Just not for me. ( )

Are accurate memories a new superpower?

“Scarecrow Has a Gun” revolves around events and how people’s memories of them differ. False memories are strange but more common than one might think. Let’s get the title out of the way first – yes, in “The Wizard of Oz” the scarecrow really does have a gun. Drag out your ancient copy and fast forward to the “Haunted Forest” scene; look closely. Just after Lion exclaims, “I’d turn back if I were you,” there it is, a close-up of Scarecrow holding – a revolver! It is right there, yet no one remembers.

“Things” happen every day, right in the open, but people remember them differently or not at all. Hence, the discrepancies police find in “eyewitness” reports. Since typical memories are not always accurate, can restoring the accuracy of the past produce a new superpower? This is the question that Michael Paul Kozlowsky explores in “Scarecrow Has a Gun.”

A business mogul with an insider group of “unattached” men, “The Widowers Club,” creates a little cult of “better” men who gain business advantages that lead to unlimited success. Admission to this elite group is granted to the first one who passes a “test” given once per year. Sean wins this year’s challenge, but for him, winning is not a quick trip to money and fame, but is instead a journey into a past filled with events that are not as he remembered. Readers follow his journey to enlightenment and despair as he struggles with his inability to correctly remember details of past events, both trivial and incredibly important.

Kozlowsky’s story explores the balance between opportunity and chance, and between recall and reality. I listened to “Scarecrow Has a Gun” on audio, narrated by David Doersch. The story was compelling and thought-provoking; the narration enhanced the account. It challenges readers to examine the past both as it was and as it is remembered. Never trust other people’s memories, and watch out for your own.

I received a review copy of “Scarecrow Has a Gun” from Michael Paul Kozlowsky, David Doersch, and Imbrifex Books. “Scarecrow Has a Gun” is now available in print, as an e-book, and on audio from independent bookstores, online booksellers, retail stores, public libraries, and anywhere you get your books. ( )

Throughout the reading of this book, I felt there was a sense of dread and menace. A looming of something over the horizon that was just waiting to reveal itself. The whole narrative kept me in a state of suspended animation as I tagged along on this disturbing journey. Who are we really? That's at the core of this thought-provoking story. Which memories constitute our real life - the actual memories or the ones we fabricate over time? Although I pretty much knew what was going to be revealed at the end, it didn't detract from the overall enjoyment I received because there are so many levels and nuances to ponder along the way, that they became the real puzzle, the real mystery and the ultimate scare. ( )

There were some moments in the book where it was very interesting, explaining memories and falsehood and some pontifications on life and such forth. Those parts read almost like a non-fiction book. Perhaps that would have been better. Because the bad parts were the fiction parts. The main character wasn't likeable, didn't really care what happened to him. His family was even worse - didn't care about any of the characters at all, whether they would succeed or not. His employer, didn't care. The "bad guys" - didn't care. You get the idea. The good parts were in the abstract or non-fictional parts of the tale, the story itself could have been cool, the twist at the end was pretty cool, but the impact was so small because I was really sick of these characters by the end. ( )

What if what you remember is fiction? Or, at least, the idealized version, seen through a filter of puppies and rainbows? What if you could experience the memory again, as it happened, through your own eyes, and see what you missed?

Sean's wife was murdered and he can't remember what happened, an episodic amnesia that hasn't resolved. His boss offers all the widowed men in the company a chance at incredible success and wealth by participating in bizarre games. What Sean experiences is beyond anything he ever imagined.

The story is interesting, compelling in spots, and provoked some interesting thought experiments. Clearly the author has wrestled with the idea of memory and what's true. I'm not sure I agree with his premise, but the story was a good one. ( )