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Loading... The Memory of Things: A Novel (edition 2016)by Gae Polisner (Author)Surprisingly moving tale of two teenagers put together by circumstance in the chaos following the 9/11 attacks in NYC. Other reviewers and the official marketing blurb do a good job of summarizing the plot, so I won't do that here. Polisner has taken an event that is seared into nearly everyone's individual memory and done two things: set a coming-of-age story against it, and captured the emotional spirit of how most everyone, in the days following the attacks, just wanted to do something -- anything -- to help. The story is emotional without being treacly. It is YA, and there is a bit of a love story involved, which may dissuade some readers from choosing this book; however, I found the writing to be quite good. My one quibble is the narrative voice of the teenaged girl in the story. For the majority of the book this voice is written as a fractured poem/stream of consciousness text. This did not work for me at all. The girl is suffering from amnesia and I believe the this text is supposed to show her mental state, but it was confusing and detracted from the book. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a galley of the book in exchange for an honest review. The Memory of Things/Gae Polisner On the morning of September 11, 2001, sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue watches the first twin tower come down from the window of Stuyvesant High School. Moments later, terrified and fleeing home to safety across the Brooklyn Bridge, he stumbles across a girl perched in the shadows, covered in ash, and wearing a pair of costume wings. With his mother and sister in California and unable to reach his father, a NYC detective likely on his way to the disaster, Kyle makes the split-second decision to bring the girl home. What follows is their story, told in alternating points of view, as Kyle tries to unravel the mystery of the girl so he can return her to her family. But what if the girl has forgotten everything, even her own name? And what if the more Kyle gets to know her, the less he wants her to go home? The Memory of Things tells a stunning story of friendship and first love and of carrying on with our day-to-day living in the midst of world-changing tragedy and unforgettable pain—it tells a story of hope. This story was a gorgeous tribute to 9/11 and a really sweet tale of a developing friendship between two teens surviving trauma. I thought Polisner did an excellent job of detailing the tragedy, and it meant a lot to me simply because I was too young at the time to really appreciate the gravity of the event. I think this book can be valuable to many teens and young adults today simply for the historical context and the way she so aptly recreates the events. The girl's sections were all written in poetry, which threatened to quickly turn me off as I need to be in a certain mindset in order to be reading lyrical prose; however, the sections were short enough that they weren't disturbing and served only to shed some mystique on her and give an entirely different picture of how a mind might work after a tragedy. I loved that Polisner included a lot about Uganda and the events there, because it really is so easy in our Western-centric media to forget many of the terrible events happening elsewhere. Kyle's friend had come to the US as a child from Uganda and I found it subtle yet powerful how Kyle thought about his background as the story went on. I additionally loved that Kyle's uncle was suffering from paralysis, and had gone from living a completely ordinary life and being quite a hero to needing someone to aid him with the most menial of tasks. This really demonstrated how life goes on even after a tragedy and was really powerful in showing how Kyle hated that his uncle had to go through his own personal tragedy. This was gorgeously written. I think it's a topic that needs exploring and for that a story as such could be done aptly by many; however, Polisner has written this extraordinarily and had me feeling all of the emotions. This story was definitely a tale of hope and despite the tears I really loved reading it. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 Stars CW: Well this was moving, but had so much going on that it felt a bit diluted, if you know what I mean. I can't give too many details because they would be spoilers, but if you are interested, then look at the CWs. Despite all of these things, I wasn't burdened with grief or sadness which I was a bit grateful for, but I have a feeling it was because I didn't feel overly connected to the characters. Then of course a hint of romance starts to creep in on an already busy story. It ended up feeling too much of everything and not enough of some things. Does that make sense? This isn't so much about 9/11 as it is about the connections forged in it's immediate aftermath, and the feelings of anxiety for people waiting to hear about loved ones. There was some lovely writing throughout and overall I did enjoy it. Fictional story of two teens that meet in the devastation and confusion in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. As they flee the scene, the protagonist, Kyle, stumbles across a girl covered in ash and wearing costumed wings. He sees that she needs help and brings her home with him. She has no memory of her name. Told in alternating