ABOUT THE BOOK:
Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child.
So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, she has three kids and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes.
Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over.
LISTEN TO AN EXCERPT:
MY REVIEW:
What Alice Forgot by Liane MoriartyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty is a 2010 PanMacMillian Australia publication.
With so many books out there, there is bound to be an author that slips by unnoticed, and for me, sadly, Lianne Moriarty falls into that category.
I knew her books were well received and popular, but I could never seem to find the time to fit one into my schedule. But, my local overdrive library heavily promotes her books, so finally, I took the plunge and put a couple of them on hold.
This book turned out to be an excellent introduction to this author’s work and I can certainly see why her books are well liked. I absorbed this story like a sponge, savoring every nuance and subtlety.
It was a coincidence, this book has an underlying Mother’s day theme, so it was fitting I found myself reading it this week. The story centers around Alice, a woman on the cusp of her fortieth birthday, who takes a serious tumble, and hits her head hard enough to cause severe memory loss… ten years of lost memories to be exact.
Alice believes it is 1998, while in reality it’s 2008. A lot can happen in ten years, and for Alice it’s confusing, heartbreaking, scary, and sad.
Also contributing to the story is Alice’s sister, Elisabeth and her adopted grandmother, each realizing, via Alice’s switch back to 1998, how they have lost their way or let time slip away from them.
Amnesia plots are tricky in many aspects, but this story has a definite whimsical quality to it, despite the heavy issues at hand, and was handled adeptly.
Alice and Nick are on the brink of divorce, but why? A tragedy has occurred, but what happened? Will Alice get her memory back? If she does, will she change or go back to being her old self again?
Wouldn’t it be interesting to go back in time and basically get a do-over? What changes would you make? Were you a better person back then than you are now, or vice versa?
It’s so easy to allow our careers, and other outside forces, to take over, slowly infiltrating our lives, changing us and bending us until we lose sight of our true goals and priorities. If we were given the opportunity to see ourselves a decade into the future, would we like the people we became? Would be proud of our accomplishments, or would we feel sad by the way we traded love and relationships off for money, houses, and careers or allowed others to interfere or invade the goodness we had? Would we regret our choices?
This story will challenge you to take a good hard look at your life and the choices you have made. Don’t forget the things that matter most, like your marriage, your children, and your family. Friendships are important and work is a huge part of our lives, but they shouldn’t be the most important thing, nor should they become an undue influence on our relationships or personality.
Many will see themselves in this story in one form or another, and can relate to busy, busy, busy lives, the irritants that pop up in married life, the ups and downs, the resentments that can settle in, the trite grudges, the awkwardness of coping with friends who split up and feeling loyalties divided, or maybe from having to compete with a friend for your spouse’s attention, with jealousy rearing its ugly head as a result. How common is Alice and Nick’s story?
But, Alice is not the only one who has gone through incredible changes. Her sister’s struggles with fertility have left a mark on her, which has changed her personality and the dynamic of her own marriage. My heart went out to her, but I’m happy she considered all her options and was so proud of how she persevered in the end.
The other story regarding Alice and Elizabeth’s adopted grandmother was also poignant and sweet, but I do wish we had been given more one on one conversations with her, instead of merely reading her thoughts via letters written to an old beau who died many years ago.
Overall, this is a unique and thought provoking story, and perhaps a cautionary one too, but one that is full of second changes and hope that left me feeling at peace now that all is as if should be. I am really excited about this author now and have already queued up another of her novels.
GET YOUR COPY HERE:
https://www.amazon.com/What-Alice-Forgot-Liane-Moriarty-ebook/dp/B004XFYN9M/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-alice-forgot-liane-moriarty/1100170404
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Liane Moriarty is the Australian author of six internationally best-selling novels, Three Wishes, The Last Anniversary, What Alice Forgot, The Hypnotist’s Love Story and the number 1 New York Times bestsellers: The Husband's Secret and Big Little Lies.
The Husband's Secret has sold over three million copies worldwide, was a no. 1 UK bestseller, an Amazon Best Book of 2013 and will be translated into over 40 languages. CBS Films has acquired the film rights.
With the launch of her novel, Big Little Lies, which has sold over one million copies in the US alone, Liane became the first Australian author to have a novel debut at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. An HBO series based on the book is currently in production with Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley playing the three lead roles.
Liane’s newest novel, Truly Madly Guilty, will be released in July 2016.
Liane lives in Sydney with her husband, son and daughter. You can find more at www.lianemoriarty.com and www.facebook.com/LianeMoriartyAuthor
