Within the green walls of his retirement home, John’s memory slowly unravels. His time as a Shakespeare scholar blends with his family life, so that he often borrows lines from the Bard to answer his loved ones. His life has had all the makings of a play - tragedies, comedic relief, mysteries and (mis)understandings. In the offer made by one character to forget and forgive, he finds the former all too easy and the latter all too difficult.
This absolutely somptuous novel paints the ever-altering map of a brilliant mind fogged by disease. The way Hegland weaves in Shakespeare into her work is both awe-inspiring and deeply moving because it bridges the familiarity of some quotes and the constant discoveries entailed by Alzheimer's disease. The prose is sometimes meandering, yet I couldn't help but let myself by carried away along that river of words that flowed effortlessly, so that I often forgot I was reading a book and became completely immersed in the narrative - something which doesn’t happen a lot nowadays, as even in books I adore I’m often conscious of the fact that I'm reading words on a page.
It’s not an easy story, by any means. As in all human lives, it’s filled with regret, and miscommunications, and tragedies (I did wish SA didn't feature so prominently, be warned). John isn’t a perfect character either. He has his flaws and there is no hiding them, but the deep sadness at watching someone’s memory slowly unravel is universal. And yet, the novel managed not to be bogged down in pessimism. There is flimsy but deep beauty to be found within its pages, and it makes for a truly magnificent novel.