In Memoriam (Audible Audio Edition) Nathan Burgoine Jerry L Wheeler Lethe Press Books
Download As PDF : In Memoriam (Audible Audio Edition) Nathan Burgoine Jerry L Wheeler Lethe Press Books
With one diagnosis, editor James Daniels learns that he's literally running out of time. Looking at his life, he sees one regret Andy, the one that got away. Andy was the first man that James ever loved, but Andy has been gone for years, and might not want to be found.
But as his cancer progresses and James starts to lose his grip on time and memory, it might just be that time and memory are losing their grip on James, too.
It's the biggest and most important re-write of his life. Restoring love from nothing but memory might be possible, if the past isn't too far gone to fix.
In Memoriam (Audible Audio Edition) Nathan Burgoine Jerry L Wheeler Lethe Press Books
“That isn’t funny, James.” His exasperation was music to my ears. I felt them wheeling me away, lights passing overhead, bursts of white against my eyes.“I’m laughing anyway.”
* * *
...I usually begin a book review (if I liked it!) with a favorite quote. With this one, another one popped into my head. Like the story itself, it's hard to get out of my head.
"If life ain't just a joke, then why are we laughing?"
- My Chemical Romance, "Dead!"
That sure is the question, and IN MEMORIAM might be as good an answer as I've found yet.
First of all, I nabbed this one for free (thank you, Twitter!) and it turned out to be an even more incredible bargain than I originally thought. This one is very short, but packs a hell of a punch on the illness rep, romance, AND writing style fronts. It stays with you.
First off, major warning for unreality, dissociation/hallucinations/mental deterioration, inconsistent narration - but not in a bad way, or even an "unreliable narrator" way. Our MC is doing his best to keep everything straight, but... he's having a pretty hard time, given the obvious. Equally obviously, warning for cancer, medical trauma and discussion of death.
That said, this is a starkly raw and emotional look at (what MAY be) someone's last days as he tries to make sense of his life and the people in it. And the loss of people in it. The MC here has what might kind of be a unique opportunity - he's reliving his most important moments, but differently than they originally occurred. (Or are they?) He quickly comes to realize that although he may not be entirely certain which versions are real, some are definitely better than others.
Honestly this story is a bit hard to describe. It's about half to 2/3rds flashbacks, and it's all about trying to reconcile memory with reality, and how all of these disjointed parts all blend together to make... a person. A life. Meaning. Isn't that what so many stories are about at their core, the search for meaning, redemption and hope amongst chaos and despair? The conclusion here isn't clear-cut, but I do believe the protag here (and, hopefully, the writer/reader) did indeed find it.
And laughter. Sardonic and extremely gallows, but the humor in this is quick and extremely effective. And as the MC navigates this confusing, frightening new-old life... incredibly relatable.
Finally, IN MEMORIAM did precisely what I assume the job of every short-story freebie is: made me want to read more by this author. I don't believe it's a series (that would kind of spoil the intentionally-ambiguous ending, I think!), but if it's any indicator, I'm sure the rest won't disappoint.
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In Memoriam (Audible Audio Edition) Nathan Burgoine Jerry L Wheeler Lethe Press Books Reviews
Super interesting. Bitter and sweet, twisting, unsettling, and weirdly hopeful in a way that kept me reading. Can't wait to read more of his longer works (have only read shorts so far).
Oh, these characters are so real. The dialog is absolutely spot on. Beautifully written piece. Terribly, beautifully tragic, with a sprinkle of hope.
Beautiful short SF novella about reexamining your past in light of impending death. Strong characters, solid romance, neat SFnal touches.
That was beautiful. The writing dances among memory, eerie and poignant but never self-indulgent. It's a little piece of humanity, the love, loss, and knowing that makes up a life, the moments that make up our relationships for good or ill. I loved it.
I've been meaning to read some of this author's works since he was someone I enjoyed on the forums of BookCrossing back in the old days, and he has remained good friends with one of my dearest friends. This book turned the "meaning to" into "I'm glad I finally did". A great premise and story line, with James, faced with a terrible diagnosis and a very short time to live, faces the one regret in life he has about "the one that got away". I mean, who hasn't dreamed of the ultimate do-over?
