My pick is:
You Lost Me There; Rosecrans Baldwin
(Riverhead Books- 8/12/2010)
(amazon)
By turns funny, charming, and tragic, Rosecrans Baldwin's debut novel takes us inside the heart and mind of Dr. Victor Aaron, a leading Alzheimer's researcher at the Soborg Institute on Mount Desert Island in Maine. Victor spends his days alternating between long hours in the sterile lab and running through memories of his late wife, Sara. He has preserved their marriage as a sort of perfect, if tumultuous, duet between two opposite but precisely compatible souls.
But one day, in the midst of organizing his already hyperorganized life, Victor discovers a series of index cards covered in Sara's handwriting. They chronicle the major "changes in direction" of their marriage, written as part of a brief fling with couples counseling. Sara's version of their great love story is markedly different from his own, which, for the eminent memory specialist, is a startling revelation. Victor is forced to reevaluate and relive each moment of their marriage, never knowing is the revisions will hurt or hearten. Meanwhile, as Victor's faith in memory itself unravels, so too does his precisely balanced support network, a group of strong women-from his lab assistant to Aunt Betsy, doddering doyenne of the island-that had, so far, allowed him to avoid grieving.
Rosecrans Baldwin shows himself here to be a young writer bursting with talent and imagination who deftly handles this aching love story with sensitivity and unexpected maturity. You Lost Me There is a treasure of a book filled with beautiful, intelligent prose, a book that wears its smarts lightly and probes its emotions deeply.
But one day, in the midst of organizing his already hyperorganized life, Victor discovers a series of index cards covered in Sara's handwriting. They chronicle the major "changes in direction" of their marriage, written as part of a brief fling with couples counseling. Sara's version of their great love story is markedly different from his own, which, for the eminent memory specialist, is a startling revelation. Victor is forced to reevaluate and relive each moment of their marriage, never knowing is the revisions will hurt or hearten. Meanwhile, as Victor's faith in memory itself unravels, so too does his precisely balanced support network, a group of strong women-from his lab assistant to Aunt Betsy, doddering doyenne of the island-that had, so far, allowed him to avoid grieving.
Rosecrans Baldwin shows himself here to be a young writer bursting with talent and imagination who deftly handles this aching love story with sensitivity and unexpected maturity. You Lost Me There is a treasure of a book filled with beautiful, intelligent prose, a book that wears its smarts lightly and probes its emotions deeply.
I'll be watching for reviews of this book, DIane.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a really promising novel. I'll be looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteThis one definitely sounds wonderful! How true that two people will have such different versions of their lives together.
ReplyDeleteHere's mine:
http://chezraine.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/waiting-on-wednesday-6/
This sounds like it will be very sad, but I like the premise, and I would hope that the author has some interesting commentary on this horrid disease process
ReplyDeleteHaving dealth with Alzheimer's in my father and now dementia in my mother, anything that relates to memory issues is always intriguing to me. Thanks for highlighting this book, Diane.
ReplyDeleteCool!
ReplyDeleteHere is my WOW :)
A lot of people will be waiting for this one - it's on Entertainment Weekly's list of must read books for the summer!
ReplyDeleteI just saw something about this, and it went straight on my list. "Funny and charming?" Sold! Great pick...
ReplyDeleteI just read a bit about this book this week, and think it sounds wonderful. I am definitely going to be reading this one, and your synopsis was just what I needed to make that decision!
ReplyDeleteLove the sound of this one! I really enjoy books that examine the issue of memory, and I've also really enjoyed Baldwin's writing over at The Morning News. Thanks for the heads up on this one!
ReplyDeleteThis looks great! I love the title.
ReplyDeleteMy WOW and review of Day For Night by Frederick Reiken are up at The Crowded Leaf.
Nice pick, now I want to know more about it!
ReplyDeleteI saw this one in Entertainment Weekly's summer preview, and it looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI have You lost me there on my list for the EW Summer series, should be interesting.
ReplyDeleteYour WOW sounds very different and interesting this week. Happy Reading!
ReplyDeleteBooks and Life
This has been on my list for awhile. So glad you liked it!!!
ReplyDelete-Amy
Life by Candlelight
You and Bookshelf Monstrosity both featured this book today! Now I'm eagerly anticipating it too.
ReplyDeleteHaha, we totally had the same pick this week! Great minds think alike :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds...different. In a very interesting kind of way!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait until this is released so I can read your review on it. It sounds really interesting, thanks for bringing it to my attention.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds very interesting. I'll be curious to see what the initial reviews are.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds interesting Diane. I'll be watching for your review.
ReplyDeleteI'm liking the sound of this one...I want to read what she thought of their marriage and how it lines up or doesn't with his..great pick!
ReplyDeletethis one sounds really good...can't wait for your review! if it's a good one i'm definitely picking this one up!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like there's room for a lot of emotion and insight in this one. Great choice.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds very interesting, but I would never have picked it up based on the cover. Looking forward to you thoughts on it.
ReplyDelete