Mister Memory

Starred review from January 9, 2017
Fin de siècle Paris provides the backdrop for this outstanding thriller from Sedgwick (A Love like Blood), who creates a sense of intimacy with the reader through darkly humorous omniscient narration reminiscent of Dumas (“Paris at that time can be described as a fairy tale; assuming it’s understood that fairy tales are brutish, dark and violent”). One night, Marcel Després, a man with a photographic memory, comes home to his studio apartment to find his wife, Ondine, in bed with a male acquaintance of theirs. The police arrest Marcel soon after he shoots Ondine dead. The motive eliminates the risk of execution, but Insp. Laurent Petit, a dedicated policeman haunted by the death of his fiancée, is shocked when he learns that the murderer has been summarily declared insane and transferred to the asylum of Salpêtrière. Petit’s quest for the truth behind Ondine’s murder coincides with the efforts of Dr. Lucien Morel, an alienist at Salpêtrière, to understand Marcel’s phenomenal gift. Sedgwick thoughtfully explores fundamental questions about the relationship of memory and identity.

January 1, 2017
Young-adult novelist Sedgwick (A Love Like Blood, 2015) returns to Paris in his second book for adults, this time to La Belle Epoque, weaving murder and memory into an intense thriller.From Ile de la Cite to Pigalle, every nook and cranny of Paris-on-the-page provides a telling backdrop to the misadventures of Marcel Despres, a peasant boy-turned-savant. Marcel remembers every detail of everything that has ever happened to him. This talent was undiscovered--in fact, unrealized--until he arrived in Paris from the vineyards of his native Etoges. In dire straits, Marcel's artist friends transform his perfect memory into a stage act as Marcel Memoire at the Cabaret of Insults. Soon naive Marcel marries cabaret dancer Ondine, who's extraordinarily beautiful and practiced in using beauty as currency. Finding Ondine in flagrante delicto one day, Marcel strikes out and is immediately arrested for her murder. Too quickly, the legal process secrets him in an asylum. Surete detective Petit is suspicious. Petit's curiosity soon becomes a Javert-like obsession. Dr. Morel, the asylum's Assistant Chief Alienist, at first thinks Marcel is catatonic, but he soon discovers that he's "lost in labyrinths" of infinite memories. Beautifully woven, the story soon becomes a tapestry of love and innocence, obsession and intellectual arrogance framed by corruption, assassination, and sexual perversion with a bit part for Russia's Communist-hunting Okhrana secret service. Characters are shaped subtly but colorfully. Marcel navigates through the story much like Chance in Jerzy Kosinski's Being There as Morel muses on the link between memory and identity. With chapter titles like "A Few Words About Magic," the narrative voice has an old-fashioned address-the-reader aura. Marvelously imagined and sure to appeal to readers who enjoy an intelligent thriller.

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 15, 2017

In 1899 Paris, Marcel Despres kills his wife after finding her having sex with another man and is immediately transferred to the famous Salperriere Asylum. But Despres, aka Marcel Memoire or Mister Memory, isn't an ordinary patient. He remembers every minute detail of every day of his entire life. When a doctor who wants to make a name for himself and a police inspector who is desperately trying to put the ghosts of his past to rest begin to examine Marcel's case more closely, what they discover is that like Marcel, there is much more going on than meets the eye. The narrative of YA author Sedgwick's second adult novel (after A Love Like Blood) appears to follow the same pattern as its title character's thought process. It goes off on tangents and gets bogged down in the minutia, much as Marcel often gets lost in his own mind. However, when Marcel finally manages to find some mental clarity, the plot picks up and moves in a more straightforward fashion. As a literary technique, this structure is rather ingenious. From a reader's standpoint, however, it leads to slow and sometimes frustrating reading. VERDICT Couple the winding narrative structure with some highly improbable plot points, and readers may decide that finding out the answer to the mystery isn't worth the effort. Only for the author's fans.--Elisabeth Clark, West Florida P.L., Pensacola

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2017

Set in 1899 Paris, Sedgwick's latest novel is historical fiction with a twist. Marcel Despres is arrested for murdering his wife. Believing that something odd is afoot, the detective on the case becomes compelled to solve the mystery. Marcel is sent to a nearby insane asylum, where a curious doctor becomes obsessed with uncovering another mystery-Marcel's perfect memory. The protagonist can remember every detail of his life, beginning with his time in the womb, an extraordinary talent that often leaves him in a catatonic state as his mind explores his past memories in fine detail. While the intriguing setup and the fascinating characters will rivet readers, there's more to this book than a mere murder mystery-this work offers a deep examination of memory: how it changes, how it imprisons, and how it eventually brings answers. VERDICT A quality crime drama; hand to readers who appreciate thought-provoking mystery or historical fiction.-April Sanders, Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2016
Paris 1899. They call himthe cabaret performer Marcel DespresMonsieur Memoire, Mister Memory, for his memory is perfect. He forgets nothing, not even the experience of being in his mother's womb. How does it happen, then, that this mild, unassuming man has murdered his wife and, instead of being incarcerated, has been sent on orders from the highest police authority to the notorious asylum called the Salpetriere, instead? That's not right, declares police inspector Petit, who, assigned to the case, is then quickly removed from it, though he secretly continues to investigate, finding more questions than answers. What, for example, explains the involvement of Okhrana, the tsarist secret service? What is the connection between the powerful prefect of police and Despres' dead wife? Who can Petit trust in a case that looms larger and larger? Noted YA author Sedgwick has now written, for adult readers, an ambitious crime novel of psychological suspense. Though sometimes overburdened by detail that slows the pace, the novel will please lovers of character-driven literary crime fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)