Book Review - MEM by Bethany C. Morrow
Title: MEM
Author: Bethany C. Morrow
Publication Date: May 22nd, 2018
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 184 pages
Rating: 3/5 stars
Buy It Now: https://amzn.to/2MiSFYW
(note: this is an affiliate link)
Goodreads Blurb:
Set in the glittering art deco world of a century ago, MEM makes one slight alteration to history: a scientist in Montreal discovers a method allowing people to have their memories extracted from their minds, whole and complete. The Mems exist as mirror-images of their source ― zombie-like creatures destined to experience that singular memory over and over, until they expire in the cavernous Vault where they are kept.
And then there is Dolores Extract #1, the first Mem capable of creating her own memories. An ageless beauty shrouded in mystery, she is allowed to live on her own, and create her own existence, until one day she is summoned back to the Vault.
My Thoughts:
When I first heard about this novel, I knew I needed to read it IMMEDIATELY. '20s era Montreal with some sci-fi elements and a sentient character who shouldn't be sentient? It sounded like it would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to the high expectations I had set for it.
This novel is much more philosophical than I was anticipating. This isn't a bad thing, necessarily, but given that the novel is already fairly slowly paced, sometimes these elements brought it to a grinding halt. The question of "what makes a human, human?" is central to the novel and there are some interesting discussions to be had on the subject, but many of those conversations take place behind the closed doors of court rooms where Dolores/Elsie, and therefore the reader, is not invited.
Then there's the setting. I was so, SO excited about an alternate history set in La Belle Province during the roaring 20s. There was so much potential to weave the era into the story, and yet it added nothing. This novel could have just as easily been set in the 2120s and would have lost nothing. I can only think of two scenes in the entire novel where the era is relevant, and even then only tangentially.
The short length of this novel sometimes felt like its downfall. Entire weeks of Elsie's time in the Vault are skipped over, the accounts of her time outside the Vault are sparse, and there's a romance element that feels very much shoehorned into the story just for the sake of having a romance. It's a double-edged sword: on the one hand, it felt like this novella could have been fleshed out into a full-fledged novel with more for the reader to grab onto, but on the other, it was so slowly paced with flat characters that at times even 184 pages seemed too long to get the gist of the story across. It falls into this weird middle ground that just didn't work for me.
The concept of this novel is unique, and Dolores/Elsie is an interesting character, but given how flat everything around her felt, I wasn't able to connect very deeply with the story. This is still a worthwhile read, given its short length and the moral topics it delves into, and I'll be interested to see what Morrow puts out next, even if this novella didn't quite work for me.
Author: Bethany C. Morrow
Publication Date: May 22nd, 2018
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 184 pages
Rating: 3/5 stars
Buy It Now: https://amzn.to/2MiSFYW
(note: this is an affiliate link)
Goodreads Blurb:
Set in the glittering art deco world of a century ago, MEM makes one slight alteration to history: a scientist in Montreal discovers a method allowing people to have their memories extracted from their minds, whole and complete. The Mems exist as mirror-images of their source ― zombie-like creatures destined to experience that singular memory over and over, until they expire in the cavernous Vault where they are kept.
And then there is Dolores Extract #1, the first Mem capable of creating her own memories. An ageless beauty shrouded in mystery, she is allowed to live on her own, and create her own existence, until one day she is summoned back to the Vault.
My Thoughts:
When I first heard about this novel, I knew I needed to read it IMMEDIATELY. '20s era Montreal with some sci-fi elements and a sentient character who shouldn't be sentient? It sounded like it would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to the high expectations I had set for it.
This novel is much more philosophical than I was anticipating. This isn't a bad thing, necessarily, but given that the novel is already fairly slowly paced, sometimes these elements brought it to a grinding halt. The question of "what makes a human, human?" is central to the novel and there are some interesting discussions to be had on the subject, but many of those conversations take place behind the closed doors of court rooms where Dolores/Elsie, and therefore the reader, is not invited.
Then there's the setting. I was so, SO excited about an alternate history set in La Belle Province during the roaring 20s. There was so much potential to weave the era into the story, and yet it added nothing. This novel could have just as easily been set in the 2120s and would have lost nothing. I can only think of two scenes in the entire novel where the era is relevant, and even then only tangentially.
The short length of this novel sometimes felt like its downfall. Entire weeks of Elsie's time in the Vault are skipped over, the accounts of her time outside the Vault are sparse, and there's a romance element that feels very much shoehorned into the story just for the sake of having a romance. It's a double-edged sword: on the one hand, it felt like this novella could have been fleshed out into a full-fledged novel with more for the reader to grab onto, but on the other, it was so slowly paced with flat characters that at times even 184 pages seemed too long to get the gist of the story across. It falls into this weird middle ground that just didn't work for me.
The concept of this novel is unique, and Dolores/Elsie is an interesting character, but given how flat everything around her felt, I wasn't able to connect very deeply with the story. This is still a worthwhile read, given its short length and the moral topics it delves into, and I'll be interested to see what Morrow puts out next, even if this novella didn't quite work for me.
Comments
Post a Comment