. This leads Katie down a path to figure out what really happened, and was it her fault.
Katie is really the center of this story. I wish that Schumann had her come to some realizations a lot sooner. She has had to draw herself in due to what happened to her family, and I get that. However, her relationship with Zen had her being ambivalent about it for reasons dealing with her father. It's pretty obvious that Katie sees herself as her father's daughter and him being sent to jail for something she doesn't believe he did has broken some part of herself. I just wish that we had seen more interactions between her and her brother David. That character is written as being more aware of things then Katie ever did. I just wish that they had more honest conversations. The same with Katie and her mother. Back to Katie, we get more insight on what occurred 8 years ago (when Katie and Lulu were 17) and how Katie worshiped Lulu until a boy comes between them. The book flips back and forth between present day and the past.
I think Lulu was written well, but I wanted more there. Her story made me sad and I think it got passed over a little too quickly. The question that Katie has is why would Lulu lie about her father. However, we are given hints here and there what was going on with Lulu and I wish that had been the story.
Katie's father, John Gregory, is charismatic. There is a pull to him when we have the story in the before time period. He is the guy that everyone is drawn to, wants to make happy. Even Katie contrasts him with her mother and she finds her lacking due to her withdrawal from their family.
Katie is haunted by her teen crush and I just thought that whole thing with him was a waste (the present time period). The before time period, once again, Schumman types into something when she goes back to first loves, summer days and night, and the smell of the sun and the lake on your skin.
The writing was good, though sometimes a bit overworked. I have to say that I loved all of the sections dealing with Katie and Lulu showing them growing up together and their summers together. Schumann taps into being a young girl and how hard it is sometimes to be best friends with someone. We also get Lulu's longing to be part of Katie's family and how Lulu's life is so different from Katie's.
When we switch back to the present time frame, I just see Katie as a pale shadow still being jerked around by Lulu. You would think that she would be separate from her at this point. We know that the two had no contact after the rape accusation besides a nasty email that Katie sent. But you have Katie wondering why Lulu never reached out to her. I just rolled my eyes a bit at that.
The setting of the book bounces between New York, upper state New York, and London. I have to say that Schumman writes of New York, and summers on the lake very well. The parts in London were very thin to me. We/Katie get info dumped about some things and I just wish it was done differently.
The ending was bittersweet. I wish it had ended differently because I honestly don't think that the Gregory family ever really comes to term with things. Ostriches, the lot of them.
I really loved the premise of the "Forgotten Hours" (a teenage girl loses her best friend and father after a rape accusation and trial). This type of plot feels very timely. That said, I thought that the story being told in third person point of view actually pushed me away as a reader. I think if it was told in the first person point of view I would have felt more entwined with Katie and her choices. Also, if it had been first person point of view, I would have given more leeway on the secondary characters (Zen, Lulu, her father, mother, brother, etc) being written so shallowly. However, writing in third person point of view, I think she could have tapped into everyone's emotions a lot more and the backstory. I needed to get into Lulu's and her father's head more.
"The Forgotten Hours" goes back and forth following the events that broke up Katie Gregory's family more than 6 years ago. Katie's best friend from childhood accuses her father of rape, after two years of investigation/trial, he is found guilty. This ends up causing her family to fracture. Now that he is getting out of jail, Katie is focused on getting her family back to the way it was. There are complications however with her father wanting her to return to their family's cabin, and make it ready for him. This leads Katie down a path to figure out what really happened, and was it her fault.
Katie is really the center of this story. I wish that Schumann had her come to some realizations a lot sooner. She has had to draw herself in due to what happened to her family, and I get that. However, her relationship with Zen had her being ambivalent about it for reasons dealing with her father. It's pretty obvious that Katie sees herself as her father's daughter and him being sent to jail for something she doesn't believe he did has broken some part of herself. I just wish that we had seen more interactions between her and her brother David. That character is written as being more aware of things then Katie ever did. I just wish that they had more honest conversations. The same with Katie and her mother. Back to Katie, we get more insight on what occurred 8 years ago (when Katie and Lulu were 17) and how Katie worshiped Lulu until a boy comes between them. The book flips back and forth between present day and the past.
