MADreads

These young first time novelists continue to amaze

October 9th, 2008 Liz - Central Library

The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block is one such novel. It follows two threads, one an aging man stuck in his farmhouse homestead, which over the years has become surrounded by subdivision. He and his house are the last of a dying breed, and he stays and stays due to family unhappiness and tragedy.

The other story thread involves a young-ish mother experiencing early onset Alzheimer’s. Her husband stays in denial longer than her teenage son, and when they ultimately must put her in a care center, the son goes detective– searching for details on his mother’s mysterious past.

Between these two threads are fake ‘factual’ (and semi-factual) notes about the history of early onset Alzheimer’s and a bedtime story-like tale of an alternate world called Isidora.

That sounds like alot. And it is, especially for a slim book. But I’m always amazed when an author so young (still in his 20s) can chronicle heartbreak that takes years in real-life to process and learn from. His portrait of early onset Alzheimer’s certainly reads as emotionally true. If the bedtime story sections get a bit tedious, or the fake ‘factual’ sections too arcane, the two narratives that ultimately come together (don’t they always? And isn’t that why we like multiple thread narratives?) are so satisfying in their emotional impact that I have to recommend this book.

Entry Filed under: Literary Fiction