perspectives, Kyle narrates in first person, and the girl’s voice is written as a series of short fragmented poems (this choice shows her state of mind, but it will not be to everyone’s taste). His father is with the NYPD, and his live-in uncle is confined to a wheelchair due to a recent accident. His mother and sister are stranded in California when the air space is closed due to the attacks. Kyle must step up to take care of his uncle and the girl during the time his father is working around the clock at Ground Zero. A tender and sweet relationship develops between Kyle and the girl, as they get to know and trust one another, and he tries to help her regain her memory. Themes include the tenuousness of memory, hope, vulnerability, kindness, healing, and people standing together to help each other in midst of trauma. I enjoyed the character growth in Kyle, as he takes more responsibility during the crisis. I also appreciated that it showed how people focus in on what is most important in life when confronted with tragedy. At times, it strayed a tad too far into romance for my personal taste. Nevertheless, I found it a poignant story and a tribute to human response in the face of overwhelming events. Recommended for high school age and up. Kyle is in school on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. When the second plane hits the second tower of the World Trade Center, his school is evacuated; Kyle heads back to Brooklyn on foot, but becomes separated from his classmates, and then he sees something on the bridge. At first he thinks it's a bird, or an angel - it's got wings, after all - but it's a girl: a girl wearing costume wings, covered in ash, with no memory of who she is. Kyle brings her home with him. Uncle Matt is there, in his wheelchair, but Kyle's dad is a cop at Ground Zero, and his mom and sister were supposed to fly back from California today. Kyle struggles through the next few days, frantically trying to get through the jammed phone lines to reach his parents and friends, watching the news, doing laundry, taking care of Uncle Matt, wondering about the girl. Gae Polisner captures and renders Kyle's experience with realism, including details from the attack and its aftermath: the missing posters, the TV news, the memorials with candles and flowers, the difficulty of understanding the magnitude of everything. Slowly, the girl's story comes through too: most of the book is Kyle's first person, present tense, but there are small interludes in a different font, free verse, also first person, from the girl's perspective, and she tries to keep her memories out. Eventually, however, they come back, and Kyle pieces together her shredded school ID. Although 2001 was less than 30 years ago, this will read as historical fiction for today's teens. See also: Hope and Other Punch Lines by Julie Buxbaum, Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan, Towers Falling by Jewel Parker Rhodes Quotes ...I wish [Dad] would understand me better, care more about the things that matter to me... (98) As we pass one another, our eyes catch and we exchange these sad, pathetic smiles, as if we've all lost the same friend. (115) No wonder no one can find her. The city is full of people looking for people. (148) "...remember how you asked me earlier how it feels, how I feel, to be me right now? To remember things and not remember?....Well, it feels like...I'm adrift, in soaking wet clothes that are too heavy with the weight of things I don't even know." (183) "Sometimes never being ready is the best kind of ready to be." (260) Are you okay? his eyes ask. I know that's what he wants to know. And I guess I am. What are my choices? What else am I going to be other than okay? (264) This book was very well-written and interesting to me. Being a post 9/11 baby, I don't understand what life was like right after the tragic event. However, this book really gave me a glimpse of what life in New York was life days and weeks after the tragedy. From the beginning where Kyle finds a girl covered in dust on the bridge, I was already hooked. The intense environment described by Kyle right as the incident occured made me want to read more and more. I couldn't put the book down. I really enjoy books with suspense, especially ones based on true stories. I strongly recommend this book to teens just so they can learn a bit about the post 9/11 environment. The Memory of Things is getting high reviews, but it didn't move me the way I thought it would. I was excited to read this novel when I read the synopsis on the back, but in the end it left me wanting more. Kyle was a solid character, compassionate and mature, and his reactions to the Twin Towers tragedy felt fairly realistic. I loved the relationship he had with his family, especially his injured Uncle Matt and, although Kyle was more reserved with his father, it was obvious they truly loved each other. Although I was curious about Hannah's story, I didn't really like her point of view. Her thoughts were scattered and disjointed, interrupting the flow of the story, and making it difficult to connect with her. Also, the insta-love between Kyle and Hannah stole a lot of the book's credibility. For me, the book was lacking. As a reader, I felt Kyle's emotions but the intensity, despair and urgency that surrounded that time in New York was missing. I remember sitting in front of the TV feeling totally sick and horrified at what was being