I think Lulu was written well, but I wanted more there. Her story made me sad and I think it got passed over a little too quickly. The question that Katie has is why would Lulu lie about her father. However, we are given hints here and there what was going on with Lulu and I wish that had been the story.
Katie's father, John Gregory, is charismatic. There is a pull to him when we have the story in the before time period. He is the guy that everyone is drawn to, wants to make happy. Even Katie contrasts him with her mother and she finds her lacking due to her withdrawal from their family.
Katie is haunted by her teen crush and I just thought that whole thing with him was a waste (the present time period). The before time period, once again, Schumman types into something when she goes back to first loves, summer days and night, and the smell of the sun and the lake on your skin.
The writing was good, though sometimes a bit overworked. I have to say that I loved all of the sections dealing with Katie and Lulu showing them growing up together and their summers together. Schumann taps into being a young girl and how hard it is sometimes to be best friends with someone. We also get Lulu's longing to be part of Katie's family and how Lulu's life is so different from Katie's.
When we switch back to the present time frame, I just see Katie as a pale shadow still being jerked around by Lulu. You would think that she would be separate from her at this point. We know that the two had no contact after the rape accusation besides a nasty email that Katie sent. But you have Katie wondering why Lulu never reached out to her. I just rolled my eyes a bit at that.
The setting of the book bounces between New York, upper state New York, and London. I have to say that Schumman writes of New York, and summers on the lake very well. The parts in London were very thin to me. We/Katie get info dumped about some things and I just wish it was done differently.
The ending was bittersweet. I wish it had ended differently because I honestly don't think that the Gregory family ever really comes to term with things. Ostriches, the lot of them.
November 1, 2018
Riveting. If I had to sum up this debut book in one word, that would be it. What would you do if your father went to jail for statutory rape of your best friend? Who do you side with? What if your choice might be wrong? I admit that I feel a lot of overwhelm from the #metoo news of the world today, and wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this novel, but Schumann pulls you into Katie's world and wraps you in all the emotions from each character in such a way that you literally can't put the book down. There are often many sides to a story and relationships can be incredibly tough and complicated and Schumann deftly shows you all that nuance. I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long time to come.
Thanks, NetGalley and Lake Union for the early peek at this book!
Thanks, NetGalley and Lake Union for the early peek at this book!
August 28, 2020
One and a half stars.
How well do you really know someone, even those you love? That is the theme of this book. Katie and Lulu were friends from childhood, best friends. Until the summer at Eagle Lake when everything changed. That was when her best friend accused Katie’s father of sexual assault, which resulted in a trial and his imprisonment since Lulu was only 14. Now, just when the past has started to recede a little her father is being released from prison after ten year and Katie returns to the lake and the cabin where events reputedly took place. What is the truth of events? Does she really want to know?
The theme of this book sounded really interesting with Katie’s conflicting loyalties and it was this really that kept me reading to find out who was telling the truth? Did her father really do this or was Lulu telling lies? If so for what reason. But that really wasn’t enough to compel my interest. The characters never grabbed me, and some of the minor characters seemed totally unnecessary. I found the further I went along in this book the less interested I became and the more I started to skim. I should have just saved myself the time and gone to the end and found out the answer. Did he or didn’t he? Can’t say I was drawn to any of the characters and it just felt as if it waffled on with too much internal monologue and lack of real conviction. Others may appreciate this one but sadly it didn’t work for me.
How well do you really know someone, even those you love? That is the theme of this book. Katie and Lulu were friends from childhood, best friends. Until the summer at Eagle Lake when everything changed. That was when her best friend accused Katie’s father of sexual assault, which resulted in a trial and his imprisonment since Lulu was only 14. Now, just when the past has started to recede a little her father is being released from prison after ten year and Katie returns to the lake and the cabin where events reputedly took place. What is the truth of events? Does she really want to know?
