Book Review: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty July 13, 2017 05:00
Becky and I are both big readers. We read spiritual books, fictions, non-fictions, young adult, you name it. As I mentioned in our last book review post (Bossypants by Tina Fey) I'm in a book club and recently read 'What Alice Forgot' by Liane Moriarty. I thought I'd share a brief review in case this particular book was on your waitlist.
(I also just recently read Liane Moriarty's book Big Little Lies as well, which I'm sure many of you recognize.)
What is the book about?
The book begins with Alice waking up on the floor at the gym thinking she is 29 years old. It turns out she had fallen which caused her to misplace 10 years of her life. She is actually 39 and a lot of her life has changed. Using three different perspectives the book unfolds her journey to remember.
Did you enjoy the book? Why? Why not?
Yes. The best part for me was the self evaluation. The book made you look at your own life and ask questions.
At one point Alice's sister, Elizabeth, was thinking "how would I feel if I lost ten years of my memory, and what things, would surprise me, or please me, or upset me about how my life had turned out." It was almost ten years ago when I graduated college. There are so many decisions I've made in the last ten years that have and will shape my life forever. If I were my 20 year old self sitting across from the person I've become today, would I be happy with what I saw? I'm not sure. There are definitely aspects of my life that need work.
While Alice was in the process of remembering the last 10 years of her life all of her thoughts were in the perspective of a 29 year old. They were sometimes immature and naive, but sometimes the simplicity brought such clarity. It made me wonder if I would enjoy life more if I had some of the perspective I had 10 years ago on certain things. Sometimes I'm a bit too serious.
Stories of Elizabeth's struggles with infertility pull on your heart strings. The reality is that many women struggle with this. In the book you see many perspectives. It takes such strength.
You see love in all of it's many phases. Young love that is fresh and simple. Old love that has grown through experiences, the best and worst. I felt great encouragement from seeing all the different phases. Love doesn't look the same in every relationship.
There were so many other great situations that Alice and her loved ones run into that really make you just take a step back and reevaluate.
The book is a little long but I found it went by fast. My first thoughts when I finished were... that I need to be more grateful for life and the experiences that it brings and that I need to remember to slow down and enjoy it all.
Would you recommend this book?
Definitely. It so easy to relate it to your own life and growth.
What’s your favorite quotes from the book?
"They would think she was savoring the taste --, but she was actually savoring the whole morning, trying to catch it, pin it down, keep it safe before all those precious moments became yet another memory."
"It's just that sometimes I want to say to her, 'Darling, maybe you don't get to be a mother, but you still get to be a wife.'"
"They take their lives so seriously, these young people."