Cecelia Ahern’s latest offering, Thanks for the Memories requires you to suspend reality for a while and allow for an implausible premise to unfold.Joyce Conway received a blood transfusion after a tragic accident. While recovering, she begins to dream about a little girl she has never met and is suddenly able to carry on conversations about art and architecture and speak foreign languages. Joyce is determined to find out about her blood donor.
Justin Hitchcock hates needles but is persuaded to donate blood by a beautiful doctor in Dublin. Little does he know that his “gift of life” will give him more than he bargained for.
Although the plot sounds fantastical, there is a very human and real counterpart to this novel. The drama of the beginning of the book gives way to the heartwarming, romantic comedy that makes this book fun. Joyce and Justin are surrounded by seemingly annoying friends and family. Joyce’s dad, Henry, is a lonely widower who is set in his ways. He loves his routine of doing the “Dosuko” puzzle in the morning paper. He has little use for technology; he calls a cell phone a “hand phone” and creates quite a scene at the airport when he is required to pass through security. (Actually, Ms. Ahern could have written the entire novel based exclusively on the relationship between Joyce and her dad; it would have been hysterical.) Frankie and Kate have been Joyce’s closest friends since school; their relationships provide more hilarity. Justin has his share of wacky relatives with Al and Doris, his brother and sister-in-law from Chicago. Justin’s daughter and ex-wife and her husband give Justin all he can handle. All of the characters and pieces of this book work together for a clever story with a twist and a satisfying ending.
So, go ahead…suspend reality and don’t let the impossible premise stand in your way of this enjoyable and engaging novel. You’ll be glad you did. -Linda (Downtown)
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