The theme of this book sounded really interesting with Katie’s conflicting loyalties and it was this really that kept me reading to find out who was telling the truth? Did her father really do this or was Lulu telling lies? If so for what reason. But that really wasn’t enough to compel my interest. The characters never grabbed me, and some of the minor characters seemed totally unnecessary. I found the further I went along in this book the less interested I became and the more I started to skim. I should have just saved myself the time and gone to the end and found out the answer. Did he or didn’t he? Can’t say I was drawn to any of the characters and it just felt as if it waffled on with too much internal monologue and lack of real conviction. Others may appreciate this one but sadly it didn’t work for me.
July 16, 2023
I decided to re-read this novel... a few things I forgot and wanted to make sure I have all of the facts!!!
January 1, 2019
THE FORGOTTEN HOURS is a stunning novel that moves seamlessly between the aftermath of a trauma that shattered one family and a summer evening that ruined many lives. As current events clash with truths Katie Gregory has kept hidden—from her lover and herself—she’s forced to return to memories she’d rather forget. Memories that tug loyalty in conflicting directions and question everything she knows about trust and love. Was her father guilty of the crime for which he was convicted? Who’s lying, and how much does Katie remember of that tempestuous night when she was fourteen and fighting with her best friend over a boy? Trying to unravel the answers before the heart-pounding finish kept me up way past bedtime. A must-read for book clubs!
January 3, 2019
2.5 STARS
It took too long for things to get moving. The book is so focused on Katie, and she's such a frustrating character! It would have been better for the story to be set further in the past, it just didn't seem believable that Katie was so sheltered and naive about everything that happened. As it was, the chapters set at the lake house felt like they could have been from the 70's.
Katie's a woman in her mid-20's, a college graduate, and yet she comes across as someone unable (maybe just unwilling?) to think like an adult. She never heard anything about the trial? She never looked anything up online? She never once thought to not blindly trust in her father? She was exhausting!
So much focus on Katie meant that other interesting characters got shortchanged: namely Lulu, Katie's mom and Katie's brother. I would have liked some chapters from their POV.
I'm a little disappointed in the ending, I thought what happened with Katie's dad was kind of taking the easy way out.
It took too long for things to get moving. The book is so focused on Katie, and she's such a frustrating character! It would have been better for the story to be set further in the past, it just didn't seem believable that Katie was so sheltered and naive about everything that happened. As it was, the chapters set at the lake house felt like they could have been from the 70's.
Katie's a woman in her mid-20's, a college graduate, and yet she comes across as someone unable (maybe just unwilling?) to think like an adult. She never heard anything about the trial? She never looked anything up online? She never once thought to not blindly trust in her father? She was exhausting!
So much focus on Katie meant that other interesting characters got shortchanged: namely Lulu, Katie's mom and Katie's brother. I would have liked some chapters from their POV.
I'm a little disappointed in the ending, I thought what happened with Katie's dad was kind of taking the easy way out.
January 5, 2019
Thought-provoking
Wow. This book was a really good read. Reading from Katie’s POV really puts you in the middle of the story and makes you feel what she’s feeling. I liked reading how bit by bit her willful ignorance melts away and how she’s forced to confront the truth. It couldn’t have been easy thinking that either her father was a rapist or that her best friend lied about it. When she started to really see the truth you were hyperventilating with her. Not wanting to see the truth that her father was a drunk who had multiple affairs and slept with his underage daughter’s best friend. Even I wasn’t sure what I believed to be the truth.
Wow. This book was a really good read. Reading from Katie’s POV really puts you in the middle of the story and makes you feel what she’s feeling. I liked reading how bit by bit her willful ignorance melts away and how she’s forced to confront the truth. It couldn’t have been easy thinking that either her father was a rapist or that her best friend lied about it. When she started to really see the truth you were hyperventilating with her. Not wanting to see the truth that her father was a drunk who had multiple affairs and slept with his underage daughter’s best friend. Even I wasn’t sure what I believed to be the truth.
