THE MEMORY OF YOU
Samantha Tonge
Boldwood Books
May 16, 2023
311 pages
For me, this book started out as a bit of a slow burn. Alex is a flash-in-the-pan successful author who has had a downturn. Circumstances bring her to a temporary job as a server in a unique cafe, The Wrong Order Cafe. This cafe is full of quirky characters including a very opinionated parrot.
I was attracted to the people in the cafe instantly, but it took me a while to warm up to Alex. While she had been dealt a rough hand, she acts as a spoiled brat. At first. The reader slowly sees Alex’s character evolve. She shows empathy. She reassesses her l outlook on life.
I love that 2 of the characters in the cafe had dementia. The dementia was not the focus, as they were staff, serving people to the best of their ability. I watched the different levels of dementia in my mother, so this was interesting to me, observing as a bystander instead of having an emotional investment.
This book is both character-driven and plot-driven. And it works well. As mentioned above, it deals with dementia. It also deals with menopause and self-acceptance. And a surprising bonus: a lot of little known facts about birds!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advance Readers Copy.
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