Review: The Memory of Things by Gae Polisner

Sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue witnessed the attack on the Twin Towers from the window of his high school. Terrified, he heads for the relative safety across the Brooklyn Bridge.  There, he comes across a girl, hiding in the shadows. Covered in ash, wearing costume wings, she looks vulnerable and alone. With his sister and mom stuck in California, his detective father likely at Ground Zero, Kyle makes a quick decision and decides to take the girl home with him. When they arrive home, Kyle learns the girl has no memory of what transpired, who she is, where she lives.  What follows is a wonderfully uplifting tale of friendship and hope in the midst of tragedy.

 

I must thank my good friend and blogging buddy, Kelly, for introducing me to this book. It’s unlikely that I would have come across this book had it not been for her raves about it!

From the moment I started reading it, I realized that my own almost seventeen year old son has no memory of this tragic day. He was just a toddler that day and his only knowledge of the event come from our retellings and what he learns in school.  I think that’s what makes this book so endearing to me; I can recommend it to him (or, frankly, readers of all ages) and they can get a glimpse of the tragedy without feeling overwhelmed with the loss and tragedy.  Certainly, this isn’t to say that they shouldn’t understand the depth of what transpired today, but I also find it important for them to realize that, despite all the loss, there was a sense of hope and love that spread across the country.

Their story is told from both Kyle and the girl’s viewpoints.  Kyle’s is descriptive, emotional, moving. The girl’s is poetic, told in a verse of sorts, reminiscent of the thoughts that must be rushing through her mind as she attempts to regain her memory.  While this took some time to become accustomed to this style, ultimately it was a brilliant method of relaying her own personal tragedy.

Told over the course of three days, Polisner brilliantly captures all of the emotions revolving around this tragic day.  From Kyle not being able to reach his mother in sister in California (could they have been on one of the planes!?) or not knowing if his father survived to helping his uncle, a former police officer disabled after being wounded in action,  this novel is full of realistic emotion experienced by those living in NYC. It’s obvious that she had her own close experience, fueling the writing of this novel.

A must read novel, told in the most unique of writing styles. Highly, highly recommended.