Memory: Foundations and Applications, by Bennett L. Schwartz. Sage Publishing, 2018

This is a text book, not a ‘popular’ science book like those written by Oliver Sacks or V.S. Ramachandran, and so is laid out and written very differently. The book is divided into subjects- the various aspects of memory: working memory, episodic memory, visual memory, semantic memory, false memory, memory disorders, memory in children and older adults, and, finally, memory improvement (there are actually tips on memory improvement in other chapters, too). Each chapter does start with a case history that illustrates the aspect of memory for that chapter, but the rest is solidly researched facts. The text is sprinkled with graphs, illustrations, memory tips, quizzes (with the key at the end of them), review questions, and related on line resources. I wish text books had been written like this when I was in college! It’s readable by anyone, but it’s while it’s not slow going, it’s not fast, either. There are a lot of facts to get through and understand. Four stars, looking at it from the point of view of a casual reader rather than someone reading it for a college class. 

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Idaho, by Emily Ruskovich. Random House, 2017

 Ann and Wade are married and living on a hill in rural north Idaho. It’s Wade’s second marriage; he was married to Jenny until she killed their younger daughter and the older one disappeared. Then she went to jail and they divorced. Ann had had a crush on Wade ever since she was teaching him piano, in the school where she worked and taught the local children, including Wade’s daughter. He took piano up at his age because he’d read that learning music could stave off dementia; his father and grandfather had both developed early onset Alzheimer’s.

Shifting around in time and point of view, I found the book a little difficult to follow. There are some dead ends, too- characters who are introduced but then disappear or have only incidental importance to Ann, Jenny, and Wade’s story. Ruskovich evokes the landscape of north Idaho perfectly; I live in one of the towns she mentions and know the area well. She’s got the trees, animals, and way of life down well.

We get to know Ann well; I would say she’s the main focus. Jenny remains a cipher; we see her in prison but we never find out why she did what she did. Wade sort of drifts through the story, living in an increasing fog of forgetfulness. The most vivid character is Elizabeth, Jenny’s cell mate.

The story touches on relationships of all kinds- maternal, sibling, marital, friends, exes and second wives- and mostly on memory. Memory and forgetting doesn’t just affect Wade, but everyone around him, just as memories of their deeds plague the prison inmates. It’s a fascinating read, but not a comfortable one, and it would have been nice to have some loose ends tied up. But loose ends don’t always get tied up in real life, and this story is uncomfortably real. 

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neither of these things influenced my review.  

The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro. Borzoi, 2015

“The Buried Giant” doesn’t tell its story simply. On the face of it, it’s a simple tale. An elderly Briton couple- Axl and Beatrice- not valued by their little ‘village’, decide to pay their son a visit in the village nearby where he lives. On the way they meet a Saxon warrior and his injured charge, a knight, ogres, a swarm of nasty pixies, monks with deadly intent, boatmen who ask an awful lot of questions before ferrying his charges across to islands, and more. Many of these characters are not who they seem to be at first. The knight is Sir Gawain, despite King Arthur being long gone. The boatmen, despite working a real river, are the ferrymen of the dead. Even Axl isn’t the peasant he appears to be.

Axl and Beatrice are in love with and devoted to each other. Beatrice addresses Axl as ‘husband’ and he calls her “princess” – I’m afraid to say that I did laugh a bit at this, being put in mind of ‘The Princess Bride’. They never want to be more than a couple of steps apart.

An odd mist lies over the land; it brings forgetfulness, both of recent events and those long past. It lies in patches, so that sometimes Axl and Beatrice can remember things they previously couldn’t. This leads them to wonder: if there were bad things in their past, would they be better off forgetting them? No, they decide. Those events made them who they are today. But while remembering is good for Axl and Beatrice, it isn’t best for everyone. Sometimes it’s best to let the past be shrouded in forgetfulness for the sake of happiness and peace. Axl and Beatrice can forgive- have forgiven- their past errors; that’s a lot harder for large groups of people.

I read this book over about 24 hours; when I would take a break I needed to shake my head to clear the mists out. The story enchanted me, in the same way that Arthurian legend and Tolkien’s word does, despite being told in plain language without the flourishes or old fashioned language of many myths. I loved this book. 

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