All Is Not Forgotten, by Wendy Walker
MacMillan Audio - 2016
Thriller
Audiobook
Narrated by Dylan Baker
Thriller
Audiobook
Narrated by Dylan Baker
11 Hourrs, 30 Minutes
My Rating (out of 5)
⭐⭐⭐⭐
While primarily a thriller, All Is Not Forgotten is written with strong emotional components woven through it.
Trigger warning: Rape, sexual assault.
Jenny Kramer lives in one of those affluent little town where the residents feel that their economic and social status will insulate them from the bad things that happen in other places. One night all that changes.
The book starts with the brutal rape of Jenny. It is the rape that results in her meeting the narrator of this story - her psychiatrist.
After surgery to repair the physical damage to Jenny's body a decision has to be made - to administer a developmental/experimental drug protocol that will remove Jenny's memory of that horrible night, basically sparing her the PTSD that she would have likely suffered from if she did remember the rape. Mental recall is just one part of memory though, and in some ways her body remembers what her mind forgets. In the end it is the conflict of knowing she was raped but not having any actual recall of it that proves to be too difficult for her.
During all if this Jenny's parents struggle too. Both Jenny's mother and father have her best interests at heart, but that doesn't mean they agree with each other on how to protect those interests. Jenny's father Tom has an unquenchable desire for justice, while Jenny's mother Charlotte has an equally strong need to pretend that the rape never happened and move on. This difference of opinion opens a rift in the marriage as both feel strongly about what they think Jenny needs in order to heal. Their difference in approach strains their marriage.
While all this is going on, a rapist is still at large in community, and he might be closer than Jenny and her parents think.
This psychological thriller treads some dangerous emotional waters. Though the subject matter is dark and uncomfortable, Walker spins her tale with wisdom and compassion. Other than the story's narrator Dr. Forrester - who is a bit of an arrogant prick, the characters are mostly likable, if imperfect. While the rape of Jenny is brutal, I don't think it is gratuitous in nature. The only way for this story to work, is for the protagonist to experience to experience something truly horrible. I think Walker does a good job in trying to balance the need in the story for this event to be devastatingly horrific to the character, with trying not to be any more graphic than the story requires to make that point.
This audiobook was narrated by Dylan Baker. His voice was clear and pleasant, sufficiently varied by character, and portrayed with appropriate range of emotion.
Trigger warning: Rape, sexual assault.
Jenny Kramer lives in one of those affluent little town where the residents feel that their economic and social status will insulate them from the bad things that happen in other places. One night all that changes.
The book starts with the brutal rape of Jenny. It is the rape that results in her meeting the narrator of this story - her psychiatrist.
After surgery to repair the physical damage to Jenny's body a decision has to be made - to administer a developmental/experimental drug protocol that will remove Jenny's memory of that horrible night, basically sparing her the PTSD that she would have likely suffered from if she did remember the rape. Mental recall is just one part of memory though, and in some ways her body remembers what her mind forgets. In the end it is the conflict of knowing she was raped but not having any actual recall of it that proves to be too difficult for her.
During all if this Jenny's parents struggle too. Both Jenny's mother and father have her best interests at heart, but that doesn't mean they agree with each other on how to protect those interests. Jenny's father Tom has an unquenchable desire for justice, while Jenny's mother Charlotte has an equally strong need to pretend that the rape never happened and move on. This difference of opinion opens a rift in the marriage as both feel strongly about what they think Jenny needs in order to heal. Their difference in approach strains their marriage.
While all this is going on, a rapist is still at large in community, and he might be closer than Jenny and her parents think.
This psychological thriller treads some dangerous emotional waters. Though the subject matter is dark and uncomfortable, Walker spins her tale with wisdom and compassion. Other than the story's narrator Dr. Forrester - who is a bit of an arrogant prick, the characters are mostly likable, if imperfect. While the rape of Jenny is brutal, I don't think it is gratuitous in nature. The only way for this story to work, is for the protagonist to experience to experience something truly horrible. I think Walker does a good job in trying to balance the need in the story for this event to be devastatingly horrific to the character, with trying not to be any more graphic than the story requires to make that point.
This audiobook was narrated by Dylan Baker. His voice was clear and pleasant, sufficiently varied by character, and portrayed with appropriate range of emotion.
Happy Reading,
Christine
No comments:
Post a Comment