A History of Forgetting

by Caroline Adderson

Malcolm Firth is an aging hairdresser whose partner, Denis, is wasting away from memory loss. Malcolm works at a zany Vancouver hair salon where he trains Alison, a young ingenue from the suburbs, amidst a staff of eccentric urbanoid hair stylists. Their clients include a troop of old people, one of whom is a Holocaust survivor. It is this old woman who provides innocent Alison with her first glimpse into the depredations of the human race. When one of Alison`s gay friends is brutally murdered by skinheads, she is soon propelled on a harrowing journey of sorrow and the getting of wisdom. Haunted by the death of her friend, she wanders the rings of a psychological and spiritual inferno, bringing the slowly dissipating Malcolm with her. Her obsession takes them to post-communist Poland where they struggle to reconstitute the past in the killing grounds of Auschwitz. How do we remember our history? Why are the same cruelties repeated through time? These are the urgent questions that underpin this powerful first novel from one of Canada`s most emotionally daring young writers. Rich in its emotional ground, beautifully pitched, and written in a refined and assured prose style, A History of Forgetting is a most compelling book. Caroline Adderson is a virtuoso conjurer of the human condition. (1999)

Genres: Fiction, Canada, War, Historical Fiction

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Caroline Adderson grew up in Alberta. After traveling around Canada, she moved to B.C. to go to university and has mostly lived there ever since. She started writing seriously after university, eventually going on to write two internationally published novels (A History of Forgetting and Sitting Practice) and two collections of short stories for adults (Bad Imaginings and Pleased To Meet You). When her son was five, she began writing seriously unserious books for young readers (Very Serious Children; I, Bruno;and Bruno For Real). Her contribution to the Single Voice series is her first really serious book for young readers and her first book for teens.

Caroline’s work has received numerous prize nominations including the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. A two-time Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and three-time CBC Literary Award winner, Caroline was also the recipient of the 2006 Marian Engel Award, given annually to an outstanding female writer in mid-career in recognition of her body of work. She also won the 2009 Diamond Willow Award—voted on by lots of nice kids in Saskatchewan—for her children’s novel Very Serious Children.

Caroline keeps writing for readers of all ages every day. She also does a little teaching at Simon Fraser University and hangs out with her husband, a filmmaker, their 10-year-old son, and their naughty dog, Mickey, a Jack Russell terrier who is very lucky to be cute or she would never get away with all she does. Caroline’s advice to young writers is to read, read, read and write, write, write, and never get a Jack Russell terrier.

Reviews

[Petra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grief, hatred, the grief that hatred causes.....these are the themes that run through this book.
This book started out well. A loving couple, one sadly with Alheimer's; a young woman just starting her adult life. Vancouver is the setting. So promising.
But slowly the hatred and overwhelming grief takes over. Malcolm stops living. Alison also. The author tries to tie the Holocaust to Gay bashing....not a far stretch, sadly, due to skinheads....yet the connection doesn't fit in this story.....or, I didn't see the connection. The author tried too hard.
Despite the grief & hatred, there's no conflict in this book. Malcolm & Alison are depressed, they don't fight that, they don't look for help, nothing happens as they go deeper into depression.
There are lots of good elements in this book but, sadly, for me they just didn't come together and seemed to just scratch the surface of some deep issues.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I did. At the end, I feel a little bit like "what the hell just happened?" and like I got post-modernly slapped around somehow.

[Jon Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tragically beautiful.

[Sharon Smythe · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Rei ⭐ [TrulyBooked] · Rating 3 out of 5]

It starts out as a breathtaking, beautiful book which is underscored in subtle, but fascinating ways and then begins to drag toward the middle/end of the book. I think that by the end of the novel, some of Adderson's meaning is lost, but it was still a really good read.

[Shar Wallis · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A History of Forgetting" is a great title & the reason I picked up this book. It's a melancholy story set partially in Vancouver (bonus!) with good characters. Some of the subjects are Alzheimers, loneliness, hate crime, homosexuality & the Holocaust. It was realistic.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great author from Vancouver!

[Diana Stevan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so impressed with this author's ability to tackle a difficult subject in such an innovative way.

[Jen]

http://kirbc.com/2008/08/04/a-history...

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved the references to Vancouver (I used to live there), but I couldn't really get into the story or identify with the characters.

[Jasmine]

no one carries this book. no wait powells carries this book... I live in the wrong state.