It was a bit weird that I was reading this book when I saw the film
Inception - as both deal with the subject of the mind and manipulation.
In
Man Walks Into a Room by Nicole Krauss, Samson is discovered wandering the Mojave desert with no memory of who he is and how he got there. It's soon after discovered that he has a tumor in his brain and after its removal he loses all his memories after the age of 12. He then, after recovering from surgery, must deal with the fact that he has a wife, a dog and an apartment in New York he has no memory of.
Makes me think of that Talking Heads song, "Once in a Lifetime":
And You May Tell Yourself
This Is Not My Beautiful House!
And You May Tell Yourself
This Is Not My Beautiful Wife!
He soon realizes that he cannot live with his wife because his presence makes her too sad - as he cannot remember her. He moves out and shortly after a doctor calls him to be part of a study on memory in Nevada. Samson agrees.
The study involves transferring memories from one mind to another and Samson naively agrees, not knowing the memory he will receive.
Later he must deal with the terrifying memory in his head that doesn't belong to him.
I must say that while this was an good read (and short) it left something to be desired. There were a few points in the story that were seemingly important, but they didn't really turn up later in the book - unnecessary details. Krauss's second novel,
The History of Love, was way better - but I enjoyed both and am excited that she's got another book coming out in the fall.
I also read David Sedaris's
Barrel Fever before this one - and it was okay. Probably my least favourite Sedaris collection. He also has a new book out this fall. Yay!
