What Alice Forgot Kindle Edition

The rating system of most book sites (here, Goodreads, etc.) comes with the opportunity to affix star ratings to the books we read, 1-star being worst; 5 being best. In that crazy, sometimes corrupt world of online reviewing, the concept of how we rate books has been a bit sullied not only by the battlefield between well-minded friends vs. trolls, but the all-too-easily-assigned 5-stars for books that clearly don't deserve the "best label" vs. those who feel only literary masterpieces, classics, if you will, deserve such a numerical assignation. All of which conspires to make the exercise a little hard to authentically accomplish!I bring this up on this particular book because it's one that best illustrates my own "star rating philosophy," which is this: I award stars based not only on how much I like a book and how it's delivered, both as an objective reader and a person who knows a bit about the craft, but on how well that book achieved its clear goal and purpose as a literary work, whether fluffy romance novel, science-fiction blood-fest, or well-conceived literary fiction. Now, since I tend to not read the two former and most often enjoy the latter, I have experienced a full spectrum of books between "I hate it" and "I love it" (as stars are defined here at Amazon) and to my mind, using my formula, and in a long-winded explanation, What Alice Forgot deserves a big, fat 5-stars!Simply, I loved this book. I loved Alice. I felt the story was not only fresh and unpredictable, but it was real, believable, something that COULD happen and, if it did, would likely go down just as Liane Moriarity imagined it.Her character of Alice is a befuddled woman who faints during a spinning class and wakes up to a life in which she's lost the last ten years of memories, inclusive of childbirths, changing friendships, a troubled marriage and her own basic personality. While initially this seems impossible to believe, we're led as readers right along with Alice as she slowly and painfully realizes, day after day, person after person, just how much of herself and her life she's lost, and the revelations bounce between painful and hilarious. But what's also clear is that the person she'd become in the years she now can't remember isn't really all that nice, nor someone she particularly likes, and the ensuing efforts to reclaim not only her memories but her true self, become the narrative of this fascinating story.What I loved about this book is its deft mix of humor and pathos, its erring sense of when to spin wit and when to let us in on just how anguishing and disorienting it would be to suddenly not even remember the birth of your child. We experience the jarring realities, the stunning, shocking revelations of a once-delightfully happy marriage that has disintegrated into a snarling mess of rancor and recrimination. And, just like Alice, we feel a deep, visceral urge for her to sort out what went wrong.Moriarity is obviously a brilliantly skilled storyteller who brings life, with all it many eclectic characters and startling plot lines, to fully realized, tangible existence, all while allowing us to see the grubby undersides of even the most beloved of the story's characters. As a writer she's candid and real, with a clear, sharp understanding of what makes humans tick -- whether in normal, everyday life or the strange, twisted environs of Alice's particular journey. This is an excellent book, a funny, compelling, deeply emotional story of how humans can wreck the very best things about themselves and still find a way back. Highly recommend.

This is not your typical woman-gets-amnesia frothy chic lit novel. Instead, Moriarty presents characters who have profound feelings and sometimes quirky personalities. Alice slams her head on the gym floor and the concussion immediately erases ten years of her life. She is no longer a 39 year-old almost-divorced mother of three. Rather, Alice's life has moved to the prior decade where she was a new mother and fun-loving wife. She adored her husband, Nick, and they were beginning to build a solid marriage. Alice is an engaging character; her fear and curiosity kept me turning the pages. Can you imagine not knowing your three children?We really do not know pre-accident Alice which is an excellent technique. We are equally naïve as she is about her past relationships and the nuances of her personality. The new Alice wants to desperately reclaim the old Alice even if she is not sure what happened. She can feel the emotions of love and closeness that apparently have been destroyed.Moriarty's characters are solid. Alice's mother, Barb, is a seemingly shallow woman who relied on Frannie, the pseudo grandmother who writers letters to her dead fiance. Elisabeth, Alice's older sister, is worth the price of admission. She is an intelligent woman who is battling infertility and the loss of Alice's intimate sisterly relationship. For many readers, the trials and emotional swings from IVF, is informative and often heart-breaking.The story takes place in Australia but it could easily have been in a suburb of New York or Chicago. The interactions and problems among the mothers and children are universal. Alice's children are exceptionally well written. The oldest daughter is Madison, who Alice's remembers as Sultana in utero, is an angry, unhappy girl. Tom, the darling son, provides distinctive analyses of all situations; he is smart and intuitive. Olivia, a beautiful child, is fraught with worry but she illuminates the pages with her heartfelt wishes for her family. Two males characters: Nick, the husband, and Dominick, the boyfriend (unknown to Alice), are not given short shrift and they serve as excellent catalysts for Alice's story. Elisabeth's husband represents a strong man with a serene gentleness. There is also Gina, the best friend, whose character is influential but she is rather blurry. Identifying with Alice's anger during the lost decade was ambiguous.Rather than a typical story of a main character retrieving her memory, Moriarty has Alice and her family progress. Their feelings change and thus, so did mine. The old Alice eventually emerges and what did happen? The author is determined to show us that it is the small events and injustices that impact our lives. We change slowly and it is not always our fault.

I love her writing. Excellent story very well told - I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend for a good read!