televised, but I didn't feel that when I read this book. In fact, I enjoyed the Author's Note more than her actual novel as she wrote about her personal experience on that fateful morning. Overall, an okay, coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of 9/11. The memory of things by Gae Polisner published by St. Martin's Press was like a magnet to me because it treats a theme very dear: the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11th 2001. Time passed by but the memory of that horrible moments forever in our souls. It's an interesting book The memory of Things because there is sufferance, private and public but mainly private so if you lived that moments you won't precipitate again in that horrible sensations but you will live the moments of the attacks with the sufficient emotive distance, where possible. Kyle Donohue is a teenager of 16 years. The day of the terrorist attack at the Twin Towers, close to the scene of the tragedy. And he starts. As many many other people, he starts...He starts to walk, to pass through the Brooklyn Bridge for return home. For going somewhere. Distant from that horror. Distant from that absurd massacre. Distant from what it appears to be a nightmare. And while he was walking, while he was running away he met this girl. She was wearing this strange wings, maybe she is a dancer, maybe an apparition, anyway she is covered by ash from the head to her foot. She was close to that nightmare thinks the boy. He decides to bring her home although he doesn't know anything of her, but solidarity is important in particular in moments of difficulty. In Kyle's mind his parents. His mom and sister to LAX, the international airport of Los Angeles. They had to return home, but now? And his dad in the NYPD as a detective...Will he be save? Once returned home Kyle can't relax. There is uncle Matt to take care of. He has had a bad incident some months ago and in a second the old viveur, women, good life, he was a great social guy, completely gone. Now his uncle has many difficulties. For speaking, for living a decent life. He needs extra-care. These ones told in the book are the first days, starting from Sept 11th 2001 of the...After. This teenager will take care of this girl, who, per days doesn't remember anything of her. Who is she? He discovers something in the while but.. Her name? Why doesn't remember anything? What is amnesia? How can she recover soon? Kyle will also try with some mental exercises for the girl, the same exercises of his uncle Matt. An uncle with the brain devastated, the mom and sister to Los Angeles, his dad at Ground Zero, a girl who doesn't remember anything...Kyle is the only person in that house able to keep everything under control. This teenager is responsible and mature. He cooks, he helps his uncle, he tries to keep cheerful the girl, he cleans the house, he goes out with her (one day they will also go in a magical place where a lady will read his hand) trying, trying to live the normality of this life in the abnormality and monstrosity of the events that in the while were going on, also falling in love for this mysterious girl. He would want to speak with his dad of this girl, but for a reason or another, they were moments of great agitation, he always give up. Once returned home they will speak. And the girl after all will remember... And another name and another sad and sweet story will be written. It's a tender book, delicate, because the terrorist attacks lived under the private various crosses that a family can experience in the privacy of the house. So, there are sporadically some news, there is of course the event of the attacks at the WTC, but there is also another important message: that the show must go on. Life, and this one is a great comfort also in moments of big disgrace don't leave us other chance than to continue to live. To going on. It's the biggest gift presented us by life apart...Living. And Kyle will continue to live his daily routine. He has many thoughts for his age and he feels sadness for many situations, but he is also a strong teenager able to cope with all of it. Beautiful book, I strongly suggest it to everyone! Sure it is written for teenagers but trust me it's a good balsam also for adults. I thank NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for this book. Fleeing Manhattan after planes fly into the twin towers near his high school, Kyle finds a girl on the Brooklyn Bridge. She is wearing angle wings, covered in dust and looks ready to jump. He takes her home and discovers that she has no memory of what has happened or who she is. Kyle's mother and sister are stranded in Los Angeles; his father, a police officer, is working at Ground Zero. Only his Uncle Matt, confined to a wheelchair, is home. Kyle knows he needs to report finding the girl, but her fear makes him hesitate. Review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. I want to also thank the publisher for giving me this opportunity. Soon after the attacks against the Twin Towers, Kyle is running from Manhattan back to his home in Brooklyn when he sees a girl with wings seeming about to jump the bridge. Even though she doesn't remember who she is, he takes her home. In the middle of chaos and change, one becomes invaluable to the others. More than being about the September 11th, this is a coming-of-age story. As Kyle's family is scattered—his father is a policeman and his mother is stuck in