Just Read: Before I Go To Sleep

Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson
Published: June 2011 (US) HarperCollins

Since I had a little time this weekend to go to the beach, I found this book in the fast read section at the library. It's a debut novel for author S.J. Watson who wrote the novel while working as an audiologist at the National Health Service in England.

The story is about Christine Lucas who suffers from amnesia, both anterograde amnesia (the loss of long-term memory or the inability to form new memories) and retrograde amnesia (not being able to recall pre-existing memories). She wakes up every morning thinking she is in her mid-20's (sometimes younger) even though she is 47 and has no recollection of what has happened during the last 20 years.

Every morning she gets introduced to her husband Ben and learns about the horrible accident that has robbed her of her memory. Each day she receives a phone call from her neurologist Dr. Nash who directs her to a journal that she has been keeping that helps her re-learn what she has been able to remember on previous days. Every night she goes to bed where her mind will erase everything she did that day.

Just Read: The Leftovers

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta
*spoilers after the jump

I remember reading this NY Times review by Stephen King of The Leftovers about a year ago. As I do with the many books I want to read, I added it to my ever growing book list (a messy google document that I cut and paste things to) and just left it at that. It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that Vulture wrote an article that via a Deadline report, that The Leftovers was going to be adapted into a project for HBO. Damon Lindelof (the co-creator of Lost) will team up with the book's writer, Tom Perrotta (he also wrote Little Children and Election) to write the pilot this summer.

So The Leftovers is based on a post-Rapture world. Remember Harold Camping? He was the doomsday prophet that predicted that Jesus would return to Earth on May 21, 2011 and that the world would after five months of fire, brimstone and plague on October 21, 2011.

Obviously that didn't happen. But this book is based on a similar idea of the world after a Rapture. Millions of people disappear for no reason and the story is about the people who are left behind (the leftovers) and how they deal with getting on (or not getting on) with their lives after the event. It opens up three years after the Rapture and takes place for the most part in a small town called Mapleton. It is largely centered around one family, the Garvey family, Kevin, Laurie and their two children, Tom and Jill. Though this family drifts apart it keeps up with each character as they progress over a year or so.

The mother Laurie joins the Guilty Remnant, a cult that stalks people to make them remember the Rapture and basically wait for the end of the world. They give up worldly frivolities and show their acceptance of death by smoking in public.

There's the son Tom, who after being at college can't deal with the stress and joins a hugging cult (a cult that gives out hugs) that turns out to have it's leader take on young teenage brides and eventually get sent to prison. After being feeling taken advantage of, Tom then joins the Barefoot People who believe they should party 24/7 until the end of the world.

And we haven't even gotten started on the dad Kevin or the daughter Jill yet. Or the rest of the residents of Mapleton.

Just read: The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

A few months ago while out for drinks over a hockey game, I was recommended this book by a friends cousin who swore that it was a great read. It was so good that she said this was her FAVORITE book ever. That's huge to say something is your favorite book. I have put in a ton of thought into what my favorite book is and every so often see if a new one has usurped it's title. At this point, and for the last 15 years, Brave New World has held the title in a stranglehold.

So since I needed something to read while at a work conference up in Kelowna, I borrowed The Book Thief from the library and proceeded to spend my two day conference plugging away at it.

The story is narrated by Death and is about the story of Liesel Meminger, a girl given up to live in foster care outside of Munich during World War II. Death has a witty personality and has quite the soft spot for this wiry girl. Even though her foster parents are introduced as vulgar poor people, by the end of the book you end up loving them so, so much; especially her foster father Hans.

I don't read that many Holocaust set books for several reasons. The first being that after I read Elie Wiesel's Night well I really thought that was enough dark bleak Holocaust lit than I need for the rest of my life. The second and this one being the more influencing on my book decisions of this topic is that through my family in Hungary, we have enough first hand stories. But that is a topic for another post.

But this story was good. It didn't gloss over details of how difficult it was to be poor or what consequences you had to bear if you didn't proclaim your support for the Nazi party. And yet it was cynical enough and had well placed sentimental moments that you didn't feel like the story was too heavy. The pacing of the story was well done and the 'drawings' that were included of the book she received were well placed.

The book was marketed as YA fiction, which I love YA fiction, but based on the writing style it really didn't feel like a young adult novel. I feel like labeling it as YA fiction is doing this book some injustice. I remember coming across this book a few years ago and dismissed it because it was just another YA fiction book about WWII and didn't think it was worth my time. My initial judgement is that YA fiction couldn't possibly do the content or setting justice. That things would be overlooked and details glossed over. This book doesn't do that and to me it was a bad marketing strategy by the publisher to label it as YA fiction.

Was it the best book ever? No, no I don't think so. It was a great read and one that I'm glad I have read it once but as for the best ever, I'm going to have to disagree with my friend's cousin on this one, BNW still wins this one for now.