The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna

"In contemporary Sierra Leone, a devastating civil war has left an entire populace with secrets to keep. In the capital hospital, a gifted young surgeon is plagued by demons that are beginning to threaten his livelihood.
A work of breathtaking writing and rare wisdom, The Memory of Love seamlessly weaves together two generations of African life to create a story of loss, absolution, and the indelible effects of the past—and, in the end, the very nature of love."

"Aminatta Forna was born in Scotland, raised in Sierra Leone and Great Britain and spent periods of her childhood in Iran, Thailand and Zambia. She is the award-winning author of the novels Happiness, The Hired Man, The Memory of Love and Ancestor Stones, and a memoir The Devil that Danced on the Water, and the forthcoming essay collection, The Window Seat: Notes from a Life in Motion."

I read and loved Forna's novel Happiness, back in 2018. I am shocked and disappointed that I have not read The Memory of Love, her most popular novel. To make matters worse, I have had a copy on shelf for several years. Well, it looks like I am not the only slacker, so I decided to do a Group Read of it, this month. We will be starting around mid-month. I may start as early as tomorrow. I have not hosted a formal Group Read in a number of years. Of course, I encourage comments throughout, but we will all be reading this at our own pace, so please be careful of spoilers.

The Memory of Love has been on my wishlist since 2013, and I received my copy in the 75'ers Christmas Swap in 2021 (thank you, amanda4242!). I've had a copy of The Hired Man in my possession since way back when, too, and haven't read that one either. This group read is very timely for me. I'll start later tonight, or tomorrow.

I’ve added this thread to the group wiki.

I'm in. I attended a talk she gave when she was in Auckland back when the book came out, so I have a signed copy - still unread.

I'm also in. I have read and loved both Happiness and The Window Seat. I have had my copy of The Memory of Love since 2020, so I'm happy to be finally getting to it. Thanks Mark, for setting up this thread and organizing the read.

I read it eleven years ago and LOVED it! Just seeing the title again brings to mind scenes from the book, so awesome is the sense of place.

Oh, perfect! I was just wondering what else to read today.

Thanks everyone for stopping by. Has anyone started it? Thoughts? I am 100 pages in and quite enjoying it. I like both narratives and curious where they will lead. The novel reminds me of Cutting for Stone. I also find it interesting that a female author is writing from a completely male perspective. Saffia is a mystery.

"At the door she held out her hand. Her touch was almost painful to me. Some women offer you little more than the tips of their fingers. Not Saffia, she closed her hand around mine, the heat melted into me, seeped through my blood, filling it with a flash of white-hot hope"



-Sunbird

Your comparison to Cutting for Stone concerns me, Mark, because I couldn't finish that one 🙂

I'm about 150 pages in. I had a hard time engaging for at least 100 of those pages, I'm sorry to say. Even though the writing is fine, and generates crisp images in the mind, the people seemed awfully flat. And nothing approaching my idea of "love" entered into it. Here's an example of what bothers me---it has taken nearly 150 pages for me to have any idea how old Adrian is, and whether Lisa is his wife, or just a girlfriend... Amazing how important those details seem, even though they barely figure into the story being told. But something has actually happened now, and I think we may be getting to the substance, so I'm finally eager to keep going.

>11 katiekrug: Now, I realize it is nothing like Cutting For Stone, Katie. Grins...

>12 laytonwoman3rd: I am glad it is picking up for you, Linda. It definitely is deliberately paced.

I am 260 pages in, so into the second half. Forna takes her time here, slowly unfolding these narratives but I am still turning the pages. I like Kai.

How is everyone else doing?



-Sunbird

>13 msf59: Oh, thanks for the image of the sunbird, Mark. I've been meaning to look that up.

Interestingly, Cutting for Stone is one of the books recommended for further reading in the discussion guide at the end of my edition.

I'm increasingly glad I stuck with this one through what was, for me, a slow start. It's turning out to be one of the most powerful novels I've read in a long time. So many thanks to whomever was first with the suggestion for this shared read----without that little nudge, this one might have languished on my shelves for an age or two, although it's been on my wishlist for years.

>15 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, I'm so glad to see this after your initial reaction. This was a 5-star read for me, many years ago.

You give me hope, Linda, but it doesn't look like I'll be getting to it this month. I'll keep in mind to be patient when I do pick it up!

>15 laytonwoman3rd: I believe I initiated the shared read but was probably inspired by someone else mentioning it. I am glad you hung in there and ended up finding it a special read. Who was your favorite character(s)?

I finished it yesterday and it did end on a strong note. I am giving it 4 stars but it didn't quite grab me and sweep me away like it did others. The women all feel enigmatic. Was this the point? She is a talented writer, that is for sure.

>18 msf59: I have about 40 pages left, Mark. I will be sure to comment when I've finished it. I agree about the women, but the men aren't open books, either.

I'm late to the party but here now. Started reading yesterday, will focus on it during tomorrow's travel back home from Kauai. I'd rather stay here, but....

I am also reading but not very far into it yet - hoping to make some progress this weekend.

