The Gentle Art Of Forgetting by Richard Easter

3.5 Stars

The best thing about this book is the voice of Context.  I think I would have been happy to have Context narrate throughout instead of flashing here and there throughout Jane's life and having Jane narrate to us.  Context is wry and strangely disconnected from the story and that drew me in, Jane is altogether too serious and instead of sucking you in to her life I found that she kept me at arms length.

When you start the book you are warned that this is part of a trilogy - indeed you are slap bang in the middle of it with Jane's story.  You really, REALLY, don't need to read either of the other books to enjoy this one.  Apparently (and this is the only one I have read) they share similar themes and some recurring characters but also exist in their separate spaces and times.  As a stand alone novel this worked well, I never felt like I was missing out on some nuance because I hadn't read the first book and it did make me curious to read it - which has to be good.

The whole idea of Context butting in to move the story along was a good one as otherwise this would have been a confusing mess.  The whole idea of Here and Watching The Snow is just off the wall enough to intrigue me but it did get completely confusing at times but good old Context was always there to save the day.  I also loved the idea of explaining the shifts throughout the years of Jane's life until we get to the denouement; it was certainly effective in building the tension and keeping you reading.

Yet, I didn't love this book; I enjoyed it but I always felt there was something missing from it.  I think, with the benefit of a couple of days between finishing the book and reviewing it, that this was because I simply couldn't take to Jane.  I lived for the 80s references throughout certain sections but that the was the most interesting and absorbing part of her character - pop culture references that hold a nostalgia for me.

On the whole a quirky story that shows a lot of promise by the author but just some way to go with the characters.

THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED VIA BOOK SIRENS