Customer Reviews

The Story of Forgetting: A Novel

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The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block is one of my favorite reads for 2008. The author's use of words to weave a story of two very different people is absolutely fantastic. Although Abel Haggard and Seth Waller are two very different characters, both in age and in social background, their stories are compelling and I could believe that both these men were real. Amazingly enough, the scientific parts of the book were very interesting to me as I am generally not interested in novels about science.

The Story of Forgetting is about familial early-onset Alzheimer's disease and how it affects those with the disease and those people close to them. Seth Waller is a young teenager losing his mother to the horror of this disease, and losing the balance of the family he once had. Abel Haggard is an elderly reclusive man, living in the old family homestead, passing his days with memories of what he once had and how it was lost. Both characters are completely drawn and fleshed out so that it is easy to picture them in my mind. This story will stay with me a long time.

My mother suffered from dementia before her death and I understand the frustration of trying to deal with someone who is no longer the person you know and love. The Story of Forgetting is a brilliant book, I would recommend it to anyone dealing with Alzheimer's disease and to just anyone who enjoys a compelling, beautifully written story

For reasons inexplicable, it took me weeks to pick up this novel and read the first sentence, but once I did I was hooked. I don't know what my problem was, but kudos to Stefan Merrill Block, because he drew me right into his story from the first pages.

The structure of the novel is that it jumps back and forth between two different characters, two different stories. The first is 68-year-old Abel Haggard, a modern-day hermit living exactly as he did decades ago on the distant outskirts of Dallas. Abel is basically reviewing his life inside his mind and agonizing over the mistakes he has made. Through his recollections you learn about his one true love, and how he lost everything he had. Now he's waiting for something... and trying to hang on by his fingertips to the life he has.

The second story revolves around 15-year-old geek, Seth Waller. I'm a 39-year-old woman, but I can't tell you how much I related to Seth. My social skills are considerably better, but we're both science nerds and were high school outcasts. Through Seth, we learn the story of his mother's diagnosis with early-onset Alzheimer's in her mid-thirties. As painful as it is to watch her decline through Seth's eyes, it doesn't touch the sadness of the strained relationship he has with his father. Scenes between the two of them broke my heart, as each tried to deal in his own way with tragedy. Seth copes by embarking on a "scientific study" of his mother's illness.

While these two equally compelling narratives are unfolding, there are two more narrative threads weaved throughout the novel. One is the story of the orgin of the Alzheimer's mutation that plagues Seth's mother. It starts with patient number one and moves forward through history. The other thread is actually what ties the stories of Abel and Seth together. It's a series of tales of a mythological land called Isidora--stories that were told to both Abel and Seth in their childhoods.

It sounds like a lot is going on, but all the threads blend to form a satisfying cloth that is neither too busy nor boring. The novel moves at a fast pace, and I found myself (surprisingly) equally captivated by the tales of both Seth and Abel. They were rich and fully-formed characters with distinctive voices and personalities. When I started the novel I thought the mystery would be: How do their stories intersect? That really isn't it. You just want to see these tales through to their proper conclusion.

One more thing... Reading what I've written, this novel sounds like a real downer. I can't pretend the subject matter is happy, but my personal tolerance for tragedy is incredibly low, and I really enjoyed this promising debut.

The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block tells the tale of devastation of a familial form of Alzheimer's from two perspectives: one, seventy year old Abel and the other, the teenaged Seth. In the end, the common thread of their stories is revealed in a quiet, reflective, and touching way.

Surprising to say, given the young age of the author, it is the elder voice which is more convincing. The memories shared by Abel and the descriptions of his current reflective life resonate more genuinely than does young Seth's "empirical investigation" to learn about his mother's disease. The voice of Seth is often too mature in tone and too sophisticated in language (no matter how precocious he may be). In addition, the basis of his "investigation" is a bit of stretch from my perspective. The most credible passages of Seth's occur early in the book, when he describes his mother's first symptoms of illness and the actions and reactions of his which result.

As a physician, it is hard for me to admit, but the passages in which Seth offers summaries of research and scientific explanations detract from the emotional flow of the book. They were a signifciant distraction rather than enhancement. Similarly, some of the first person accounts in Seth's investigation seem stiff and unnatural, created solely to be sure that certain perspectives on the disease are communicated to the reader.

Abel's story is told much more convincingly and lyrically than Seth's. The complexity and human frailty of his story go beyond the center piece disease of the book's theme. It is one aspect of a multi-layered story, though it is a devastatingly important aspect. In fact, it is Abel's description of the final outcome that is most moving, most revealing.

On the whole, it is an affecting description of the profound impact Alzheimer's has upon individuals, families, and generations. It is also more than that, as many families can likely claim something similar in their histories, whether medical or otherwise, that significantly impacts within and across generations. Experiencing those insights was when the book most resonated and was most satisfying.

Other reviewers have outlined the basic plot of this fascinating debut novel already, so I will just get to the meat.

As the granddaughter of an Alzheimer's sufferer (though not of the early-onset variety as discussed in the book), I found the premise intriguing. Block weaves a startlingly fun mock history of the disease, tracing it back to a promiscuous royal in England - this was my favorite part of the book.