I finished the novel last night, and am considering whether to give it 4 1/2 or 5 stars. The hesitation comes from one or two elements that have left me wondering "why"...and I'm not sure whether being left with that question is a good thing or a bad thing. For the benefit of those still reading, I will spoilerize the following thoughts:

1) Adrian's wife and daughter are virtual non-entities in the story. We know they exist. We know very little about either of them, or, really, about how Adrian feels about them. He decides to apply and accept the position in Africa without discussing it with Lisa, telling her only when he has been accepted. They hardly seem to figure into his decisions about leaving OR staying, even after he becomes involved with Mamakay. Why?
2) Adrian's relationship with his mother is, apparently, more important to him than that with his wife. When he returns, we assume, to make the break with Lisa, we see nothing of that interaction, but we do have an extended episode with his mother, whom he visits first. Why?
3) Kai is clearly the "hero" of this story. And we know he has some sort of war-related trauma in his past which is affecting him. We do not learn the details of that until very near the end of the novel. Why?
4) Elias Cole's ongoing story is intriguing, and helps to illuminate the painful history of the civil war for the reader. Why is it so important to Adrian, though, who ostensibly is there to help the traumatized, and to test a desensitization theory. Cole does not seem to need or want that sort of help. He seems only to be interested in justifying his own role in events, which is a very different psychological need. We hear Cole's story as Adrian hears it, with almost no engagement on Adrian's part...until Adrian gets Mamakay's perspective on her father, at which point he is compelled to try to force some admission of guilt from the dying man, rather than assist him to make peace with his past.

ETA:
An early reference to book titles (in Elias Cole's library) intrigued me. (We're BOOK people, right?) I looked them up, and they are actual books. One, although not named, turns out to be Sierra Leone or The White Man's Grave by George A. Lethbridge Banbury, which I found on Amazon, and used the Look Inside feature to determine that the first words are, in fact, as quoted here, except that the book itself spells out the name of Sierra Leone, whereas Cole's memory merely refers to "S".
My knowledge of the history of this country was minimal to non-existent before I picked up The Memory of Love. I found myself floundering a bit, precisely because I could not put the characters and their background into any familiar context. So...I did a little research, and penciled in a rough time-line inside the cover of my paperback for ready reference. This helped me immensely, and I am extremely glad I took the trouble. But....BUT....did the author expect her readers to be better informed than I was going in? And, in general, were they? As the book was published in Britain, and Sierra Leone was a British colony/protectorate, and later an independent member of the Commonwealth, I suspect the answer may be "yes". In general, I have no problem with an author giving their readers the benefit of the doubt this way, or even expecting them to do their homework before or while reading. It did make for a bit of a slow start for me, but again, I am more than happy that I put in the extra effort, and stuck with the story. I'm leaning heavily toward 5 stars.

Mark, what do you make of all the bird references? Catch any symbolism there?

>22 laytonwoman3rd: >23 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks for all your insightful comments on The Memory of Love, Linda. I think a couple of your gripes are the reason it fell to a 4 star read for me, especially the Adrian character. But I am also glad it didn't affect your rating.

"did the author expect her readers to be better informed than I was going in? And, in general, were they?" I think this also an excellent observation and one I agree with you on.

My only guess on the sunbirds, were that they represented the beauty of their homeland and the love they felt for their beautiful war-torn country.

I finished The Memory of Love last night. This was a reread for me after 11 years. Only a few scenes stuck with me which makes me question my memories. I did write a review after my first reading which I edited slightly as I had mentioned the "flowing" story. What the heck? It didn't flow until the second half of the book. I had to read closely and take a few notes to keep track of the different time periods.

I thought Elias got what he deserved when he married the mysterious Saffia. I'm surprised that their daughter became a woman who could love and be loved after living in such a sterile environment. I agree with Mark that the women in the book were rather inscrutable. The only one I could figure out was Agnes, and that was near the end when her story was clarified.

>22 laytonwoman3rd: Good questions, Linda. I have no answers other than that was how Ms. Forna wanted to tell the story. 3) I did think this was a good decision on Forna's part. Withholding the anguish Kai suffered until late in the book increased the suspense.

Like you, I had to look up the history of Sierra Leone. I think perhaps she didn't include many details to keep the length of the novel down. She could have cut back on the scenes where Elias was stalking Saffia. That was my least favorite part of the book.

Here is the review I wrote in 2011:

It is a real pleasure to read a book where the language and story create such a soul-satisfying reading experience. Ms. Forna writes about a memorable place and time in her father's native country of Sierra Leone. It’s a perplexing time for Dr. Adrian Lockheart, a British psychologist, when he arrives to help disturbed patients and finds his services superfluous. He is able to connect with the dying Professor Cole, who wants to unburden himself of his past, and “crazy” Agnes, haunted by spirits and compulsive wandering, but most of his patients wanted medicine rather than psychotherapy. His evolving friendship with Kai, a talented young African surgeon, and his infatuation with Mamakay, a captivating clarinet player, make up for the disappointment he had of making a big impact on the lives of people ravaged by war.

The author focuses on these characters as she artfully tells the story of a country broken by a decade long civil war at the end of the 20th century. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is so common it is considered more of a way of life than an ailment. Forna shows us the thin line between healing or burying the pain. This is a country where everyone is a victim of terror and greed and the memories of love and atrocities are released slowly, allowing the reader time to reflect on the festering wounds below the surface. Have your tissues at hand while reading this book. It’s impossible to read it without making an emotional connection to the people of Sierra Leone.

>26 Donna828: I thought the parts where Adrian was confronted with the Big Question---what am I doing here?---were very revealing. The curse of "the white man's burden" acting on him, in his naivete about what his sort of therapy might accomplish under the existing circumstances. Perhaps some actual personal guilt, as his own grandfather had been a part of the colonial government.

>25 Donna828: >26 Donna828: I really enjoyed your thoughts and your review, Donna. "It didn't flow until the second half of the book. " I completely agree, especially since the Elias and Saffia build-up fizzled pretty quickly. How did you feel about the book this time? About the same?

>27 laytonwoman3rd: I agree with you on your Adrian observations, Linda. I wish I could have liked his character more.