California—, he needs to step up and take care of his uncle, who has suffered a serious accident a little before, and now the girl. The narration is partly in Kyle's focus and partly in the girl's. For the latter, the author used an interesting style, which resembles a poem in the beginning and makes a close picture of how scattered the girl's thoughts. It can be confusing in the first changes of POV's but you soon get used to it, and then you fall in love. Different, simple, and genius. The characters are also a big draw-in. Kyle's voice is perfect as a terrified teenager who doesn't know what to do but keep going. And as mentioned, the girl's voice was brilliant. The third most important character was the uncle. When he was introduced, I thought he would be more of a bitter person, who'd annoy me all through the book. Was I wrong! He came to be my favorite in there. The author knew how to turn each person unique and uniquely lovely. Another misconception of mine was one from when I read it would take place in the days following the September 11th. That this would be about patriotism to face adversities. Not that I was entirely wrong but I would have never foreseen how sensitive this author would be. While the story progresses, Kyle reflects on conflicts happening in other countries as well as notices the prejudice against the Arabs in New York. The notion to insert such details was golden and made this a story worth reading to non-Americans as well. I was able to read this very fast—I'm not the type to do things in one-read but I could even have. However, the story can be a little slow for some parts. Notwithstanding, the narration is beautiful enough for you not to feel bored. Still, I don't recommend it for someone yearning for "eventful"or even "dramatic"—this is no tearjerker despite the theme. The lowest point for me was the romance. This is supposedly about first love. Albeit aware since I read the summary, I didn't feel enticed to that development. I confess I even cheered against it. I grew to accept the couple but that would have been something I would have done without. Lastly, the conclusion was satisfying, with no bad surprises—I confess at one point I feared where were were going. This is really an YA, also a romance between two teenagers, but this is the type of stories any adult can enjoy if you are up for something to warm your heart, and make you hopeful about how you can change reality even with just a little. I would also recommend it for book clubs. As I said above, I thought the author did a good job raising issues, which would be ideal for a group discussion. Rate: 4 out of 5. This book was provided to me as an uncorrected digital proof by the publisher, via Edelweiss. On the morning of September 11, 2001, sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue watches the first twin tower come down from the window of Stuyvesant High School. Moments later, terrified and fleeing home to safety across the Brooklyn Bridge, he stumbles across a girl perched in the shadows, covered in ash, and wearing a pair of costume wings. With his mother and sister in California and unable to reach his father, a NYC detective likely on his way to the disaster, Kyle makes the split-second decision to bring the girl home. What follows is their story, told in alternating points of view, as Kyle tries to unravel the mystery of the girl so he can return her to her family. But what if the girl has forgotten everything, even her own name? And what if the more Kyle gets to know her, the less he wants her to go home? The Memory of Things drew me in with its out-of-the-ordinary style. The story is told in alternating points of view, going back and forth between Kyle and The Girl. When Kyle is in the narrator role, the form is traditional, but when it switches to The Girl, the narrative changes to a more poetic form. This form perfectly suits the state of mind for the character. It allows her to convey her thoughts in a manner that is disjointed and emotional, but still coherent. As the story progresses, the reader is able to track the changes in The Girl’s emotional state through the growing cohesiveness of her narrative. I’m old enough that 9/11 doesn’t seem so distant, and it blows my mind that my stepdaughters, who will be in the class of 2020, weren’t even born when the attacks happened. I feel The Memory of Things and similar books are important for the simple fact that they can introduce younger readers to events that were pivotal in the lives of their parents, grandparents, and other adults they come in contact with. This book conveys emotion without being heartrending or morbid. On top of everything else that’s going on, in the aftermath of the attacks, Kyle has no adults to rely on, since his father is at Ground Zero helping with the rescues, and his mom is in California with his little sister. This leaves him as the only one in position to take care of his Uncle Matt, who was seriously injured in a previous accident. Having Kyle learn to not only take care of his Uncle Matt, but to see him as the same uncle he loved before he was injured, adds a complexity to his character that would not have been apparent otherwise. Because of The Girl’s “amnesia” her character is not as well-developed until later on in the story, but this is a necessary aspect of this particular story. She learns to open her heart to Kyle, and by doing so, she begins to heal herself. Her interactions