Seth and Abel are both unique and well-drawn characters with satisfying and believable arcs, though I have a small quibble that some of their more sex related musings and especially Seth's bizarre encounter with "the sloth" seemed a bit indulgent and not integral to the story.

This is a "high concept" story executed beautifully. I highly recommend it.

In his ambitious debut novel Stefan Merrill Block shows off the wide range of his talent. "The Story of Forgetting" combines elements of science, history, and fable into four storylines that weave together to tell a single story. And it works, for the most part. I can see how some may have been turned off by the quirky nature of Block's storytelling or grown bored with the genetic history storyline, but I have a feeling that the majority of literary fiction fans will enjoy Block's novel just as much as I did.

The first storyline concerns Abel, an elderly hunchback living in isolation and haunted by the ghosts of his brother and sister-in-law and the daughter that ran away from home never to be seen again. He bustles around his dilapidated house in his failing body, desperately filling the void around him and trying to avoid stillness that might lead to reflection on how he got to this lonely point and whether or not it is deserved. The modern world is creeping up on all sides of his property, showing Abel just how little use the world can make of an outdated person like him, and his neighbors are trying to force him out so they can raise their property values. But Abel is holding onto the hope that someday his daughter might come looking for him, and he wants to be waiting when she does.

Second is the story of Seth, your typical gawky, angular teen and a stereotypical nerd and social outcast. His mother has recently been placed in a home after a nasty fall and a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease - an extremely rare genetic disorder that Seth, who may someday be a victim of the same disease, becomes obsessed with researching. In truth, his research is equal measures avoidance and an attempt to get closer to his family. All his life, Seth's mother was careful not to reveal anything about where she came from or even why she felt the need to be so secretive, and his research allows Seth a unique opportunity to finally find out just who his mother is. At the same time, it allows him to escape the nightmare of his social life, visits to the home where his mother is by far the youngest resident, the paralyzing fear that he too may suffer her fate, and lonely nights where his father drinks too much and watches the History Channel, unable to bear the burden of disappointment and sorrow.

The third storyline introduces us to the mythical world of Isidora, a "land without memory, where everything one needed was at arm's length, where there was never reason to be afraid, where nothing was ever possessed and so nothing could ever be lost." Isidora provides a curious link between the stories of Seth and Abel, because both of them were raised on fairy tales of the fabled city. While one may question whether or not Isidora is actually as utopian as the author would like you to believe, the charming element of fable that it brings to the novel and the creativity and passion of its creation will win you over in the end.

And finally is a storyline concerning the genetic history of Seth's family and how the genetic variant that created the early-onset Alzheimer's disease got started and spread, tracing the lineage all the way to Texas, where Seth and his family reside. If it occasionally feels superfluous and not that consequential to the plot, Block imbues it with the same charming element of fable that makes you forgive the excess in the end.

The main attractions here are Abel and Seth, and they make "The Story of Forgetting" well worth your while. And if the link between their two storylines is painfully obvious about sixty pages in, it is still a heartfelt journey seeing how their lives converge in the end. As for Block, he proves to be a remarkably thorough and creative writer, as well as a literary talent to watch in the coming years.

Particularly recommended to fans of Jonathan Safran Foer's sterling Everything Is Illuminated: A Novel and Nicole Krauss' The History of Love: A Novel.

Grade: A-

Stefan Merrill Block's The Story of Forgetting is a brilliant first novel, with many surprising twists and insights. It has received stellar reviews from Janet Maslin of the NY Times, NPR, and People magazine. Quite a diverse group of opinions, and well deserved!! "Forgetting" deals with very difficult issues--memory, loss, betrayal and regret--but does so with humor, sympathy and love. There are three distinct narratives, interwovon with unique sections titled "genetic history". This genetic history actually fictionalizes the Early Onset Alzheimer's gene and tells its story. The mechanism of action of the gene is true to the underlying physical damage that occurs in Early Onset Alzheimer', and the story Block ties around this fictionalized gene is fascinating in and of itself. The story of Seth, who lives under the threat of developing Early ONset Alzheimer's, and whose mother has the disease, is particularly poignant. The other main character, Abel, is told with complete veracity, and shows the struggles of a man who has dealt with the pain of both physical handicap and separation from his daughter.

This is a highly recommended read for anyone who is dealing with Alzheimer's, physical illness, or indeed, struggles with issues of love and loss.

Author Stefan Merrill Block's first novel is a tour de force of interconnecting lives, complete with the history of a family curse, fables about a land of no remembrance and scientific studies on Alzheimer's disease. Abel Haggard is an elderly hermit who lives in what was once his family's Texas farmhouse but is now a shack surrounded by McMansions, filled with owners who want to get rid of him. He survives by reliving his memories, beginning with his childhood as one of a set of twins, identical to his brother Paul except for Abel's hump.

Abel and Paul's mother told her young sons tales about the land of Isidora, a golden kingdom whose inhabitants were content because they remembered nothing. The Isidora fables had been passed down through their family --- a family in which so many relatives throughout the generations suffered the loss of their memories.

