"My Name is Memory" (A Book Review)

Book: My Name Is Memory            Author: Ann Brashares
Pages: 336                                  Chapters: Not Numbered


Inside Cover Book Blurb:

"Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. Daniel has "the memory", the ability to recall past lives and recognize souls of those he's previously known. It is a gift and a curse. For all the times that he and Sophia have been drawn together throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart. Interwoven through Sophia and Daniel's unfolding present day relationship are glimpses of their expansive history together. From 552 Asia Minor to 1918 England and 1972 Virginia, the two souls share a long and sometimes torturous path of seeking each other time and time again. But just when young Sophia (now "Lucy" in the present) finally begins to awaken to the secret of their shared past, to understand the true reason for the strength of their attraction, the mysterious force that has always torn them apart reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together."




My Quick Fix Review:


This was very difficult to get into. The beginning was rushed, so that by the time you realized something important had happened, you were past it. And once you were past it, there were about 150 pages of waiting until the next exciting moment.

The ending was a bit far-fetched, as well. The two star-crossed lovers end up fleeing an old enemy, so they jump into the sea and attempt to swim to China . . . from India (or some middle-east country, I can't remember, honestly). Needless to say, they don't get very far.


Daniel almost dies, until Lucy sees a giant rock, and pulls them both up onto it. When a boat comes by, they jump on, and are "saved." Sure . . .


Then Daniel goes off into the sunset, leaving Lucy -- who's spent THE ENTIRE BOOK trying to find out WTF is going on -- all alone. He's going to fight the villan, a brother of his in a past life (also Sophia's former-husband in that same life), and for this to happen, apparently he has to leave the "girl he loves" behind. Uh-huh, yeah. I'm sure that's his real plan . . .



All in all, "My Name is Memory" is a fairly-decent read, as long as you can avoid huge plot holes and are into hokey romance stuff. Personally, I'm a fan of the latter, but definitly not of the former, and MNIM ends up only attempting to be a life-changing, epic romance. The bare bits are there, but . . . . close but no cigar.


Overall Score   ---   3/5 Stars


For more information on the author and her project, please visit her website.