with Uncle Matt are part of what helps Kyle to remember how much he loves his uncle, and how much his uncle needs him. There is so much going on in The Memory of Things, but it never feels overwhelming, it just feels real. The end is satisfying, and doesn’t feel contrived. The reader isn’t promised happily ever after, only that healing can happen if those who are hurting are open to being helped. I would recommend this book for readers 14 and older who can appreciate books that broach serious subjects. The memory of things by Gae Polisner published by St. Martin's Press was like a magnet to me because it treats a theme very dear: the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11th 2001. Time passed by but the memory of that horrible moments forever in our souls. It's an interesting book The memory of Things because there is sufferance, private and public but mainly private so if you lived that moments you won't precipitate again in that horrible sensations but you will live the moments of the attacks with the sufficient emotive distance, where possible. Kyle Donohue is a teenager of 16 years. The day of the terrorist attack at the Twin Towers, close to the scene of the tragedy. And he starts. As many many other people, he starts...He starts to walk, to pass through the Brooklyn Bridge for return home. For going somewhere. Distant from that horror. Distant from that absurd massacre. Distant from what it appears to be a nightmare. And while he was walking, while he was running away he met this girl. She was wearing this strange wings, maybe she is a dancer, maybe an apparition, anyway she is covered by ash from the head to her foot. She was close to that nightmare thinks the boy. He decides to bring her home although he doesn't know anything of her, but solidarity is important in particular in moments of difficulty. In Kyle's mind his parents. His mom and sister to LAX, the international airport of Los Angeles. They had to return home, but now? And his dad in the NYPD as a detective...Will he be save? Once returned home Kyle can't relax. There is uncle Matt to take care of. He has had a bad incident some months ago and in a second the old viveur, women, good life, he was a great social guy, completely gone. Now his uncle has many difficulties. For speaking, for living a decent life. He needs extra-care. These ones told in the book are the first days, starting from Sept 11th 2001 of the...After. This teenager will take care of this girl, who, per days doesn't remember anything of her. Who is she? He discovers something in the while but.. Her name? Why doesn't remember anything? What is amnesia? How can she recover soon? Kyle will also try with some mental exercises for the girl, the same exercises of his uncle Matt. An uncle with the brain devastated, the mom and sister to Los Angeles, his dad at Ground Zero, a girl who doesn't remember anything...Kyle is the only person in that house able to keep everything under control. This teenager is responsible and mature. He cooks, he helps his uncle, he tries to keep cheerful the girl, he cleans the house, he goes out with her (one day they will also go in a magical place where a lady will read his hand) trying, trying to live the normality of this life in the abnormality and monstrosity of the events that in the while were going on, also falling in love for this mysterious girl. He would want to speak with his dad of this girl, but for a reason or another, they were moments of great agitation, he always give up. Once returned home they will speak. And the girl after all will remember... And another name and another sad and sweet story will be written. It's a tender book, delicate, because the terrorist attacks lived under the private various crosses that a family can experience in the privacy of the house. So, there are sporadically some news, there is of course the event of the attacks at the WTC, but there is also another important message: that the show must go on. Life, and this one is a great comfort also in moments of big disgrace don't leave us other chance than to continue to live. To going on. It's the biggest gift presented us by life apart...Living. And Kyle will continue to live his daily routine. He has many thoughts for his age and he feels sadness for many situations, but he is also a strong teenager able to cope with all of it. Beautiful book, I strongly suggest it to everyone! Sure it is written for teenagers but trust me it's a good balsam also for adults. I thank NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for this book. 4.5 stars The Memory of Things is a touching, poignant story about two teenagers who meet in the days following the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Kyle is at school in Manhattan when the first tower is hit. The school sends the kids home, and Kyle heads across the Brooklyn Bridge towards his home. As he is crossing the bridge, he sees a girl cowering in the corner who looks shell-shocked and is covered with soot and grime from the building attacks. In the midst of the chaos and trauma, Kyle decides to bring her home with him and then try and help her find her family. He is on his own because his father is a NYPD detective most likely helping with the disaster and his mom and sister are in California. Polisner tells the story in alternating viewpoints as Kyle attempts to help the mysterious girl who has lost her memory. As the story unfolds, she begins