My review of The Memory Thief, By Lauren Mansy. This dystopian world uses memories as currency, they are the centre of all power in this book.
The Memory Thief, Lauren Mansy
Themes: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic
Reading Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
3 STARS
Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
This is the story of Etta, a gifted girl, trying to survive in a world where people can take each other’s memories. The premise of this book was really interesting to me, who would we be without our memories? Are there things we would choose to forget, or do they all contribute to making us who we are? I wonder if we would want to get rid of the memories that contribute to our more negative attributes?
Etta is trying to help her mum in this book, she comes across quite a few hurdles in her way. Corrupt would be one word to describe the world this book is set in, twisted and wrong would be another. We see a typical dystopian society here, ruled by one very mean lady. I hadn’t read a book like this for a while, so I flew through it and quite enjoyed the obvious plot. The atmosphere was dark and hopeless, there seemed to be no way out of the world that was painted. I really enjoyed this desolate feeling, the author did a good job of reflecting this mood throughout the book.
So we have Etta, then we have Reid, you’re typical and fanciable love interest. He looks out for Etta, they form a bond, he likes her and she likes him. Etta doesn’t need anyone to help her out in this world, she is very sure of herself and wants to be her own hero and everyone else’s. I really liked her character, but at times she had a bit of a stupid recklessness about her that got on my nerves.
What I only realised after reading this book, is it was based on the author’s fears of her mother passing away. Lauren Mansy’s mum was diagnosed with a heart condition and it wasn’t clear if she would survive. Mansy was met with the fear of what would happen if her mum didn’t make it, what would happen to her memories. From my own experience of loss, there is never enough we could have learnt about someone before it’s too late. I’d love to ask relatives questions that I’ll never be able to. If you could just inherit the memories of your loved one, would you want to?
Overall, this book was enjoyable and painted a world I could easily fall into. It was a fun and quick read that kept me immersed and entertained throughout.
Great review! This is on my TBR mountain. I find myself more and more wishing I had removed deeper into my grandparents’ lives before they passed. What it was like to live through X, or where were you when Z happened? My great grandmother, too. For her, I’d lived to have asked- what was it like growing up during Prohibition,cans the ‘golden age’ of organised crime. She was born in 1898!! She lived 100 yrs. My grandmother lived til 82. She had seven siblings and lived in a cotton farm. My grandfather til 98. He survived serving in WW II and the Korean War. I’ve started taking memoir dictation from my mother. Before she passes, I’d like to share her story with others. Even if I don’t get the chance, seeing history through her eyes and learning her personal history- it’s been eye opening.