The Memory of Love

[Susan]

The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna is not a light read – and not just because it is a long literary fiction book. The subject matter is heavy, including PTSD after Sierra Leone’s civil war, brutalities during the war, political and personal betrayals, and the hard realities of an orthopedic surgeon’s daily work and that of a psychologist in an under-resourced hospital. In contrast, there are lovely descriptions of the physical beauties of the country.

The plot unfolds through dual story lines. Before the war we learn about an academic historian who lusts after a colleagues wife; after the war we see the historian as an old man as a psychologist talks to him. The surgeon is a friend of the psychologist and the stories all come together. There are a number of well developed, complex characters.

I understand why this sweeping book was an award winner and many will give it five stars, but there was something missing for me. I never became fully engaged with any of the three male POV characters. I think the book was too long and sometimes it felt like a hard slog. Nonetheless I think it’s a major achievement.