Thanks for the Memories: A Novel [Hardcover]

Cecelia Ahern (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 2009

Cecelia Ahern: making the everyday magical. How can you know someone you've never met? Joyce Conway leaves hospital after recovering from a terrible accident. Having faced a near-death experience, she is suddenly awakened to the stark reality of her futile marriage, and vows to start afresh -- separating from husband Conor and moving back in with her dad. Justin Hitchcock arrives in Dublin to give a guest lecture. Recently divorced and living near his daughter Bea, but far from his Chicago home, he's lonely and restless. When beautiful doctor Sarah persuades him to give blood, he nonchalantly accepts, hoping he'll at least get a date with her. Then one rainy evening, Joyce and Justin cross paths in the strangest of circumstances. They have no idea that their fates are more entangled than they could ever have imagined !

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Contrivance and a multitude of sitcom mixups drive Ahern's fifth novel. When Joyce Conway gets a blood transfusion after a tragic accident that caused her to miscarry, she strangely picks up the memories of her donor. Upon release from the hospital, she moves in with her father to try to cope with her impending divorce and the loss of her baby, but ends up instead on a wild goose chase after feeling a connection with a mysterious, smoldering stranger in a hair salon. Their relationship is obvious to the reader immediately, which makes the following several hundred pages a less than satisfying exercise in delaying the inevitable. Fans of Ahern's earlier work won't be disappointed with the fairy tale–like feeling, but readers not already in the fold might not stick around to the obvious conclusion. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

A hurried trip down a flight of stairs in her home costs Joyce Conway the thing she wanted most: her baby. A blood transfusion saves her life, but after Joyce wakes up, she finds herself with knowledge and memories she knows aren’t her own. As her marriage falls apart, Joyce becomes fixated on two things—a handsome American man named Justin she met the day she got out of the hospital, and finding out who donated the blood—and she finds herself on a quest for both. If Ahern’s last novel, the wonderful There’s No Place Like Here (2008), was among her best, this latest entry is one of her weaker offerings. The lead characters are thin, and in the case of Joyce’s father, downright annoying, and the games Joyce plays wear a little thin. Still, Ahern devotees will enjoy the magical connection that springs up between Joyce and Justin, and will keep turning the pages to find out if the two can make their way to a happy ending together. --Kristine Huntley

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (April 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006170623X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061706233
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #630,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cecelia Ahern is the author of the international bestsellers P.S. I Love You; Love, Rosie; If You Could See Me Now; There's No Place Like Here; and The Gift. The daughter of Ireland's former prime minister, she lives in Dublin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not great, but not terrible either., June 8, 2009

By 

Paleomelissa - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thanks for the Memories: A Novel (Hardcover)

I felt the book was ok. It's definitely not one that I would jump to read again any time soon. There was very little character development or really any personalities portrayed by the title characters. I found that my favorite character was Joyce's senile father, as he was the only one that was given an interesting personality. The book kind of read as a short story that just happened to be of novel length, if that makes any sense.

That being said, the book was still a page turner and as far as chic-lit goes it does go with the happy ending. I still kind of liked it, just didn't LOVE it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aherns wit is captivating!, April 23, 2009

By 

Gloria Marino "GMarino" (Milford, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thanks for the Memories: A Novel (Hardcover)

Although I personally prefer fiction set in reality, Miss Aherns captures your interest from the first page through her wit, humor, and vulnerability. The main character, Joyce, has a beautiful, loving relationship with her elderly father that will warm your heart. Her knowledge and understanding of the elderly is admirable. Her adventures are exciting and impulsive. This is a book you'll never want to finish.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars just didn't work, January 7, 2011

By 

dcbooklover (washington, dc) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Thanks for the Memories: A Novel (Paperback)

I have loved all of Cecelia Ahern's books. For some reason, this one was just too unrealistic for me. It is about a woman who gets into a horrible accident and, as the result of a blood transfusion, suddenly has memories she doesn't recognize, which turn out to be from the blood donor. The two feel an unexplained connection to one another as a result. I love a touch of magic but I just couldn't really buy the basic plot premise of this book.