Two men struggle with the impact of Alzheimer's Disease on the ones they love. One young man seeks answers during the onset of his mother's illness, while an older gentleman reflects how the ilness shaped his past. ( )

I received this book through the Early Reviewers program a long time ago. I tried to read this book several times. I requested it because it had an interesting premise: love, loss, family Alzheimer's Disease. I was also intrigued that this was the first novel by a very young author. However, as snarky as it sounds, I can't help but write that my reading of 'The Story of Forgetting' is a different tale of forgetting. I would forget everything about it this book regardless of whether it had been a day or two or a few weeks since I had left off. The bookmark could have been inserted anywhere in the book. It isn't fun, and in the end, there just is not enough motivation, to continue to return to a book that doesn't grab you enough to get your through the first chapters. I'd have to add this book to my list of Abandoned books.

I really don't like to post negative reviews, as I realize that others may have a much different opinion than mine, but since this was an Early Reviewer's book, there you have it. A review delivered much later than it should be considering how long I've had the book, but if I haven't found a compelling reason to return to this book in the last year, I'm probably not going to. Maybe at some point in the future I'll return to it again, but for now, it will remain shelved.

Conceptually, Alzheimer's is a disease that affects us all. So in applying the concept to fiction, an author cannot rely upon a general universality to market his book alone.

From the very beginning, we have little understanding of who the protagonist is or what he stands for. All we know is that he covets. And without understanding why, we as readers, have no empathy for his situation. Thus, why should a reader turn the page?

Assuming the writing is good enough to make us turn the page for a cad as a protagonist, the next element a reader needs is tension--a driving forward momentum, anchored in space and time that propels us to turn the page. The Story of Forgetting offers little to no tension, as it immediately retreats to backstory to explain why we, as humble readers, should allow the cad to continue doing the things he does. When an author makes this kind of error, however, he loses the driving force of what makes a book compelling. Relying upon a universal cause to attract readers is not a substitute for character, plot, and story.

The author, Mr. Block, is young. He will be around for a while. The Story of Forgetting was not ready to be published, shame on Random House, but Mr. Block will be back, and he will be better. Don't give up on him. And Mr. Block, keep up your drive to write. ( )

Despite the decades between Seth and Abel, they are sympathetic narrators dealing with the loss of family and the devasting effects of early on-set Alzheimer's. Reclusive outcasts, they have hope for eventual answers. With elements of science, history and fantasy, a sad subject matter is compellingly handled and is a very satisfying debut. I look forward to future work from this very promising young author ( )

This powerfully descriptive book is not one the reader is likely to forget, as it vividly humanizes the lives of two families affected by early onset Alzheimers, among other things. The book follows the stories of Seth, a 15 year old boy struggling to deal wth the illness of his mother, normal teenage problems like puberty, and the withdrawl of his Dad and of Abel Haggard, an elderly hunchback living in a decript farm with only his memories and the hope that his long lost daughter will find him again. The characters are quirky and some of their adventures are quite strange, even disturbing as the author does not shy away from what some might consider vulgar or taboo. There are many fascinating parts to this book--the information shared about early onset Alzheimers and where it came from, the fictional tales of Isadora that are spread among one family with the disease, and the power of love and determination to overcome overwhelming odds. If yourespond like I did you may not like every part of this book, and it may take a while for it to grow on you, but once you get into it you will be mesmorized by it. I would definitely recommend it, and I think it would make an excellent choice for a book discussion group.
P.S. I listened to this on audio and I don't know that that is the best medium for this book. The narrator did a good job, but the transitions between Seth's story and Abel's were not always easy for me to pick up on and I would sometimes get confused. ( )