I picked up Ann Brashares' 'My Name is Memory' from the library completely by accident. I had walked past the shelves on my way out to check out the stack of five books I have selected for the week and this was what caught my eye - the title. Above the large print of the title was the phrase, "Sometimes love lasts more than a lifetime." So, she has done two things really well really quickly:
She selected a title that invited curiosity and interest.
Her byline instantly appealed to her target audience-people who read love stories. And that definitely include me.
I picked up the book, turned to the back cover, skimmed through it and-in less than 30 seconds-put it on the top of my To-Borrow stack. So far, she has done really well on the marketing aspect of her book-an inviting title, an appealing byline and a well written synopsis on the back cover. Already, I couldn't wait to get home and get tucked into it.
324 pages later, what can I say except that the book does not disappoint. It held me captive for an afternoon that stretched into the night, interrupted only by my need for sleep before continuing on the next morning. A page turner, Ann Brashares masterfully crafted a story that makes putting the book down almost impossible.
My Name Is Memory is a story about a man-Daniel-who has the gift of remembering all the details of his many lives. He has lived over a period of 1,500 years, born into all kinds of families, across different civilizations-from North Africa all the way to the United States. And in all the many lives he had lived, he only ever loved one woman-Lucy. In every life that he reincarnated into, all he ever wanted was to find Lucy. Their paths crossed many times but each is not without its own twisted ending.
What Ann has done really well in this book is her use of different narrative points of view. In My Name Is Memory, she uses two different narrative points of view:
1. From a first person's point of view as Daniel.
2. From a multiple third person's point of view, looking at Daniel and Lucy-individually and together.
The book starts off with Daniel speaking in the first person (I, myself, me) about his gift of memory. Although short (a page and a half), it sets out the context of the rest of the book, and gives us a peek into Daniel's psyche-his history, his thoughts and his emotions.
In the book, two stories unfold in parallel with each other-the first is Daniel's many lives across the period of 1,500 years; and the second being the story of Lucy and Daniel over the period of six years (from 2004 to 2010). Ann has kept these two stories unfolding side-by-side clearly and cleanly by the appropriate use of structure. She alternates between the two stories and the two different narrative points of view on a chapter-by-chapter basis. By clearly spelling out the time and place where the story takes shape, there is no confusion about which story is being told, and by whom.
Another great technique Ann has used is that she varies the need for details between the two stories. In the story of Daniel over 1,500 years, she keeps the details as sparse as possible so as not to detract from the essence of the story, but still enough to paint a picture of the condition and the civilization in which he lived without overwhelming the readers. In the second story-the modern day Daniel and Lucy-there are more details about the setting (location, furniture, climate etc) and the characters (how they are dressed, their actions, thoughts and feelings).
This also highlights the fact that authors need not overwhelm readers with unnecessary details of a life that they cannot relate to-in this case, Daniel's other lives from about 500 A.D. onwards. Because those lives are so far removed from present day reality, there need not be intricate details in the writing in order to move the story forward. Another reason why there is no need for too much detail in the first story is due to the fact that it is narrated from the first person's point of view. The first story is essentially being told as a reflection or reminiscence of the past, and as far as our memories go, it is hard pressed to find someone who can remember every detail of his or her life vividly. The second story-being told from a third person's point of view-is akin to a movie director setting out the scenes of the story, using details to enhance the story telling so that we are captivated and kept engaged as the story unfolds.
Although the theme of the story is predominantly about love, Ann also brings into light the concept of reincarnation, the idea that souls are reborn into different bodies over a span of several lifetimes. At regular intervals, questions about reincarnation appear, which demand an explanation either from Daniel or from his friend Ben, who-like him-also has the gift of memory. There is also a part where Lucy elicits the help of a hypnotist to perform past life regression on her. Readers are involuntarily exposed to such concepts through the story, which is informative in nature.
The finer point of the book is the undertone of Daniel's story, which has a life lesson of its own. Because of his memory of his many different lives, Daniel carries with him a sense of detachment towards the present. He keeps the same name all through his different lifetimes, insisting that his parents call him by the name Daniel in each of his incarnation. Nothing is new, and life holds very little wonder for him. He holds his family at a distance, knowing that regardless of how good or bad the situation is, when he comes back in the next life, things would be different. His only salvation is his love for Lucy. Towards the end of the book, he comes to the realization that what matters most is in the present, and the present is the only moment he has. This point is easy to miss but-if picked up from the story-can be extremely powerful as a life lesson to readers.
The only area where the book is slightly lacking is in its ending. The story is left to conclude somewhat open-endedly, which-to me-is a bit of a let-down. As a whole, My Name Is Memory is a book that is beautifully written, very engaging and uses a combination of very advanced writing techniques. The use of varying narrative points of view and details is perhaps the highlight that makes Ann Brashares' story telling so engaging.
Chiao Kee is a three-time Award Winning Author and an avid blogger. She won her first award at the age of 16 with her short story - A New Day, and subsequently went on to win two more awards with her short stories, all before the age of 24.
She is President and Founder of The Dirty 30s Club ( http://www.thedirty30sclub.com ) - a blog that promotes increased self awareness and personal empowerment, packed with a generous dose of humor and fun. Since its launch in September 2010, this blog has had over 5,900 readers from 91 countries. Her articles have appeared in InCulture Parent and she has been published multiple times on MotivateUs.com. She also writes regularly to her column in MSNBC's Newsvine.
When she is not writing inspirational and motivational content, Chiao Kee shares tips and techniques to writing great stories quickly and easily on her Easy Story Writing blog. She also broadcasts her Hot Tip Tuesday and Book Talk Thursday from her Easy Story Writing channel on YouTube on a weekly basis, sharing her views and insights on how to write better quicker. She lives in Melbourne, Australia and is currently working on a new book, which is due to be completed in 2011.
To read more about Chiao Kee Lim, go to http://www.easystorywriting.com.
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