January 28, 2019
This was a new release that was provided to me from Kindle First. It had an alternating timeline between the past and the present which I liked, but it didn't really flow well between the two. I thought the topic was spot on with the things going on in the world, but the story didn't move along well. It was very slow to start, but got better in the middle. The characters, Charlie, David, jack, seemed flat and didn't seem complete. John, the father, was just creepy in every way - Yuck, even when the reader doesn't know whether he is guilty or innocent. I did finish the book, but didn't think the ending was that great. It was an OK book, but I don't know that I will be recommending it to others.
September 6, 2019
This is an impressive debut. It's about knowing and not knowing, and how those differences can define us. It's about betrayal and striving for forgiveness. And it's about family and how the stories we tell about ourselves are informed by incomplete and sometimes incorrect memories.
June 15, 2019
Hm... I seem to have liked this more than most reviewers, but I have reservations about this one too.
Katy's an empathetic character, and I felt for her as she's trying to piece together what happened one fateful summer several years earlier when her father was accused - and later convicted - of raping her best friend. She's always believed her father was innocent and taken his side, and now that he's getting out of prison, she finds herself more in the dark than she previously realized.
It's hard to talk about this one in any detail without spoiling things, unfortunately. So non-spoilers first:
It was odd that the present day storyline was told in past tense, while the past day storyline was told in present tense. For once though, the third-person present didn't bother me, I'm guessing because the whole story was told from Katy's POV and didn't head hop, so even though it was third-person it still felt like first-person.
The narration by Bailey Carr was decent. I had to speed it up to 1.35x before I could keep my attention on it. She strained with the male characters' voices, but the important voice was Katy and she did that well.
Now spoilers:
So that's my main issue with this. If the author had dialed it back in a few instances and instead focused in more where needed, this could have been much better, but instead she decided to ante up when it really wasn't needed.
Katy's an empathetic character, and I felt for her as she's trying to piece together what happened one fateful summer several years earlier when her father was accused - and later convicted - of raping her best friend. She's always believed her father was innocent and taken his side, and now that he's getting out of prison, she finds herself more in the dark than she previously realized.
It's hard to talk about this one in any detail without spoiling things, unfortunately. So non-spoilers first:
It was odd that the present day storyline was told in past tense, while the past day storyline was told in present tense. For once though, the third-person present didn't bother me, I'm guessing because the whole story was told from Katy's POV and didn't head hop, so even though it was third-person it still felt like first-person.
The narration by Bailey Carr was decent. I had to speed it up to 1.35x before I could keep my attention on it. She strained with the male characters' voices, but the important voice was Katy and she did that well.
Now spoilers:
So that's my main issue with this. If the author had dialed it back in a few instances and instead focused in more where needed, this could have been much better, but instead she decided to ante up when it really wasn't needed.
January 5, 2019
This is an immersive tale where the protagonist finds her family loyalties and trust are put to the test. At first I was reluctant to read this book based on the subject matter revealed in the blurb, but I am so glad that I did.
This novel draws you in from the beginning, with the Prologue establishing the setting for the fateful night where Katie’s life crumbles. Cleverly written in the present tense, this is a reflection of how Katie continues to relive these memories and cannot let go. This is because she firstly cannot believe what it did to her family and her relationship with her best friend, but also because, deep down, she is trying to understand the bigger truth about what happened. Such haunting memories continue throughout the novel until the climax at the closing so that we, as readers, are journeying on the same path of discovery as Katie.
I don’t normally pull quotes from novels in my reviews, but I think the following reflects the plot beautifully: “to move forward, she was going to have to keep going backwards”. As Katie returns to the lake to prepare for her father’s return, she uncovers more information about his trial. Katie is determined to learn the real truth about what happened between her father and her best friend, Lulu, and, once she begins reading the interrogation scripts from court, does she find that something is not quite right. Katie’s relationships are tested throughout the story and this mirrors her difficulty in coping with her father’s imprisonment, to the extent that it is significantly impacting her currently relationship with Zeb, her causal boyfriend.
