Mem

This is a beautifully-written book with an original setting and concept that just didnt gel for me.

Set in the art deco world of upper class 1920s Montreal, Mem follows Dolores Extract #1, a traumatic memory extracted from a fragile society girl who, unlike all the other extracted memories in the steampunkesque Vault, can create her own memories. While the other mems relive their originating memories over and over again, Dolores Extract #1 is permitted to leave the Vault and live on her own as a person in her own apartment. What makes her different is a mystery. Her legal status as the property of Dolores forms the backbone of the conflict in the novel.

The novel is a delightful, frothy read. I may have expected too much from it, but with this premise, I was expecting something more thought-provoking and insightful. Instead the book provides a tidy ending with a resolution to why shes different from the other mems (I found the reason itself, which I wont spoil here, very satisfying) and then a tidy resolution to all the other plot issues which I found just too pat and rushed, without the emotional resonance of the rest of the book.

This was profoundly beautiful!!!

A historical speculative fiction novel set in Montreal in the early 1900s. Dolores Extract #1 is a Mem who’s been created by the memory of 19 year old girl named Dolores. At once they realize that Dolore Extract #1 is unique in comparison to other mems.

There are times when the line between what she is remembering from her past is blurred with the present, which can makes things bit confusing. I feel this was used by the author to mimic the stream of consciousness that so often allows our past memories to be woven into our present experience. So as confusing as it sometimes is, it was done with regard to showing the realness of our main character.

This is a story about what it means to be human, and how our memories create this resonance of emotion that cannot just be wiped away by forgetting.

It was so short though, and while it was fittingly short, I wish for just a bit more as this book has left me with a craving

I wouldn’t have come across this book in my usual reading experience; I usually don’t read sci-fi or speculative fiction but Mem was recommended by a friend and I’m trying to broaden my horizons so I bought it a few months ago and started it yesterday because it looked like a quick read and I wasn’t wanting to commit to much.
I LOVED THIS BOOK. I loved everything about it and flew through the book until I fell asleep last night, thought about it all day and just finished and want to shout from the rooftops how much I enjoyed this experience.
Mem is amazing. It’s set in the 1920’s Montreal (something I know literally nothing about) and I love that the main character has dark skin which is referenced but not the focus – such a refreshing change from the habit where characters of colour are often clearly described as such with light skin being the default. The main character is a Mem, the end result of a traumatic memory removed from a “source” who is capable of independent thought and action, against all knowledge of the developing technology.
I loved reading about Elsie’s perspective and growth and learning about the peripheral characters as the book evolved. At no point could I guess what was happening next and I still want more. I notice that other reviewers commented that the language was contrived but I felt like it was careful and each word was there for a reason. I imagine that when I re-read this book I will notice a lot more that I missed in my eagerness to find out how the story would progress.
This was such a pleasant surprise, I will recommend this book to everyone (and it’s motivated my first amazon book review).

What experiences make us who we are? And who do we become if we remove the memories of those experiences? For those who are concerned this is another take of “eternal sunshine of the spotless mind” fear not. This take on the process of removing old memories delves into who we are as a society, who we are as people, and who we are to others outside that society, all with the backdrop of the glittering 1920s and 30s. It’s a stunning feat to explore societal failings and personal triumphs and morals so explicitly within so short a novel, and to do it with prose that never feels rushed. Indeed, though the page count is shorter, this novel allows the reader to breathe with the memories, rather than rushed and crammed together. I don’t want to give any spoilers away so I’ll leave my review at that. This was a delightful find, and I’m so glad I picked it up on a whim. It’s a memory I certainly want to preserve.

I’m giving this book three stars because of its imaginative premise that memories can take on a life of their own. However, the story never really gets off the ground. The writer’s purpose in setting the action in the 1920s remains mysterious to me; the setting plays no real part in the development and creates a distance that’s exacerbated by the overblown prose (“Had they not already evaporated in the still air, my words would have turned tail and hurried back to me”), characters who come across as actors in a period melodrama, and a superschmaltz ending cribbed from Dr Who. A shame, because the idea has real potential.

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