Customer Reviews

Forgotten Life

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A better title for this 1989 Brian Aldiss book would be " Forgotten Novel ". Why is a novel written by the great science-fiction author so unappreciated? I have done a lot of research on the internet and can't find a single review on this book. Did the Hugo Award winner lose his touch by writing realism in lieu of the fantasy world? I don't know the answer, but I plunged into it anyway. I have to admit that while it was well written, the plot seemed thin and boring. It seemed every character in the book was a writer, or a wannabe writer.

The main character is Clement Winter, a Analytical Psychologist, who is considering writing a book about his recently deceased brother Joseph, a writer of Far East books! Clement is married to Sheila, aka Green Mouth, the famed fantasy writer of the planet Kerinth. I think it is a planet! Do you see what I mean about the word " writer "? The bulk of the information Clement collects on his brother Joseph is from, you guessed it, letters and journals written by Joseph.

As Clement delves into his brother's life , he finds psychological problems with Joseph, stemming from his relations with his mater and pater ( the name he uses for his parents ). He also discovers the interesting life Joseph led during the World War II campaign in Burma as a member of the famed English Forgotten Army. One of the best parts of the book is the romance Joseph had in Sumatra during the war with Mandy, a Chinese married woman. Later in life he meets Lucy, his last love, a nuclear disarmament protester.

There are many sub-plots in this story, mainly focusing on Clement and Sheila's on and off again relationship, and the mysterious housekeeper Michelin from France. Clement brings up a interesting theory that a person can have an anima vision and reverse his thoughts about the life he led. Is that what Joseph had at the books ending? The book is forgotten for unknown reasons, but at least it will have a American review. I have to admit that I struggled with this novel, sometimes I thought I didn't know what the plot was, other times I knew. If you can find the book, I recommend reading it for the sake of the 86 year old English master.