The Story of Forgetting

Author: Stefan Merrill Block


Number of pages: 320 pages


What it is about:  Alzheimer's Disease.  More specifically, Early Onset/familial Alzheimer's Disease (EOA).  It is told from the perspective of two people whose lives have been touched dramatically by this disease.  Abel, the hunchback, who lives on his family's farm in Texas and Seth, a teenager whose mother has EOA. And then there is the fantasy land of Isidora. Yeah.... We will get to that part in a minute. 


What did I think?: I always am cautious about saying I don't like a book (unless I REALLY didn't like it) because even if a book doesn't quite do it for me, I  often get something out of reading the book.  But lets cut to the chase. I did not like this book.  It is well written.  In fact, it was so well written, that I thought I must be stupid.  There were a number of times where I just didn't get it. I often felt that the book didn't flow well.  The stories of Abel and Seth flowed, but then the parts of Isidora would come in and I felt like I was in that nightmare where you show up to class and realize you have missed weeks of class and there is a test and you don't get anything.  


However, as I said above, I usually get something out of a book.  For me this book gave me a whole new appreciation as to how a genetic disease moves through our culture and how it affects families.  I also felt a great deal of empathy for the two main characters, Abel and Seth.  


Who would like this book: Someone smarter than me.  And if that person reads this book, we need to talk so you can explain somethings to me.