Rob Roberge

This book was not at all what I expected from the description. It is unlike any memoir I have ever read, in that it is written in second person. That in itself took some getting used to. Also it reads less like a book and more like a disjointed list of events. It begins in 1977 and then jumps to 1912 and the sinking of the titanic before moving ahead to 2009 and then 2002. It's like dropping a photo album, shuffling the pictures and putting them back in no particular order. It was difficult to follow. That is not to say the events themselves were not book worthy, but the writing style was just not for me.

I received a complimentary copy for review.… (mehr)

Dates. Memories. Snippets of time. That’s how this book starts out.

Instead of using the first person approach, as most memoirs do, Roberge uses second person. You are the story. You are living Roberge’s life. In one memory, you’re in 2009 – the next you’re in 1912. The jumps in memory read naturally, like they’d play out in your head.

Due to the jumps, it is difficult to pinpoint the timeline of the story. Events occur, but they are so randomly organized that there doesn’t seem to be much – if any – connection. While at first the random un-story-like telling is refreshing, it gets annoying after the first hundred or so pages. After awhile, it makes more sense to read it like individual stories rather than a cohesive whole.

He’s obsessed with death, including his own suicide. In a noteworthy quote at the end of the book Roberge writes, “This is what the world will sound like without you.”

This was a good book, very interesting. It’s definitely a look through Roberge’s eyes – as a memoir goes, this was a successful one.

Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge from Blogging for Books for my honest review.… (mehr)