It’s the first Monday of the month, which means: Book Review! Today I am reviewing What Alice Forgot, the February book in the No Commitment Blogger Book Club.
What was the book about?
The book begins with Alice Love waking up on the floor of a gym, thinking she’s 29 years-old, happily married, and pregnant with her first child, when she’s actually 39 years-old, has three children, and is about to get a divorce. In a fall, she lost her memory of the last decade. This is story of her journey to remembering.
Did you enjoy the book? Why? Why not?
I loved it, but this book did a number on me.
I related so much to Alice’s 29 year-old thoughts and feelings. Being in a new marriage, giggling over silly things, dreaming about our future home and the children that will one day fill it. It depressed me to see what Alice’s world had turned into: separated from her husband, three children she doesn’t really know, and overly controlling in every aspect of her life.
It was scary to think that I could turn into someone like that. The kind of person who’s never satisfied and always grumpy. Constantly obsessed about having the perfect house, perfect children, perfect body, and perfect image in her community. It was obvious that her money, status, and family life did not make her happy. Will I end up like that? What kind of person am I going to be in ten years? What kinds of things do I need to do today to ensure I don’t end up like one of those women? I’m not going to obsess over it, but it certainly has made me feel more grateful for my life now and very conscious about my dreams.
While Alice was dealing with her broken family, the book also addressed those who aren’t able to get pregnant (Elizabeth, Alice’s older sister), and those who never get married (Frannie, Alice’s “adopted” grandmother). These are common disappointments that women face. In the course of the story these three women deal with their expectations and work through how to deal with these disappointments.
In general – I loved the book. When I first got it, I thought it was really long, but I found myself breezing quickly through the pages, longing to pick it back up at the end of the day. My only complaint would be more detail at the end. I thought she ended it pretty abruptly, especially given the great detail to the very beginning. The first half of the book covers the first two days after her accident! But otherwise, I loved the book and it has made me more grateful for my life now and very conscious about my dreams, expectations and how I want to treat others so that the things I value today will still be with my in ten years.
Would you recommend this book?
Yes! For women of all ages.
What’s your favorite quote from the book?
“The house was literally perfect now. Instead of being thrilled that suddenly seemed depressing.”
“She felt as though she’d been unforgivingly negligent — careless! sloppy!–with the most precious, wonderful gift she’d ever received.”
Have you read this book and want to participate? Write a review in your blog and post it back here, or comment below and tell me what you thought. The link-up will be open until April, so you have all month to participate. :)
This month’s book: Happier at Home, by Gretchen Rubin. I will be reviewing this book April 1st.
PS – Are you on GoodReads? If so, let’s be friends! Check out January’s Bossypants review.
Sounds like a really thought-provoking book. I’ll have to pin this, might be one to dip into at some point. Thanks for the review though – even without reading the book, your review brings forward some really important things to think about!
Sounds really interesting. I’ve been reading a lot of YA novels lately, this will be a great one to add to my reading list to broaden my genre spectrum. Thank you~
It reminds me about a book I read once, though I can`t remember the title, the concept was the same. A regular, semi-chubby girl woke up as this poster-like woman, who she didn`t even recognize, and had lost contact with all her loved ones. I remember loving that book so much, so I really want to read this one too!
I just finished the book last night. I have to say I completely enjoyed reading “What Alice Forgot”, I almost didn’t want her to get her memory back! I loved how she was able to reconnect with her eldest daughter and work on her failing marriage from her 29 year old perspective. The characters were interesting and being privy to a couple of the other characters’ private thoughts via their letter writing made the story more compelling for me. The idea that her impending divorce could be narrowed down to one thing, the lack of sleep, for me anyway, was surprisingly true. I would definitely recommend this book, so easy to get caught up it this story!