Like Katie, readers also want to know the truth. It is easy to understand why Katie is so reluctant to uncover this because it tests everything she has believed in. Schumann carefully covers the issue of rape and it does not make you feel uncomfortable at all, instead allowing you to immersive yourself in the thrilling plot. With the prevalent #metoo campaign, you cannot help but sympathise with Lulu, particularly as more is revealed about her difficult childhood. You can only hope that some resolution is met between the two girls, and Schumann leaves readers until the epilogue to discover whether this actually happens.
Smoothly moving between the past and present, you feel the internal conflict that Katie experiences with her feelings towards her father. He is her hero, wrongfully accuses of something he could not have done. Therefore, her reluctance to find about more simply reflects her natural reluctance to question her father’s role in her life.
I could not put this novel down as the story progressed. At the same time, I didn’t want to read it too quickly because I was enjoying it so much! The revelations at the end and the plot development made me actually gasp out aloud, and I think this is a sign of a great read. A powerful journey to find the truth, I really enjoyed this immersive, thrilling read and felt the ending was as satisfying as it could have ever been. A brilliant read.
January 23, 2019
This book started off a little slow and I nearly gave up but at 25% it got a little better. I’m giving this 3 stars. Just ok for me. Didn’t love it but didn’t dislike it either.
January 2, 2019
An okay read
I bought this book from the blurb.
It was touted as a book of the year, and held the promise of so much, and in parts it did deliver, but overall it wasn't anywhere near as satisfying as I expected.
I found Katie, the main character, tiresome and incredibly juvenile with her constant introspection and total self absorption.
As a teen this seemed reasonable, if tedious, but for a woman in her twenties, too damn naive to be believable, the deliberate way she hides her head in sand is not credible, especially as she goes to university and gains a degree and yet fails to gain any sense of self - she is still so naively trusting as to be convinced of her father's innocence and this really stretched my credibility.
I kept thinking, hell at Katie's age I was a mother who had buried a child - and here's a university educated woman who deliberately shuns learning the truth of her father's trial and conviction -
The other characters, Katie's mother, her brother who could all have contributed so much to the story were mere cardboard cutouts without any real substance and yet they could have added so much more richness to the story.
The only character that came alive on the page was Lulu, she was painted with such vivid strokes that showed up all the characters.
This book holds the threads to be so much more but for me it fell sadly flat and left me disappointed.
At times I wanted to shake Katie and tell her to grow the hell up, and to kick her mother in the shins and wake her up out of her apathy, she was certainly sadly lacking as a parent to shield her children from the narcissistic tendencies of a man who was little more than a charismatic Peter Pan, a man who never wanted to grow up and be a father to his children.
I bought this book from the blurb.
It was touted as a book of the year, and held the promise of so much, and in parts it did deliver, but overall it wasn't anywhere near as satisfying as I expected.
I found Katie, the main character, tiresome and incredibly juvenile with her constant introspection and total self absorption.
As a teen this seemed reasonable, if tedious, but for a woman in her twenties, too damn naive to be believable, the deliberate way she hides her head in sand is not credible, especially as she goes to university and gains a degree and yet fails to gain any sense of self - she is still so naively trusting as to be convinced of her father's innocence and this really stretched my credibility.
I kept thinking, hell at Katie's age I was a mother who had buried a child - and here's a university educated woman who deliberately shuns learning the truth of her father's trial and conviction -
The other characters, Katie's mother, her brother who could all have contributed so much to the story were mere cardboard cutouts without any real substance and yet they could have added so much more richness to the story.
The only character that came alive on the page was Lulu, she was painted with such vivid strokes that showed up all the characters.
This book holds the threads to be so much more but for me it fell sadly flat and left me disappointed.
