Well I finally got around to reading What Alice Forgot. This is my second Liane Moriarty, but the first book that piqued my interest in her. Since reading The Hypnotist's Love Story a couple years ago, I have actually accumulated all her books for my home library, and I was determined to put What Alice Forgot on my 2023 book list after stating I would for sure get to it in 2021 after I so thoroughly enjoyed The Hypnotist's Love Story.
Ha. Good one, Hannah.
What Alice Forgot opens with our protagonist waking up on the floor of a gym after falling off her bike in spin class. But wait, why is she even in a gym? She's 29 and can't be bothered to work out. Her husband is madly in love with her and they're about to have their first child together.
Not so. We, the readers, quickly learn along with Alice that not only is it no longer 1998, but Alice is in the process of divorcing her husband, the father of their three children. Alice can't remember the last ten years of her life and she certainly can't reconcile this new reality that her husband wants nothing to do with her and her sister is acting like she is a major burden with the way Alice feels about them. From here, Moriarty weaves together this narrative of Alice's amnesia with her sister Elisabeth's journal entries about Alice's strange injury and their childhood neighbor/adopted grandmother Frannie's letters to Phil about it as well. The result is an unputdownable and unforgettable story of remembering what's most important in life and how to cherish and protect the relationships that mean the most.
I loved it. I laughed at Alice's reactions to the three children she couldn't remember, and Moriarty managed to make me feel, right along with Alice, that I didn't want to know how such a lovely marriage could have fallen apart...but needing to know: how could it?? My heart hurt for Elisabeth as she navigated her infertility and tentatively stepped back into her sister's life when Alice needed her. And I couldn't get enough of Frannie's letters to Phil. Who is Phil? I thought the way Moriarty twisted the stories of these three women together and their responses to the different losses in their lives was beautiful. Her writing pulled me in and I couldn't stop turning the pages until I reached the conclusion.
Admittedly, the closer I got to that conclusion, the more stressed out I became about how it was all going to end, but Moriarty stuck the landing and I promptly took the book to my mother and told her to read it too. What Alice Forgot is certainly not Great Literature, but it's the perfect beach read and, if you're anything like me, the story will stay with you long after you turn the last page.
The question is: which Liane Moriarty book do I pick up next?
NOT ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ 🙄
ReplyDelete-Lyndsey
😬 Good to know. That's one of her newer ones. Wonder if the quality/content goes down in later books.
DeleteYes! I read What Alice Forgot on audio a while back, it was the perfect companion for running errands. As to which Moriarty to read next: Big Little Lies is the obvious pick, but I'd actually recommend The Husband's Secret if you're in the mood for a moral dilemma.
ReplyDeleteI think you were actually listening to it on audio around the time I posted my recap of The Hypnotist's Love Story! And as for which one to read next: I do love a good moral dilemma. Might have to have a go at The Husband's Secret.
Deleteagree on Nine Perfect Strangers; the adaptation on Hulu was ridiculous and not in a fun way.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that the reaction to not only the book (from Lyndsey) was negative, but also to the series (you). Definitely have mentally bumped that one down.
DeleteThis story sounds scary and stressful. The idea that I could miss the first 10 years of having kids would be the WORST and I don't think I could read this book without having nightmares haha..even your recap made me sweat.
ReplyDeleteHa! Yep, it was a real page-turner to see if she would ever get her memory back.
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