to remember isolated snippets but struggles with the inability to even recall her own name let alone her family. I felt the resulting story was satisfying and realistic. Polisner’s in-depth descriptions of the immediate aftermath of the attacks are incredible. As I read those sections, I decided she must have lived through the attack personally to be able to depict it as she did. There is a wonderful Author’s Note at the end where Polisner details her personal experience during 9/11 and what drove her to write this novel. Her Author’s Note really added to an already fabulous novel. The Memory of Things is a fabulous read that is both uplifting and haunting. A huge thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the chance to read this novel in exchange for an honest review. Kyle Donohue watched the Twin Towers fall on 9/11/2001 from his nearby school. After being sent home, he met a girl on the bridge who was covered in ash and had angel wings attached to her. He ended up bringing her home. His mother and sister were stranded in California because no flights were coming in after this disaster. His father was a cop working at Ground Zero trying to find some of his fellow officers. His uncle Matt, who lives with them, was recovering from a motorcycle accident that left his partially paralyzed. This is the story of Kyle and Hannah told from each person’s point of view. They shared they met and how they coped with those awful days in our nation’s history. It was quite well done. Terror and helplessness followed the events of 9/11, felt throughout the United States and, especially, in New York City. “The Memory of Things,” released for the 15th anniversary of that tragic day, tells the story of 16-year-old Kyle and the mysterious girl he found cowering on the Brooklyn Bridge as he and others fled the horror of downtown Manhattan. In alternate voices the teens recount their stories and memories, gradually turning their terror, pain and sorrow into a sense of hopefulness and determination while falling in love. I lived through those days as a teacher in N.Y.C., and managed to spend the past 15 years avoiding graphically descriptive yearly television documentaries or photographs of the time. It took several years before I could listen to, or look at, a low flying plane without having my eyes fill with tears. Even now, 15 years later, it’s still painful. Knowing 9/11 hit me stronger than others, I was a bit leery about reviewing a book about 9/11. However, since it was a young adult book, I was hopeful it wouldn’t be too graphic. Polisner covered the feelings of loss and bewilderment that filled the days after this terror attack, while also infusing a sense of hope that radiated through Kyle’s generous nature. As she described New Yorkers’ reactions towards the events that shook us to the core, along with Kyle’s sense of duty and protectiveness towards a complete stranger, readers will get the sense that there will always be a shoulder to lean on when it’s needed to help us through the roughest of storms. Recommended for ages 14 and older. Book review link: https://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2016/10/17/the-memory-of-things-gae-pol... This affecting story that takes place in New York on 9/11 and the days immediately following it. The author says in her Afterword: “Ultimately, this is not a 9/11 story, but a coming-of-age story, one about healing and love. Still, I have tried to capture some of the sights and sounds and fears of that day…” And capture it she does. She brought it all back to me so clearly, and yet, by setting the events of that week in a story about two teens who meet afterwards and help each other to heal, it helps to takes a bit of the horror away. Sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue is fleeing across the Brooklyn Bridge after the Twin Towers fall when he comes across a girl about his age covered in ash and wearing a costume of large white wings. She appears to be contemplating jumping off the bridge. Clearly traumatized, she doesn’t even remember who she is. Kyle, at a loss for what to do, convinces her to come home with him. At Kyle's apartment, the only one home is his Uncle Matt. Matt, one of three brothers all in the police force including Kyle’s father, was a lieutenant in the NYPD, but broke his neck in a motorcycle accident when the driver of an SUV fell asleep. Kyle’s father and second uncle, both policemen, are down at the 9/11 site, and Kyle doesn’t know their status; he can’t get through on anyone’s phone. Meanwhile, his mother and sister are stuck in L.A. and can’t get a plane to come back home. Kyle is scared for his family but also wants to help the girl, whose thoughts are shown in the book in free unformatted verse to illustrate their fragmented nature. Together with Uncle Matt, they navigate the next few days as they each struggle with figuring out who they are and who they want to be. They hang on to each other and all grow closer, even though Kyle suspects his relationship with the girl “is one of those things that happens in a vacuum, that can’t be sustained under normal conditions.” Evaluation: This is a wonderful story about human resilience, hope, and the enduring nature of family and of love. Strongly recommended! The Memory of Things by author Gae Polisner begins on the morning of September 11, 2001 as sixteen-year-old Kyle Donahue flees across the Brooklyn Bridge. He needs to get