When Abel and Paul grow up, Paul marries Mae. Abel yearns for Mae; he is fascinated by everything about her, including her strange toes and the manner in which she eats beans. He is so enraptured by his sister-in-law, and rendered so hopeless by his impossible love, that he contemplates suicide. Instead, he does the unthinkable: he climbs into a tree outside the bedroom shared by Mae and Paul. There, in the dark, he watches them sleep, fantasizing about Mae and pondering Paul's oddly disinterested behavior toward her.

While Abel remembers his long-ago love for Mae, and the sequence of events unleashed by his passion, a shy and awkward 15-year-old boy named Seth Waller worries about his mother. Her behavior has become increasingly erratic --- she doesn't eat, never changes out of her nightgown, acts as if she has never before seen her own house, and shuffles along like a very old woman. One morning she asks Seth how long she has known him, saying, "I feel like I've known you my whole life."

Seth can't help being sarcastic with his mother at times, as a kind of defense mechanism. But it shrivels his soul to see the way his father treats her, labeling her forgetfulness as a case of deliberate selfishness. Seth's father works long hours. When he's home, he slumps in a recliner in front of the History Channel, swilling gin. After Seth's mother leaves the house in the middle of the night, Seth searches frantically until he finally finds her under a street lamp, carrying a suitcase and saying she's going home. Not long afterward, she is admitted into a nursing home and diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Seth has always wanted to be a scientist. Now he is determined to find something, anything, that will help his mother. While he is reading everything he can find on Alzheimer's, he is also remembering the stories his mother often told him when he was a child. She told of a place beside our world, a real land called Isidora. People could cross over to Isidora, where much was the same as in this world...except everyone there felt happy because they couldn't remember anything. Seth also realizes how little he knows about his mother's background.

The lives of Abel and Seth intertwine in a surprising yet inevitable manner. The mosaic joins together, tile by tile, with interspersed pieces of family history, scientific studies of Alzheimer's and the Isidora lore. Abel and Seth are such fully-realized characters and their stories are so realistic that at times the reader can't help wondering how fictional they truly are. THE STORY OF FORGETTING is a marvelous and compelling read, filled with tragedy but also humor and hope --- and readers are sure to ponder the story long after they've finished it.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon

Stefan Merril Block's debut novel beautifully interlaces science and emotion to depict a disease that is old in its effects but only recently becoming understood. He approached the story through parallel story lines interweaving a leitmotif of loss and identity, and although it is not iconoclastic, it is nonetheless effective and engrossing. I recommend it and look forward to enjoying future works of this young author.

This book was an interesting portrayal of what life with early onset Alzheimer's disease is like. I wish that I could use more effusive words with this review, since I wanted to love this book. The concept was intriguing, the characters started out interesting, and the land of Isadora called to me. Yet, in the end, it felt like Block had to get to his ending, and the characters ran out of development. The length really was slight for a story that could have had such depth, and in the end, I was left wanting more from everything.

Stefan Merrill Block's debut novel ambitiously explores the effect familial Alzheimer's has on one Texan family, revealing both the burdens and freedoms that result from the memory-devouring disease. The novel is a conglomeration of fictional narrative, fable, scientific fact, and historical fiction.

When teenager Seth's mother is diagnosed with familial Alzheimer's, a form of the disease which will take her memory and her life much earlier than usual, he is determined to trace his family's roots in order to uncover all he can about his maternal relatives and the disease they carry. With little information about her past, Seth searches for other sufferers of the rare genetic malady--all of whom are related to each other, however distantly--in hopes of finding a close relative. The only other lead in his ancestral investigation is the stories his mother told of Isidora, a fictional land where the inhabitants have no memory. Armed with a list of names and the memory of his mother's stories, Seth searches Texas for anyone who may know about his family's past.

At the same time as Seth's journey unfolds, we are told Abel's story. An elderly man, Abel has little left but the memories of his life during occasionally happier and always less lonely times. Living in the only home he has known, reminders of the past are both a plague and a comfort. But his quiet life, which has gone unaltered for decades, is threatened when a new neighborhood of high-end homes is planned to be built on his land.

In between the chapters about Seth and Abel, Block tells the the fictitious, often humorous tale of the first carriers of the familial Alzheimer's gene--Seth's English ancestors--and how they found their way to America. Also interspersed throughout the novel are the fairy tale-like stories of Isidora and a bit of true scientific information about the disease. The intertwining of different stories is mostly successful, and Block's two main characters have believable, distinct voices. The chapters that focus on both the fictional and factual history of the disease occasionally feel superfluous, but even when it is not always clear how they connect to the larger story, the chapters are enjoyable to read.

Despite the grave subject of the novel, there are times when the story almost feels lighthearted, and perhaps because Block can write beautifully about everything from the Texas landscape to the bewildering effect Alzheimer's has on the mind, the novel is not as grim as I expected. Although Alzheimer's is a painful, frightening disease, and its shattering effect on everyone it influences is evident throughout the novel, Block also addresses the pain that comes with remembering the past too well. While the title of the novel is The Story of Forgetting, in the end, it does not feel as though the novel is about what people forget (or wish to forget) so much as it is about what remains a part of you despite a deteriorating mind or a troubled past.