Review: The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin
Sharon Guskin's The Forgetting Time explores reincarnation and what happens when a child remembers his previous life and how he died.
The plot:
The novel centers on Janie, a single mother, and her four-year-old son,
Noah, who has an unusually strong aversion to taking baths. He also
suffers from nightmares, and most heartbreaking is when he wakes up
crying, wanting to know when he can go home to his other mother. When he
starts to make up stories at preschool, some involving guns, the
teachers threaten to call family services, and Janie realizes she needs
help.
Ex-psychology professor Jerry Anderson, a widower
who's been given a devastating diagnosis of a degenerative cognitive
disease, researches reincarnation. His specialty is cases in which a
child retains memories of his or her last life. Noah will likely be his
last chance to prove his theories, while helping the boy settle into the life
ahead of him.
What I liked: Guskin infuses the
plot with a hint of mystery and even suspense. Is Anderson there to help
Janie and Noah or are his motivations purely selfish? Does Noah
actually remember his last life, his mother, his brother, and even his
favorite baseball team or does he have psychological problems? Is Janie the loving mother she seems to be? These
questions kept me invested in the story. I felt bad for Noah and Janie,
both of whom clearly needed help, and I was curious about Anderson's
techniques.
What I didn't like: Interspersed
throughout the novel are case stories of other people and their possible
memories of a previous live. Although these excerpts come from a real
book (by Jim B. Tucker), I admit I started to skim them so I could get
back to the main story. In addition, the book ends with an epilogue,
which, of course, gives us glimpse into the future. I'm not sure it
added all that much to the story, and I would have been happy to have things
end where there did in the last chapter.
Recommendation: Sharon Guskin's The Forgetting Time
is one of those books that draws you in completely. I loved the premise
and cared enough about Noah to read the book quickly so I could find
out what happens. I like novels that make me think about broader
questions and that explore alternative ways to explain the world around
me. The Forgetting Time does both. Bonus: This is an Amy Einhorn book, which is pretty much a recommendation all in itself.
Published by Flatiron Books, 2016
ISBN-13: 9781250076427
Source: Review--audio (see review policy)
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