An ambitious novel, with some interesting ideas, if not too original. Falls short in execution. The last page was aiming for "Whoa!" but is more like "Huh?" ( )

I read a brief review that was critical; this sort of book has been done before. So I added the book mentioned to my list. But I still liked this one. Seems a bit like the movie Memento, though without the anxiety. A bit of a mystery like Calamity Physics (but a bit shorter). Nice book and I recommend it for those interested in fiction about memory. ( )

James Purdew is stuck in his Amsterdam apartment after tripping on the stairs and breaking his leg in the process. When not parked in a chair in a local bar, he spends most of his time shut in his apartment, thinking far too much about life with his girlfriend Ingrid. With all that thinking, he barely notices -- or seems to care -- that their relationship is quickly disintegrating. Ingrid offers him one final chance to set their relationship back on track before she leaves for good, but his indifference has turned into an obsession with three years of his life back in England that appear to be missing from his memory.

The boxes beneath his bed contain all his journals with the exception of the three that should be from 1992 through 1994. As James reads through the journals, he notices a shift in his personality -- from a serious British teen who read Kafka and Jung just before the missing journals to an indifferent automaton leading a dull life. Those three missing years...perhaps they held some secret, some change so intense that he blocked it out. So James decides to try triggering his memory by writing his life story in reverse, working backward from the day Ingrid left until those missing years fall into place. Yet the closer his story comes to those years, the less he seems to remember. The only way to find those memories, he tells himself, is to return to England, to the "scene of the crime".

Once back in England, he is inexplicably drawn to a house at 21 Lough Street. As luck would have it, his former university's housing service manages to obtain an opportunity for him to perform renovations on that very house. As he begins work on the house, he uncovers a manuscript pasted behind the wallpaper -- a 19th century mystery that strikes him as oddly familiar the more he reads. AS the days pass, James finds himself chasing down a mystery about his past that is just as determined to remain a mystery.

"The Amnesiac" began as an interesting mystery: a man trying to find the missing three years of his life, hoping that it will help him get his future back on track. I went right along with the author's wonderful and descriptive storytelling, even as the tale began to take a turn toward the strange once James returned to England. And by strange, I mean that I wasn't able to make a complete connection between many of the events, such as the tale told in the 19th century manuscript (possibly) mirroring an event from James past; the ghostly presence following James about and sometimes narrating the story; the bizarre memory institute where James finds himself on more than one occasion. Those three things felt like major parts of the overall story, but none was ever explained to my satisfaction. I would like to have known just what triggered James to require the services of the memory institute. I would like to have known how James's story related to the manuscript he uncovered in beneath the wallpaper. And why did every treat him like a pariah? I finished the story feeling let down because too much was left unanswered for my tastes. ( )

It’s a while since I read a book as baffling as this. The back cover barely hints at its ambition and complexity. There were moments early on where the point of view seemed to slip away from the standard third person into omniscience, which appeared at the time to be a bit amateurish, and yet it was deliberate, as quickly became clear. This is a very clever author.

I can’t claim to grasp all of its meaning – reaching the end was like completing a jigsaw puzzle in which all the bits are in place and there are no gaps, but there are a few pieces left which don’t appear to fit anywhere. It didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book – the journey it takes the reader on was enough for me. I was always glad to have a few minutes free to pick up this book and be baffled further.

As well as a lot of comment on the nature of memory there is a lot of general philosophy to be found within this book. A section I found particularly astute was the one dealing with the protagonist’s brief stint working in a bar, where he lamented the fact that he was the only one not supposed to be having a good time: “This strikes me now as a pretty good definition of hell: to be alone without the consolations of solitude; to be surrounded by other people without the consolations of company”. I rather liked that one. ( )

@p. 200

An odd, but very likable book. Taylor brings together a lot of strands you often see in other recent novels: neuroscience, an unreliable narrator(s), questions about the author and authority, paranoia, a university setting, stories within stories and on and on. But he stitches this crazy-quilt together in such a way as it does not seem at all slapdash or merely arbitrary. Much of the above does not describe a novel I'd have anticipated enjoying. So hats off to Taylor.

Ending this sort of thing can be a trick (see:PKD), if he's half as successful disengaging as he is engaging, he'll be way ahead of most of the competition.

@ done: The Amnesiac does kind of fade in intensity at the end, but not to the point where I'd mark it down much. Generally well done. The author-inserted-into-the-story ploy was very obvious early on and hasn't been carried off well since James Branch Cabell. It's very unfortunate that Martin Amis has popularized this maneuver and that more than anything hurts the Amnesiac. Other loose ends and hints get left by the wayside at the end, but there were so many! ( )