Book Review #4: The Forgetting Time

Author(s): Sharon Guskin

Genre: mystery, thriller
Number of pages: 320
Released: 2016

RATINGS…

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
Overall enjoy-ability: 4/5

THOUGHTS?

If you like the idea of reincarnation and memories of past lives, this book is definitely for you. I was always told stories of friends of friends who remembered something from ‘another life’, or of birthmarks indicating places on the body where a person’s previous personality was hurt. It’s fascinating, even if it’s not entirely true.

This book brings it all to life. We meet Noah, a four year old with inexplicable traumas and a strange habit of ‘wanting to go home’. He is home, you think. He’s right there, why is he asking for his Mama if she’s sitting next to him? After being treated by many psychiatrists and psychologists, no one having an explanation for his disturbing behaviours, and all prescribing medicine (sorry, but isn’t that just so typical of modern doctors? It’s always either paracetamol or antibiotic. Excuse me, rant over.) which his mum, Janie, refuses to get him, she contacts Dr. Anderson, and that’s where their adventure begins.

Turns out Noah isn’t ill in the slightest - he can remember being a nine-year-old boy called Tommy - his family, his hobbies, and his tragic death.

At the start, chapters alternate between Janie’s point of view and Anderson’s. You get why it’s Janie - she’s the mother of the main character, but this Anderson person seems a bit random. When she reaches out to him for help, however, it all makes sense, and the chapters join up together.

Anderson’s information never seemed quite genuine to me because of his memory-related illness. That also makes me seem like a horrible person, I know. I do respect the man - he travelled half the world looking for cases like Noah’s, where a child remembers, in extreme detail, their previous lives.
What’s cool is that there are one or two pages between some of the chapters, extracts from different books, studies, or researches, describing cases of such children. Sometimes it was a bit frustrating, I have to admit, since i was so into the story and suddenly there’s this long drag about some random child, when i don’t necessarily care at that point, I just wanna find out what happens to Noah. On the other hand, they’re quite fascinating, because you know it didn’t come from Sharon Guskin’s head but from someone else who sounds pretty legit.

Another good thing was that Tommy, Noah’s previous personality, is Noah’s complete opposite when it comes to looks - the trend that white people are reborn as white people, and vice versa, doesn’t exist here. Love it.

Guskin’s writing is flawless. Depending on the character, the writing style changes completely - some chapters are ‘written’ by Anderson, some by Janie, some by Denise or Charlie. She doesn’t even have to mention a name for you to know which character is the voice of that particular chapter - it’s all perfect. Janie speaks like an over-protective mum, Charlie like a typical teenager who thoroughly enjoys swearing in every sentence. Anderson sounds like a laid-back guy, but you can detect traces of ‘professor-ism’ in him.

The mystery of Tommy’s story is ongoing throughout the entire book; it’s all very exciting. Noah blurts out little details once in a while, and you can add a piece to the puzzle. But when you find out the truth, oh boy, is it dramatic. Credit to Guskin for doing a great job at keeping me on the edge of my seat (or should I say, a plastic school chair/grass in the park/my bed/the seat on the bus - I was addicted to this book and took it everywhere).

Overall, all i can say is wow. It’s educational, but not in the boring ‘read this book for school’ way - you learn a lot about the theories on reincarnation, and about how fragile life is. Janie wanders about ‘YOLO’ - you only live once, so you should make the most of it. She says, however, that what if you live more than once, which is why you need to make the most of it? You think, stop playing with my mind!! It’s one of those books that make you stare into space, reconsidering your life.

How did you find the book?

J x