At times I wanted to shake Katie and tell her to grow the hell up, and to kick her mother in the shins and wake her up out of her apathy, she was certainly sadly lacking as a parent to shield her children from the narcissistic tendencies of a man who was little more than a charismatic Peter Pan, a man who never wanted to grow up and be a father to his children.
January 14, 2019
Katrin Schumann, Author of “The Forgotten Hours” has written an emotional, intense, suspenseful, and captivating novel. The Genres for this Novel are Fiction and Women’s Fiction. The timeline for this story starts in 2007 and the present and goes back to the past when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. The author describes her characters are complex and complicated. This is a story of coming of age, of friendships, of loss, and betrayal. It also is a story of family, disappointment, memories , forgetting, love and hope.
Katie Gregory, now twenty-four years old, with a successful job, a considerate boyfriend who is an Artist, often thinks back in time to an earlier time when she would be with her best friend Lulu at Eagle Lake having fun. Life seemed to be less complicated, and there were boys, fun, and parties. Unfortunately, Katie now waits for her father to be released from prison, where he has been for six years, accused by her best friend of an unspeakable crime. Katie has to go back to the lake and fix up the cabin for her Dad to live in. She dreads the trip, because of many memories, and some things she has forgotten.
Katie needs to make sense of everything that has happened. When she has asked for information from her parents, she has been put off. What exactly happened? Katie must go back to the past if there is any hope for the future. The omissions of information and Katie’s ignorance encourage her to look again at the pieces of the puzzle. What information will Katie find? I would recommend this novel to readers who enjoy a suspenseful and emotional novel.
Katie Gregory, now twenty-four years old, with a successful job, a considerate boyfriend who is an Artist, often thinks back in time to an earlier time when she would be with her best friend Lulu at Eagle Lake having fun. Life seemed to be less complicated, and there were boys, fun, and parties. Unfortunately, Katie now waits for her father to be released from prison, where he has been for six years, accused by her best friend of an unspeakable crime. Katie has to go back to the lake and fix up the cabin for her Dad to live in. She dreads the trip, because of many memories, and some things she has forgotten.
Katie needs to make sense of everything that has happened. When she has asked for information from her parents, she has been put off. What exactly happened? Katie must go back to the past if there is any hope for the future. The omissions of information and Katie’s ignorance encourage her to look again at the pieces of the puzzle. What information will Katie find? I would recommend this novel to readers who enjoy a suspenseful and emotional novel.
January 18, 2019
It was free. And read like that. If there was an editor, I'd be shocked. Bizarre book. Author swallowed a thesaurus and chose the wrong words. I was going to give up early on. And I should have. No character was fleshed out or sympathetic. The plot was scattered, and the big reveal was just soap opera bad. Just horrid. I wish I could give this zero stars and a warning label.
February 17, 2019
After reading several books recently that I did not want to put down, I was bound to start one that made me groan when I picked up my kindle and then remembered this was the story I was going back to.
It wasn't just the depressing storyline, an adult daughter re-evaluating her view of her father when he is about to be released from prison, after being convicted of raping her teenage best friend, while she was in the room. But the writing was slow and sluggish, and Katie was hard to like. In a way, it actually reminded me of An American Marriage because it dealt a bit with life standing still for someone in jail while it moves forward for those on the outside, and Katie allowed a lot of her life to just happen to her without making conscious decisions. But even though she was conflicted about what she truly believed and felt paralyzed to do anything because of that, she also seemed blurry as a character. There were snippets of character traits that popped up randomly, like her trying to quantify and count everything, that disappeared and then showed up again at weird intervals.
