June 10, 2014 by Harper
Hardcover: 320 pages
Review Copy (TLC Book Tours)
Warnings: Dementia, violence, mild language
5/5 Stars- (18&up)
In this darkly riveting debut novel-a sophisticated psychological mystery that is also an heartbreakingly honest meditation on memory, identity, and aging-an elderly woman descending into dementia embarks on a desperate quest to find the best friend she believes has disappeared, and her search for the truth will go back decades and have shattering consequences.
Maud, an aging grandmother, is slowly losing her memory-and her grip on everyday life. Yet she refuses to forget her best friend Elizabeth, whom she is convinced is missing and in terrible danger.
But no one will listen to Maud-not her frustrated daughter, Helen, not her caretakers, not the police, and especially not Elizabeth's mercurial son, Peter. Armed with handwritten notes she leaves for herself and an overwhelming feeling that Elizabeth needs her help, Maud resolves to discover the truth and save her beloved friend.
This singular obsession forms a cornerstone of Maud's rapidly dissolving present. But the clues she discovers seem only to lead her deeper into her past, to another unsolved disappearance: her sister, Sukey, who vanished shortly after World War II.
As vivid memories of a tragedy that occurred more fifty years ago come flooding back, Maud discovers new momentum in her search for her friend. Could the mystery of Sukey's disappearance hold the key to finding Elizabeth?
Thoughts
Does anyone remember the movie Memento? A story about a guy who has short term memory loss and writes notes to himself to remember things...trying to remember why his wife is missing...and why this weird guy is following him around. I kind of felt like I was diving into a very similar story when I started Elizabeth is Missing, one that involved an unsolved mystery of the disappearance of a loved one, one that collided with the past and present and one that dealt with the loss of memory, only in this case our protagonist is suffering old age dementia and not brain trauma. On one hand this book is a great mystery weaving a past and present tale together with flawless effort, but at the same time its a heartbreaking look into dementia, leaving readers with thought provoking questions and a dreadful sadness over this life robbing disease.
Taking this journey with Maud put all the frustrations of characters disease front and center, when she was upset, I was upset, when she was nervous, I felt nervous..and that's what fascinated and terrified me about this book; I truly felt the chaos inside Maud's head but I was able to piece it together, the thought of having to go through dementia without the rational of my mind intact would be horrible.
Those with family members or close ones going through this might find it difficult to read Maud's story, but I would certainly recommend it for its insightful glimpse into dementia and incredible discussion for readers afterwards.
An absolute brilliant book.
Emma Healey holds a degree in bookbinding and an MA in creative writing. Elizabeth Is Missing is her first novel. She lives in the UK.
Find out more about Emma at her website and connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.
Thanks to TLC Book Tours and Harper for review copy
I remember watching Memento ... crazy crazy movie.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of the tour for this amazing book!
I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on the book! Elizabeth is Missing was probably my favourite read of 2014!
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