home to check on the welfare of his family: his father, a member of the Joint Terrorist Task Force who are the first to respond to a crisis like this; his mother and sister, scheduled to fly home from Los Angeles this morning; and his wheelchair bound Uncle Matt, a spinal cord injury victim, who is alone in their apartment with no means of escape should it be necessary. While crossing the bridge, he spies what looks like a large bird crouched against a pillar. However, as he gets closer, he discovers it is not a bird but a girl about his own age, covered with ash and, incongruously, wearing a pair of enormous white wings. He pulls her to safety but, when he can finally get her to talk, he discovers she is suffering from amnesia. He decides he has no other choice but to take her home with him. The narration is divided between Kyle and ‘the girl’ as she is known throughout most of the story. Kyle details the events of the day as well as the emotional impact, the fear, the confusion, the horror of what has happened as well as the sacrifices, not only of first responders like his father, so many of whom sacrificed their own lives to save others, but regular people who stopped to help strangers, even as Kyle does, taking them into their own homes. The girl tells her story in free-verse giving hints of a creative background as well as reflecting her amnesia and her state of mind. Given the background of this novel and the emotions that are impossible to separate from the tragedy, it could easily have devolved into melodrama or a manipulative tearjerker. Yet, by focusing the narrative on people who were not actually at Ground Zero but who were greatly affected by it, Polisner avoids this and instead creates a better more profound story. On the one hand, there is a sense of lost innocence as Kyle and the girl try to make sense of how this could happen while trying as best as possible to deal with the immediate and more mundane tasks. But there is also a sense of growth and community as Kyle struggles to cope with his worry about his family, to take care of his uncle, and to help the girl remember. And as the girl helps Kyle with Matt, she begins to regain her memories and to come to terms with both real and possible loss. The Memory of Things is a surprisingly hopeful novel – it certainly doesn’t downplay the event but its focus is on the strength, resilience, and generosity of the survivors. It is an easy read but one that stays with you and although it is aimed at a YA audience, it is the kind of book than can be appreciated anyone. The Memory of Things by Gae Polisner is a fictional book about two teenagers and their experience on September 11, 2001 and days afterwards. Ms. Polisner writes women fiction and young adult books. Kyle Donohue, a 16 year old student at Stuyvesant High School, witness the first tower in the World Trade Center comes down on September 11, 2001. Kyle walks home with thousands of people across the Brooklyn Bridges when he sees a girl, suffering from amnesia, covered in ash and brings her home with him. Kyle’s father is a detective working in Ground Zero, his mother and sister are on a trip to California and he is taking care of his disabled uncle until the world calms down around him. All this while trying to figure out what to do with his new guest. The Memory of Things by Gae Polisner is a fast, easy read but thought provoking nonetheless. The terrorist attack in New York City on 9/11/2001 changed America, America’s foreign policy and the world. A generation of kids is now growing up not knowing the profound effect this event had on the whole world. The author wrote a profound book which captures the helplessness against a great tragedy, but also the profound human relationships which can occur from such a tragedy. While 9/11 is in the background of the story the throughout the novel, it is not “about” 9/11 and the author manages, somehow, to steer clear of sensationalism or sappy narrative. As someone who lived, and witnessed, 911 I found this book to be an allegory to the loss of innocence of a nation, which spoke to me, in parallel to the loss of innocence of young adults. This book, an easy and immersive read, has something for everyone. For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com |
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Other reviewers and the official marketing blurb do a good job of summarizing the plot, so I won't do that here. Polisner has taken an event that is seared into nearly everyone's individual memory and done two things: set a coming-of-age story against it, and captured the emotional spirit of how most everyone, in the days following the attacks, just wanted to do something -- anything -- to help.
The story is emotional without being treacly. It is YA, and there is a bit of a love story involved, which may dissuade some readers from choosing this book; however, I found the writing to be quite good.
My one quibble is the narrative voice of the teenaged girl in the story. For the majority of the book this voice is written as a fractured poem/stream of consciousness text. This did not work for me at all. The girl is suffering from amnesia and I believe the this text is supposed to show her mental state, but it was confusing and detracted from the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a galley of the book in exchange for an honest review.
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