A father who wants revenge for his daughter. Another who wants to protect his son. A wife who wants to keep her secrets secret. And a daughter who wants to know the truth. All Is Not Forgotten is one brilliant piece of words, drama, and the idyllic life of an American small town where things are sometimes all kippers and curtains. Good, I am not very impressed by the German cover, but I got curious about after I´ve read the back text. And this novel keeps what the back text promises the interested reader. From the beginning to the end; I was hooked from the first line to the last – no doubt about that.
All Is Not Forgotten*
by Wendy WalkerPublisher St. Martin´s Press on July 12, 2016
Genre Thriller
Pages 320
Format Hardcover
Source Publisher
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It begins in the small, affluent town of Fairview, Connecticut, where everything seems picture perfect. Until one night when young Jenny Kramer is attacked at a local party. In the hours immediately after, she is given a controversial drug to medically erase her memory of the violent assault. But, in the weeks and months that follow, as she heals from her physical wounds, and with no factual recall of the attack, Jenny struggles wither raging emotional memory. Her father, Tom, becomes obsessed with his inability to find her attacker and seek justice while her mother, Charlotte, struggles to pretend this horrific event did not touch her carefully constructed world. As Tom and Charlotte seek help for their daughter, the fault lines within their marriage and their close-knit community emerge from the shadows where they have been hidden for years, and relentless quest to find the monster who invaded their town – or perhaps lives among them – drive this psychological thriller to a shocking and unexpected conclusion.
Story
Jenny has experienced the worst thing imaginable. She lost in one instance her dignity and had to learn the brutal way that some things are way beyond her power. The decision of her mother, to erase those memories with the help of a doctor by using certain medicine, was, at first sight, successful. But Jenny´s body does remember. And so within no time Jenny is not only fighting to get her memories back and to free herself from this tragic trauma, but she also has to see how her family fights the deep cracks that threaten to break not only the marriage of her parents but also what she always took for granted: a happy family life.
Style
Wendy Walker has a very extensive vocabulary and her writing style is brilliant. The story is told from the perspective of Dr. Allan Forrester. A doctor and psychologist, the Kramer´s turn to in their desperate attempt to help their raped daughter after she tried to kill herself. The language is clear, very emotional and even the technical language that is used is easy to understand. Yes, I had to get used to the different style Wendy Walker uses to tell Jenny´s story. The distance she brings between the plot and the reader. But this distance is, unlike other novels, very well placed and doesn´t separate the reader from the characters or what happens in the novel. The author writes with sensitiveness about the topic and makes it quite clear that the body will always remember what had happened to him, no matter what. So for the reader, it is one hell of a fantastic show to watch from a safe distance how things develop, how Jenny fights her way through, and what the human body is capable of.
There are a lot of twists and turns in this novel. The surprise at the end of the book, when the reader gets to know the truth about Dr. Forrester, who the real monster was and how everything is connected – that was one perfect, haunting, and very thrilling story to read. The story within the story is as much interesting as the main plot about Jenny and her fight to find the truth was.
Characters
Profound characters give this novel a certain something. Bring an edge and sharpness not only into the story but into the actions of the single figures as well. Rape is nothing a person should take lightly. And how the author lets her figures deal with it, all the things that come to light and how every single figure deals with it – well, there was not one boring page. The human takes always care of itself and of its offspring. No matter what, whether it is good or bad. The offspring and the own life has to be protected, sometimes at all costs. And the way how Dr. Forrester and Mrs. Kramer do that in this novel is outstanding and sometimes very manipulative.
Conclusion
What a brilliant book! I read it within no time, was completely hooked, and couldn´t lay it down. Not for one second. For me, this wasn´t the last Wendy Walker book I´ve read, certainly not. This one is a Must read!
Happy reading
*I´ve read the German edition new release Fischer Scherz on June 23, 2016
Wendy Walker
Wendy Walker is a former commercial litigator and investment banker who now works at home in Connecticut writing and raising her children. She is the author of the novels Four Wives and Social Lives, and is the editor of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Power Moms, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom, and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Dad. She is currently working on her next book.
This is a title I've seen around and wasn't sure what to make of it. I am surprised that the doctor's POV is key and curious as to the truth revealed about him in the end. It sounds like an intense read!
ReplyDeleteIt was kind of an intense read and I am quite sure that this book will polarize. You´ll either like it or you don´t. At least that was my feeling after I´ve finished it. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteI have enjoyed this one a lot as well. I agree with all you said. All the stuff on memory is quite fascinating as well: https://wordsandpeace.com/2016/08/08/book-review-all-is-not-forgotten/
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words. And thanks for stopping by :-)
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