Mem

Did your mother ever tell you that you weren't living up to her expectations? Man, I hope not. That's cold. But, after reading this book, that sentiment makes sense to me.

So. Much. Potential. Alas, a letdown.

This book practically jumped off the shelf at me from the Staff Picks section of my favorite local bookstore (the amazing Aunties Bookstore in Spokane.) The cover itself is striking; the plot, even more so. We're in 1920's Montreal in a world where science has found a way to take away our darkest memories. Essentially, those who can afford it can have that memory extracted. The Mem, as it's called, is basically a clone of the source person and lives underground in a vault until it expires. What would we do to take away that pain? What would we lose of ourselves if we remove the most undesirable? What could possibly go wrong?

So. Much. Potential.

The story focuses on one Mem much different than the rest. She's not the void, vapid shell that the other Mems are. She's able to think and dream and live outside the vault. Until one day, she's recalled - and, about to be reprinted. Then, she finds out more about her Source and finds the one chance she has to save herself from being erased.

I'm frustrated even writing this.

There were so many different ways this story had gone. There were so many possibilities. So many storylines. Instead, the book sort of just meandered. And, when it finally reached its destination, it was with an unemphatic whimper.

I'm such a disappointed mom. I'd like to have the memory of reading this book extracted!

Fortunately, the next book I read took me on a fulfilling journey instead...