Christine A. (965 KP) rated Recursion in Books
Jul 8, 2019
Wow! Wow! Wow!
I write 200-word reviews. They are exactly 200 words. For Blake Crouch's Recursion, my review could be just writing the word "wow" 198 times and to end it with "read this!".
I rarely rate a book 5 stars. They have to be extraordinary, either extraordinarily written or be an extraordinary story. This was both. I also usually write my reviews soon after finishing a book but I needed time to decompress and process this story.
I was a Psychology major and had several people close to me suffer from Alzheimer’s so I am fascinated by memory. In Recursion, in 2007, a scientist works to create technology to preserve our memories to help her mother who has Alzheimer’s. In 2018, people suffer from False Memory Syndrome, an affliction that drives people mad with memories of living an entirely different life, a life they never lived.
Recursion asks, "what if you could go back through your memories and “fix” them? Change events in order to protect children, countries, civilizations." Would you?
I have wanted to read Blake Crouch for more than a decade but did not get around to it. I am annoyed I did not read him sooner.
This review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 7/2/19.
Christine A. (965 KP) rated What Rose Forgot in Books
Feb 10, 2020
When I selected Nevada Barr's latest, What Rose Forgot, I did not realize how difficult it would be for me to read it. My mother-in-law, Rose, had memory issues and forgot...well, almost everyone. The premise of the story is Rose, a 60ish-year-old grandmother wakes from a mental fog to discover she was placed in a memory care unit of a nursing home. No one believes Rose so, with the help of her sister, granddaughter and her granddaughter's friend, so struggles to figure out who is responsible.
Having experienced what my Rose struggled through I understand why no one believed Rose. Many of the ways the group works to prove Rose is sane requires a suspension of disbelief. After escaping the nursing home, she sneaks back in to have her "not a hacker" sister hack into the computer files. She takes time to meditate while people are trying to kill her. Lastly, after all of the physical activities she is forced to do, she is able to continue doing more of them without too much pain.
Still, the story was enjoyable. I have added several of Nevada Barr's books, especially her Anna Pigeon mystery series, to my "want to read" list.
This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 2/9/20.
ClareR (6129 KP) rated The Memory Wood in Books
Feb 27, 2020 (Updated Feb 29, 2020)
Elissa is abducted from outside the chess tournament that she's playing at, and wakes up manacled to the floor by a chain. Her only contact with another person is Elijah, a 12 year old boy who lives in the Memory Wood. He calls her Gretel, she calls him Hansel, and the house above the cellar she is imprisoned in is referred to as the Gingerbread House.
Meanwhile, the police have started the investigation, and are trying to locate Elissa. Detective Superintendent Mairead MacCullagh is in charge, and to be honest, Elissa couldn't have a more committed person to lead the hunt. Despite very upsetting personal circumstances, Mairead works hard and persistently to try and find Elissa.
I loved this book - it was non-stop action and so tense! I'm so glad I gave it a chance, because I'm sure it will be one of may favourite books of 2020!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and to Sam Lloyd for reading along with us.
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