Tell Me an Ending
Named a Best Science Fiction Book by The New York Times
“Sharply, beautifully written.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Intriguing, frightening, witty, and humane.” —The Wall Street Journal
Black Mirror meets Severence in this thrilling speculative novel about a tech company that deletes unwanted memories, the consequences for those forced to deal with what they tried to forget, and the doctor who seeks to protect her patients from further harm.
What if you didn’t have to live with your worst memories?
Across the world, thousands of people are shocked by a notification that they once chose to have a memory removed. Now they are being given an opportunity to get that memory back. Four individuals are filled with new doubts, grappling with the unexpected question of whether to remember unknown events, or to leave them buried forever.
Finn, an Irish architect living in the Arizona desert, begins to suspect his charming wife of having an affair. Mei, a troubled grad school dropout in Kuala Lumpur, wonders why she remembers a city she has never visited. William, a former police inspector in England, struggles with PTSD, the breakdown of his marriage, and his own secret family history. Oscar, a handsome young man with almost no memories at all, travels the world in a constant state of fear.
Into these characters’ lives comes Noor, a psychologist working at the Nepenthe memory removal clinic in London. The process of reinstating patients’ memories begins to shake the moral foundations of her world. As she delves deeper into how the program works, she will have to risk everything to uncover the cost of this miraculous technology.
A provocative exploration of secrets, grief, and identity—of the stories we tell ourselves—Tell Me an Ending is “an intellectually and emotionally satisfying thriller” (Booklist).
“Sharply, beautifully written.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Intriguing, frightening, witty, and humane.” —The Wall Street Journal
Black Mirror meets Severence in this thrilling speculative novel about a tech company that deletes unwanted memories, the consequences for those forced to deal with what they tried to forget, and the doctor who seeks to protect her patients from further harm.
What if you didn’t have to live with your worst memories?
Across the world, thousands of people are shocked by a notification that they once chose to have a memory removed. Now they are being given an opportunity to get that memory back. Four individuals are filled with new doubts, grappling with the unexpected question of whether to remember unknown events, or to leave them buried forever.
Finn, an Irish architect living in the Arizona desert, begins to suspect his charming wife of having an affair. Mei, a troubled grad school dropout in Kuala Lumpur, wonders why she remembers a city she has never visited. William, a former police inspector in England, struggles with PTSD, the breakdown of his marriage, and his own secret family history. Oscar, a handsome young man with almost no memories at all, travels the world in a constant state of fear.
Into these characters’ lives comes Noor, a psychologist working at the Nepenthe memory removal clinic in London. The process of reinstating patients’ memories begins to shake the moral foundations of her world. As she delves deeper into how the program works, she will have to risk everything to uncover the cost of this miraculous technology.
A provocative exploration of secrets, grief, and identity—of the stories we tell ourselves—Tell Me an Ending is “an intellectually and emotionally satisfying thriller” (Booklist).
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Community Reviews
I couldn’t get into this futuristic book. People’s memories that were removed due to traumatic events, can now be recovered. There are stories of different people and how this new rule impacts on their lives. Some people no had idea that their memories had been removed. Would you want to retrieve your bad memories?
Very interesting premise, but I just couldn't get into this book. I didn't find any of the characters or their accompanying stories interesting and they all just drug along very sluggishly. The only character I was really interested in was Noor. I felt like there was too much "fluff" in each character's chapters and it wasn't necessary to the plot and was, unfortunately, boring.
Only completed about 67% of the book before I decided to move on.
Only completed about 67% of the book before I decided to move on.
Wow. I literally could not put this book down. I was so invested in all of the characters stories and was swallowed up by the story. It gets really dark and sad, but also has moments of light and hope for the characters. I was very moved and haven’t been able to stop recommending this book to people.
The premise re: the ability to extract memories is intriguing enough (though perhaps a little half-baked), but ultimately this is a frustrating book in many ways. The disparate story lines never really coalesce into a satisfying whole.
The quality of the writing is serviceable, but the philosophical implications of how memory is linked to identity are only superficially explored, while the narrative is neither propulsive nor compelling enough to counteract the lack of real substance.
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