SPOILERS ahead
But my biggest issue with this book is that it got the whole conflict totally wrong. To me, the real tragedy of the book wasn't Katie learning the truth about her dad, who as she realized, was just so cliche, but instead, the total disregard of Lulu. She and Katie were juxtaposed...an upper class girl born into wealth, connections, stability, and a lower class girl with a suspicious past, adopted and neglected, trying to fit into a world she dreams can be hers. Katie senses her jealousy without really confronting it and callously takes from her knowing it will crush her. And even though at the end, Lulu flat out says she wanted Katie's dad to treat her like Katie, and instead he ruined her life, neither admitted the tragedy Katie's life getting to go own and have a happily ever after, while Lulu's life is characterized by drudgery and dreaming of getting away to those tropical places her clients send their dogs post cards from, only to the END WITH KATIE AND HER PERFECT FAMILY IN ONE OF THOSE PLACES. Not once did the author confront the issue of the privilege that allowed Katie's family to survive the trial, the backlash (as uncomfortable as it makes them), the death. Katie tried to confront her father, but she didn't even have to deal with the effects of that because of his death. Lulu, as the 'garbage' that she was, got brushed aside. Sure, Katie visited her once to try to apologize, and was glad she wasn't totally broken by her father, but she didn't comment at all on the fact that she didn't rise above the way she always dreamed of.
It wasn't just the depressing storyline, an adult daughter re-evaluating her view of her father when he is about to be released from prison, after being convicted of raping her teenage best friend, while she was in the room. But the writing was slow and sluggish, and Katie was hard to like. In a way, it actually reminded me of An American Marriage because it dealt a bit with life standing still for someone in jail while it moves forward for those on the outside, and Katie allowed a lot of her life to just happen to her without making conscious decisions. But even though she was conflicted about what she truly believed and felt paralyzed to do anything because of that, she also seemed blurry as a character. There were snippets of character traits that popped up randomly, like her trying to quantify and count everything, that disappeared and then showed up again at weird intervals.
SPOILERS ahead
But my biggest issue with this book is that it got the whole conflict totally wrong. To me, the real tragedy of the book wasn't Katie learning the truth about her dad, who as she realized, was just so cliche, but instead, the total disregard of Lulu. She and Katie were juxtaposed...an upper class girl born into wealth, connections, stability, and a lower class girl with a suspicious past, adopted and neglected, trying to fit into a world she dreams can be hers. Katie senses her jealousy without really confronting it and callously takes from her knowing it will crush her. And even though at the end, Lulu flat out says she wanted Katie's dad to treat her like Katie, and instead he ruined her life, neither admitted the tragedy Katie's life getting to go own and have a happily ever after, while Lulu's life is characterized by drudgery and dreaming of getting away to those tropical places her clients send their dogs post cards from, only to the END WITH KATIE AND HER PERFECT FAMILY IN ONE OF THOSE PLACES. Not once did the author confront the issue of the privilege that allowed Katie's family to survive the trial, the backlash (as uncomfortable as it makes them), the death. Katie tried to confront her father, but she didn't even have to deal with the effects of that because of his death. Lulu, as the 'garbage' that she was, got brushed aside. Sure, Katie visited her once to try to apologize, and was glad she wasn't totally broken by her father, but she didn't comment at all on the fact that she didn't rise above the way she always dreamed of.
January 9, 2019
Not what I was expecting
The ending fell a little flat for me, but overall the way the story wraps up was not what I was expecting. It was an enjoyable read and quite a quick one too. I'd be interested to read other works by Katrin Schumann.
The ending fell a little flat for me, but overall the way the story wraps up was not what I was expecting. It was an enjoyable read and quite a quick one too. I'd be interested to read other works by Katrin Schumann.
March 18, 2019
3.5 RTC!
June 24, 2019
The Forgotten Hours
In the Forgotten Hours we follow a journey of two best friends. Summertime days on the lake and freedom to hangout without the parental oversight. Katie who comes from the traditional family, mom and dad and a brother and a home, is paired with Lulu who is living with a single mom who is less then caring and nurturing. The summer that throws their worlds into a tailspin there is Jack, whom both girls are drawn to. Lulu being pretty and outgoing tries to gain his attention. Katie who views herself as less then Lulu finds out he is interested in her. The small rendezvous they have on the last night has set everything in motion. Charlie Katie’s mom and John her dad return home only to have the police knocking on their door. Secrets kept from the children end up shaping them later in life. Katie’s loyalty to her father is unshakable till her world comes tumbling down. Follow Katie as she rediscovers herself and her family and understand what happened that last night, they were all together. Written by Katrin Schumann I found it a well-written and compelling novel of friendship, family, loss and hope. This is one of those books that you will have a hard time forgetting. It is different and manages to keep you engaged.
