The Memory of Light by author Francisco X. Stork is a newly published book that I had recently added to my "to read" list. So when I happened to see that my local library had it available, I jumped on the chance to give it a read.
The book begins by introducing Vicky, who has just been admitted into a hospital for attempted suicide. Upon recommendation from her doctor she stays at the hospital for an extended period in order to receive treatment for her depression. It's here that she is introduced to several influential peers who help her sort out her problems and realize what life has to offer. After Vicky leaves the hospital and faces her old life that drove her to the brink of ending her own life, she must find the strength inside her to face the dark thoughts invading her mind.
While reading The Memory of Light, I found myself constantly going back and forth on what my opinion of it was. There were brilliantly written moments that did a fantastic job of describing the visceral feeling of mental illness. The author was very poetic in the way that he described several themes throughout the book, and his personal experience with depression and suicide certainly lended themselves to this strong descriptive writing. I also liked all of the main characters in this book and thought that they all captured unique points of view regarding just how varying mental illnesses can be from each other.
However, this is where the positive elements end. First of all, I had an issue with a lot of the writing and the general flow of the words in this book. Several paragraphs needed to be read multiple times in order to grasp who was saying what. There was a clunkiness that was hard to overlook and it impeded the reading process. I also found myself not emotionally connecting with any characters in The Memory of Light. They were all well-developed and likeable enough, I just simply did not care what happened to them or have any empathy for their conditions at all. A final issue was with how this book deals with the treatment of the main characters. Their doctor randomly up and takes them to her ranch for two weeks, which simply struck me as odd and extremely unrealistic. I understand that this is a work of fiction, and authors have the freedom to write whatever they desire in the pages of their work. However, it just seemed out of context with the rest of the book and didn't bolster the storyline at all.
So in conclusion, The Memory of Light was a somewhat disappointing book. I wanted to love it, but in reality it was somewhat of a struggle to get through. I had to mentally motivate myself to pick it up and read a few chapters, and ended up just marathoning through the last 100 pages just so I could finish it and write this review. There are a few short-lived moments of pure brilliance and wonderful writing where the author transcends the printed word and you can physically understand what mental illness feels like. But these moments are severely masked by the mundaneness of the rest of the book. Overall, I would let this novel be and choose a different book to quench your thirst for a good read.
Author: Francisco X. Stork
Genre: Drama/Mental illness/YA
The book begins by introducing Vicky, who has just been admitted into a hospital for attempted suicide. Upon recommendation from her doctor she stays at the hospital for an extended period in order to receive treatment for her depression. It's here that she is introduced to several influential peers who help her sort out her problems and realize what life has to offer. After Vicky leaves the hospital and faces her old life that drove her to the brink of ending her own life, she must find the strength inside her to face the dark thoughts invading her mind.
While reading The Memory of Light, I found myself constantly going back and forth on what my opinion of it was. There were brilliantly written moments that did a fantastic job of describing the visceral feeling of mental illness. The author was very poetic in the way that he described several themes throughout the book, and his personal experience with depression and suicide certainly lended themselves to this strong descriptive writing. I also liked all of the main characters in this book and thought that they all captured unique points of view regarding just how varying mental illnesses can be from each other.
However, this is where the positive elements end. First of all, I had an issue with a lot of the writing and the general flow of the words in this book. Several paragraphs needed to be read multiple times in order to grasp who was saying what. There was a clunkiness that was hard to overlook and it impeded the reading process. I also found myself not emotionally connecting with any characters in The Memory of Light. They were all well-developed and likeable enough, I just simply did not care what happened to them or have any empathy for their conditions at all. A final issue was with how this book deals with the treatment of the main characters. Their doctor randomly up and takes them to her ranch for two weeks, which simply struck me as odd and extremely unrealistic. I understand that this is a work of fiction, and authors have the freedom to write whatever they desire in the pages of their work. However, it just seemed out of context with the rest of the book and didn't bolster the storyline at all.
So in conclusion, The Memory of Light was a somewhat disappointing book. I wanted to love it, but in reality it was somewhat of a struggle to get through. I had to mentally motivate myself to pick it up and read a few chapters, and ended up just marathoning through the last 100 pages just so I could finish it and write this review. There are a few short-lived moments of pure brilliance and wonderful writing where the author transcends the printed word and you can physically understand what mental illness feels like. But these moments are severely masked by the mundaneness of the rest of the book. Overall, I would let this novel be and choose a different book to quench your thirst for a good read.
Author: Francisco X. Stork
Genre: Drama/Mental illness/YA
Pages: 325
Year Published: 2016
My Rating: ★★☆☆☆
