Alex FazeliFazeliথেকেAmity Hal, Jamaica
"At a certain point, the worse you get, the worse it is for everyone around you, but the better it is for you." (from page 195 in the advanced reader's edition) You realize that this book has a very literal title when you find out what's written inside. The Story of Forgetting is a brilliant yet tragic novel with two main characters and two side narratives, all of which gradually come together as the pages are turned. It begins with Abel, and his story of remembering falling in love with Mae, his brother Paul's wife. It continues with Seth, a lonely but "too-smart" teenager who pushes himself out of his shell to find more about his mother Jamie's past. Woven between the stories of Abel and Seth are the legend of Isidora and genetic history details of a disease called "early-onset Alzheimer's" in which the victim starts showing signs of dementia at an early age (age 30-50). A couple of the characters in The Story of Forgetting have early-onset Alzheimer's, and the impact on their families is heartbreaking to be sure. But the ending of this novel, with its two long-awaited reunions, will most likely make you feel that The Story of Forgetting is one worth remembering.