The story is short, so my review will be short. This was exactly what I needed to read but hadn't known it. I picked it up on recommendation of an acquaintance when I said I was looking for something outside the usual romance. That's exactly what it is.
There's definitely a love story woven in, but it doesn't unfold in the typical boy-meets-boy, happily ever after way. It's warm and funny despite a somewhat grim plot. And it has what I would consider an ambiguous ending. We're never quite sure where reality ends and fantasy begins (or perhaps the other way around) or what the outcome ultimately is. That's my kind of story.
It's so short that anything else I say would spoil all the surprises. I'll leave it at highly recommending it if you want something that you may still be mulling over long after you've finished. This might sound odd, but it's also just right if you felt like you needed a literary hug smart but with heart.
For beautiful, intelligent writing, the right amount of humor vs. angst, and a perfect ending, this gets 5 stars.
Clocking in at 46 pages, I wasn’t going to write a full review. I mean, what can you say without spoiling only 46 pages of story?
However, I read In Memoriam back in August and I still keep thinking about it so I’ll do my best to give my thoughts without giving up the whole game.
James, a book editor, is diagnosed with brain cancer and only has a short time to live. His biggest regret is letting the love of his life, Andy, go. Through his journals he relives the romance and it’s end, while hiring someone to look for James before he dies.
You are never quite sure whether James is misrembering, dreaming an alternative reality as his mind deteriorates, or if he’s truly getting a second chance to rewrite history but it’s oddly compelling anyway. I wasn’t frustrated at all and just went for the ride.
I can see how this might not appeal to some. It’s a strange, trippy, non linear story that has very dark humor, a touch of magic/time travel and a hopeful but not entirely solid ending (slight spoiler! it does end on a hopeful note!) but I loved it.
There’s so much packed into those 46 pages and if you’re looking for something different, this is a quiet little story that is somehow still loud with it’s emotional impact, if that makes sense.
I’m not even sure I fully understand what happened but like I said – I’m still thinking about James months later.
“That isn’t funny, James.” His exasperation was music to my ears. I felt them wheeling me away, lights passing overhead, bursts of white against my eyes.
“I’m laughing anyway.”
* * *
...I usually begin a book review (if I liked it!) with a favorite quote. With this one, another one popped into my head. Like the story itself, it's hard to get out of my head.
"If life ain't just a joke, then why are we laughing?"
- My Chemical Romance, "Dead!"
That sure is the question, and IN MEMORIAM might be as good an answer as I've found yet.
First of all, I nabbed this one for free (thank you, Twitter!) and it turned out to be an even more incredible bargain than I originally thought. This one is very short, but packs a hell of a punch on the illness rep, romance, AND writing style fronts. It stays with you.
First off, major warning for unreality, dissociation/hallucinations/mental deterioration, inconsistent narration - but not in a bad way, or even an "unreliable narrator" way. Our MC is doing his best to keep everything straight, but... he's having a pretty hard time, given the obvious. Equally obviously, warning for cancer, medical trauma and discussion of death.
That said, this is a starkly raw and emotional look at (what MAY be) someone's last days as he tries to make sense of his life and the people in it. And the loss of people in it. The MC here has what might kind of be a unique opportunity - he's reliving his most important moments, but differently than they originally occurred. (Or are they?) He quickly comes to realize that although he may not be entirely certain which versions are real, some are definitely better than others.
Honestly this story is a bit hard to describe. It's about half to 2/3rds flashbacks, and it's all about trying to reconcile memory with reality, and how all of these disjointed parts all blend together to make... a person. A life. Meaning. Isn't that what so many stories are about at their core, the search for meaning, redemption and hope amongst chaos and despair? The conclusion here isn't clear-cut, but I do believe the protag here (and, hopefully, the writer/reader) did indeed find it.
And laughter. Sardonic and extremely gallows, but the humor in this is quick and extremely effective. And as the MC navigates this confusing, frightening new-old life... incredibly relatable.
Finally, IN MEMORIAM did precisely what I assume the job of every short-story freebie is made me want to read more by this author. I don't believe it's a series (that would kind of spoil the intentionally-ambiguous ending, I think!), but if it's any indicator, I'm sure the rest won't disappoint.
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