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Showing posts with label alzheimer's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alzheimer's. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

My Real Children by Jo Walton

This is the startling story of a woman who remembers two different versions of her life. 

Pat's life takes two completely different trajectories. 

In one version she has four children. She chooses the safe but disparaging partner, Mark.

In another version of her life, where she is known as Trisha, she rejects Mark and chooses an unconventional lifestyle. She falls in love with a woman, writes guidebooks to Italy, and has children with a friend.

"Character is destiny," postulated Heraclitus. In this novel, however,  one choice changes not only a woman's life but alters world history and politics as well. 

My Real Children is an intriguing thought exercise but not really satisfying. Some of the turns of events in both realities are heartbreaking.

 
 

Friday, December 30, 2011

Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante

LaPlante's award-winning book is cleverly narrated. The narrator, Elizabeth White, is a murder suspect who happens to have the advanced stages of dementia. She is also a former renowned hand-surgeon.

Almost like a stream-of-consciousness novel, Dr. White has many memories that surface at crucial times. Like a pendulum that swings back and forth, she has good days and bad days.

Hand imagery is present but not omnipresent. Dr. White has a beloved icon, a theotokos, that is notable for its three hands. She collects medieval icons but it is this one in particular that she loves. Amanda, the woman she is accused of murdering, has always coveted the icon.


This a psychological suspense novel at its finest. The story hinges on the killer's motivation. Several people wonder why Dr. White why she would kill her best friend--including Dr. White's son. Amanda's ex-husband, though, staunchly believes Dr. White is innocent. All of Dr. White's memories of Amanda seem pleasant enough.

Her caretaker, Magdalena, has kept careful records and has encouraged Dr. White to keep a journal. A clever police detective, however, noticed that some pages have been carefully sliced outs.

Divided into four parts, this novel is horrifying but also fascinating. Like the best thrillers, the ending comes as a surprise.  Deeply moving and affecting, this is a powerful novel.

Turn of Mind has won the Wellcome Trust Book Prize that celebrates medicine in literature.

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