Forgotten - Catherine McKenzie
Emma Tupper is a dedicated lawyer with a bright future. But when she takes a month-long leave of absence to go on an African vacation, she ends up facing unexpected consequences. After she falls ill and spends six months trapped in a remote village thanks to a devastating earthquake, Emma returns home to discover that her friends, boyfriend, and colleagues thought she was dead--and that her life has moved on without her.
As she struggles to re-create her old life, throwing herself into solving a big case for a client and trying to reclaim her beloved apartment from the handsome photographer who assumed her lease, everyone around her thinks she should take the opportunity to change. But is she willing to sacrifice her job, her relationships, and everything else she worked so hard to build?
In "Forgotten," Catherine McKenzie tweaks a classic tale of discovering who we really are when everything that brings meaning to our lives is lost.
Everything you love about Catherine McKenzie is in this book, it's just.. different. What I loved about her first two books was I found myself laughing through the book. I'd say this book is a bit of a heavier story line, but I still really felt like it was true to Catherine's writing style and I couldn't help but love it. It's still fun, it still has humor in it, it just wasn't a strong focal point in this book but it really worked. Catherine was able to balance the funny and the serious really well, not always an easy feat.
So we have Emma, who we immediately learn has lost her mother. Her mother was a fan of everything to do with Africa, and African culture, so to maybe connect with her dead mother Emma decides to go to Africa on an extended vacation. Unfortunately, it kind of ends up to be a vacation from hell because she does get very ill, experiences a pretty horrible earthquake (is it weird that I didn't know Africa had earthquakes??), she ends up trapped in a fairly remote village. Eventually though, Emma comes home and expects to pick up where she left off. But nobody and nothing waited for her, it's like time stopped for her but continued on for everyone else. She feels forgotten, literally.
When she gets to her apartment, her key doesn't work. There is some man living there, her landlord rented it out assuming that she was missing or dead, all of her stuff is gone. Not just that, but her law office thinks she dead, they actually hold a memorial for her. Her boyfriend is dating someone new, her friend is off trying to look for her dead body, so she really is stuck. She doesn't know how to get her old life back, and is unsure of what a new life would look like.
I couldn't help but love Emma. I really did, and I felt so bad for her but found myself laughing at her through the book. The possibility of being able to start your life over from scratch is something that I think a lot of 30 somethings think about, which is maybe why I enjoyed this book so much. The only thing that bugged me is the amount of drinking that happens in the book. Now, I know drinking is a popular thing but for me, it seems like it's an easy out versus dealing with issues. Not just with characters but in real life. I'm not as entertained by characters who are just getting blasted every time something new pops up. But honestly, this might just be me so don't take that as a reason to not buy the book. You absolutely should buy the book.
Lucky for you, it's available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Happy reading!
cx
No comments:
Post a Comment