By Samantha Harvey. Jake is losing his memory. He has Alzheimer’s, and so we learn about his life in a mixed up manner. He’s an architect, and he built the prison his son now lives in. His wife has died, and he may or may not have a daughter. Can we trust what memories he does have? Are they really what happened, or are they several memories put together? Are the people he remembers who he thinks they are, are they alive or dead?
I don’t know, and I don’t care. It has a really interesting premise, but it’s just far too confusing for me, and not in a way that makes me want to keep reading to find out the answers. It’s the kind of writing style that does nothing for me at all, just really dense, and it feels like nothing happens for ages. You’re just sitting in someone’s head being told about their garden. The best way I can think to describe it is that it gives me headache. It’s like I can feel my eyebrows drawing together as I try to make sense of what is going on, and take it in. I couldn’t keep straight who anyone was in his life, though mostly the women. I couldn’t tell you who they were to him. It’s not enjoyable in any way. I could continue with it, and battle through that feeling, but I don’t have the energy. But, it has excellent reviews elsewhere, so it may well be a good read, but not for me at all.
