What Alice Forgot [Hardcover]

Liane Moriarty (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 2, 2011

What would happen if you were visited by your younger self, and got a chance for a do-over?

Alice Love is twenty-nine years old, madly in love with her husband, and pregnant with their first child. So imagine her surprise when, after a fall, she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! she HATES the gym!) and discovers that she's actually thirty-nine, has three children, and is in the midst of an acrimonious divorce.

A knock on the head has misplaced ten years of her life, and Alice isn't sure she likes who she's become. It turns out, though, that forgetting might be the most memorable thing that has ever happened to Alice.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Funny and knowing… [about] what we choose to remember, and fight to forget.” —O magazine

“The gripping story of a woman who wakes up with a bump on her head and no knowledge of the past ten years…an acutely observed romantic comedy that is both thought-provoking and funny.”—Marie Claire (UK)

“The affecting tale of Alice’s chance for a ten-year do-over.”—The New York Times

“Grabbed me on the first page…a deep and wondrous novel.” —Luanne Rice

“I loved this book. It has, for me, everything that makes a good novel excellent.” —Jeanne Ray

“Heartfelt, witty, and thought-provoking…a story you’ll remember.” —Jennifer Crusie

“Highly addictive.” —She Magazine (UK; Book of the Month)

“I loved this original read.” —The Sun (UK)

 “Funny and captivating.” —Closer (UK)

“Winning…well-paced, and thoroughly pleasurable.” —Publishers Weekly

“An often funny, sometimes heartrending, deeply personal portrait of a woman attempting to unravel her own mystery.” —Booklist

“Moriarity makes this more than just a one-note story, weaving in a plotline involving Alice's childless sister… intriguing… will keep readers guessing and curious to know more about Alice.” —Library Journal

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Liane Moriarty is the author of two novels, Three Wishes and The Last Anniversary, both of which were published around the world and translated into seven languages. She is also the author of the Nicola Berry series for children. Moriarty lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband and two small, noisy children.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam; Book Club (BCE/BOMC) edition (June 2, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399157182
• ISBN-13: 978-0399157189
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (352 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

103 of 107 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Forget about this! April 21, 2011

By Leah Graham

Format:Kindle Edition

What Alice Forgot is very similar to Sophie Kinsella's tale Remember Me?, but Remember Me? is a much lighter affair (it's Sophie Kinsella after all) and What Alice Forgot is a far deeper (and longer) tale. That's no bad thing, though, as I loved both books and they both suit my tastes. Because 29-year-old Alice believes that she's happily married and pregnant with her first child, and also that she and her sister Elisabeth are close, it comes as a series of shocks to her when she realises she has three actual children and that not only does she not remember having them, she doesn't remember them period. To then learn herself and Nick, her husband, are on the brink of divorce and also that Alice and Elisabeth are as close as the North and South pole, was quite sad to read - to believe you're 29 and to suddenly age 10 years must be a pretty scary thing and Liane Moriarty managed to bring across Alice's anguish perfectly. To have three children and not even know who they are was obviously a little controversial - how can she not know her kids? - but that's the power of amnesia, it makes you forget the most simple (and important) things.

What really made the book for me though was Alice's realisation that her 39-year-old self wasn't a nice person at all. She was nothing like the 29-year-old free spirit, in fact she was the total opposite. So it was easy to see how Alice and Nick's relationship disintegrated. Alice turned into a total control freak, it seemed, and it just tore them apart. The ever-mysterious Gina certainly didn't help Nick and Alice's marriage and I was stunned at just how ferocious Nick was the first time he and Alice talked after her accident. It was clear that something had gone seriously wrong in Alice's life, something that caused her to become uptight, to argue with her husband and to practically lose contact with her beloved sister. All is revealed but not quickly. No where near quicky, in fact. A flashback or a loose mention of a name awakens something in Alice's memory and so we learn a tid-bit of Alice's life as it is now but never enough to truly hold on to. It was a very clever way of letting us all know what had happened and it certainly kept me reading.

The book is told in third-person, which I wasn't expecting, but it works well so it wasn't a problem. It's all from Alice's point of view, too. But as well as the usual narrative, there are also diary/journal type entries from Elisabeth, which confused me at first, but it soon makes sense, as well as blog entries from Frannie. All three women are experiencing troubles, some more serious than others and it was interesting to get their take on things. I particularly enjoyed Elisabeth's diary entries, they were insightful. Overall I really loved What Alice Forgot, it is certainly one of the better amnesia stories out there and I hugely enjoyed all of the 496 pages. I hugely recommend you pick this one up, as you won't regret it.

86 of 92 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Started reading on vacation and couldn't stop! July 28, 2010

By Misty

Format:Kindle Edition

Picked this book up while on vacation in England and actually skipped sightseeing one day to stay at the hotel and finish reading it. Yeah, it was that good! I'm an avid reader and a bit hard to please. I can usually figure out a plot pretty quick. But this book threw me for some loops and kept me guessing. I loved the way it was told, especially the sister's letters to her doctor as they gradually tell a story of their own about what the sister has been going through. A previous reviewer said it was reminiscent of Sophie Kinsella's Remember Me - yes, it was. However, I thought this book was much better. The characters were more complex and the story line was better. All my 'reading' friends have borrowed it now and have all loved it also. I also loved the ending. It was perfect.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Liked it, but... August 31, 2011

By Cal

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I felt like this book should have been about 100 pages shorter. Alice's story is very compelling, but then we are introduced to two other narratives (the sister and the grandmother) and in my opinion these really slowed the pace of the book. They are told using the devices of letters and journal entries (ugh) and had the feel of "this is the author telling the story" instead of the way a letter would really be written. The grandmother's story in particular I thought could have been cut completely.
That said, the author did a good job with authentic details and dialogue, and I wanted to keep reading to find out how the ending would be resolved. Three and a half stars.