The Leftovers and The Memory Box
The Leftovers by Tom Perrota:
I saw some of the TV adaptation of this a while back and found it quite interesting, so thought I'd give the book a try. Considering how high-concept it is - millions of people all over the world just vanish one day - it's a remarkably quiet and personal book. It's not even really about the disappearances (no explanation is forthcoming) but more about certain reactions to them. The story centres around one small American town, and one family in particular - none of whom disappear but all of whom are quite profoundly affected by the event. The tone at the start is almost comic, which struck me as very odd, but it calmed down and found some emotional depth as new viewpoint characters were introduced. It felt a little remote throughout, though, and the ending seemed almost dreamlike, with not a huge amount in the way of resolution. However, the range of characters and situations was interesting and I found it engaging all the way through.
The Memory Box by Margaret Forster:
With this book selection, I was looking for something unchallenging but absorbing enough to keep me interested - and it fulfilled that criteria. The premise of a young woman finding a 'memory box', left by her mother, who died when she was six months old, was intriguing enough to draw me in. But there weren't really any major revelations in the way you'd expect with this kind of story. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing - though I did wonder at the end what the point of the story was. I liked the protagonist to begin with - her almost overwrought introspection felt familiar to me and very relatable, though certain aspects of her character and situation did grate a bit as time went on. It's not a particularly eventful book, but it's not meant to be - I didn't have any trouble getting through it and it's well-written in terms of showing one character's journey to understand herself better. But I don't think it's one that will stay with me.
I saw some of the TV adaptation of this a while back and found it quite interesting, so thought I'd give the book a try. Considering how high-concept it is - millions of people all over the world just vanish one day - it's a remarkably quiet and personal book. It's not even really about the disappearances (no explanation is forthcoming) but more about certain reactions to them. The story centres around one small American town, and one family in particular - none of whom disappear but all of whom are quite profoundly affected by the event. The tone at the start is almost comic, which struck me as very odd, but it calmed down and found some emotional depth as new viewpoint characters were introduced. It felt a little remote throughout, though, and the ending seemed almost dreamlike, with not a huge amount in the way of resolution. However, the range of characters and situations was interesting and I found it engaging all the way through.
The Memory Box by Margaret Forster:
With this book selection, I was looking for something unchallenging but absorbing enough to keep me interested - and it fulfilled that criteria. The premise of a young woman finding a 'memory box', left by her mother, who died when she was six months old, was intriguing enough to draw me in. But there weren't really any major revelations in the way you'd expect with this kind of story. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing - though I did wonder at the end what the point of the story was. I liked the protagonist to begin with - her almost overwrought introspection felt familiar to me and very relatable, though certain aspects of her character and situation did grate a bit as time went on. It's not a particularly eventful book, but it's not meant to be - I didn't have any trouble getting through it and it's well-written in terms of showing one character's journey to understand herself better. But I don't think it's one that will stay with me.