In the Forgotten Hours we follow a journey of two best friends. Summertime days on the lake and freedom to hangout without the parental oversight. Katie who comes from the traditional family, mom and dad and a brother and a home, is paired with Lulu who is living with a single mom who is less then caring and nurturing. The summer that throws their worlds into a tailspin there is Jack, whom both girls are drawn to. Lulu being pretty and outgoing tries to gain his attention. Katie who views herself as less then Lulu finds out he is interested in her. The small rendezvous they have on the last night has set everything in motion. Charlie Katie’s mom and John her dad return home only to have the police knocking on their door. Secrets kept from the children end up shaping them later in life. Katie’s loyalty to her father is unshakable till her world comes tumbling down. Follow Katie as she rediscovers herself and her family and understand what happened that last night, they were all together. Written by Katrin Schumann I found it a well-written and compelling novel of friendship, family, loss and hope. This is one of those books that you will have a hard time forgetting. It is different and manages to keep you engaged.
March 11, 2019
I can't say enough good things about this novel. The writing is brilliant—excellent description and word choice. The characters are well-drawn and relatable and the plot completely unpredictable. A must-read.
October 22, 2018
The Forgotten Hours is brilliantly written by Katrin Schumann. Katrin has managed to combine a fascinating and page turning storyline with a beautiful writing style. Normally when I finish a novel, I move on to the next, this book stayed with me and made me think about it over and over. The devastating effects of one evening to a young girl is haunting and powerful given today's "Me Too" Climate.
One of the best books I have read in a long time!
One of the best books I have read in a long time!
January 22, 2019
I really loved the first two parts of this book and burned through them. The insightful portrayal of complex emotions and nostalgic memories, the kinds of realistic feelings and internal conflicts swirling around loyalty to our loved ones when they fail, the weight of what happened and the denial, the way all of the characters carried pieces of it with them, the symbolism of the tattoos... all of it was such a strong start. But the strength of it came from the promise of a strong payoff, and it just wasn't there. The end of Part Two was a cathartic punch in the gut. The end of Part Three left me feeling like I had just wasted my time.
I think parts of this book are still really important and poignant in the way it unflinchingly portrays victim blaming, along with the internal feelings of growing through young adulthood and the uncomfortable process of learning your parents are adults with full lives. But I recommend it only conditionally.
I think parts of this book are still really important and poignant in the way it unflinchingly portrays victim blaming, along with the internal feelings of growing through young adulthood and the uncomfortable process of learning your parents are adults with full lives. But I recommend it only conditionally.
January 6, 2019
Meh. So much hype, equally much disappointment. Schumann writes very well in some instances but struggles with character development in others. Charlie and David were very one-dimensional and could have added so much more depth to the dynamics of the story. Katie was absolutely annoying as an adult and seemed to be stuck in childhood, refusing to move forward and grow up. The Jack storyline and 'big reveal" fell flat for me and was just another indicator of Katie's immaturity and stunted development. I felt that Lulu was the strongest character but I couldn't really connect with any of them. But the book gets a lot of rave reviews, so you still may want to check it out. If you do, stop back and let me know what you think!
January 24, 2019
Although the premise of this story sounded interesting, I found myself bored with the reading of this story. I never connected with the main character, Katie. At about 70% into the book it did get a bit more interesting but it feels like it could have been so much better.
April 24, 2020
Great book. The author Is masterful at unfolding the story bit by bit. I really enjoyed this book.
May 24, 2021
How your view of your life/world changes as you age.
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