ameeth's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
This book is a brilliant and truly explorative dive into the values of forgetfulness and it's entanglement with memory. A must read!
I enjoyed Hyde taking a break from the standard academic argumentative thesis defense, and ruminating with loosely guided segments. I believe it had the bonus effect of better serving the subject matter's slippery nature. While this structure inevitably gave way to some arcs/chapters that resonated less, the overall thought-provoking consistency was stunning. Hyde is honestly aware of his own contradictions, and does not fight them.
By starting at the ancient and mythological roots of memory/forgetting, Hyde exposes the more negative connotations of forgetting as relatively modern- this proves a great foray into presently wrestling with it's meaning and applicability. Other sections I enjoyed: artist perspectives (because now I see/hear these ideas in all art), the complications of nation-making, and Hyde's analysis of actionable justice that "remembers enough to forget."
I enjoyed Hyde taking a break from the standard academic argumentative thesis defense, and ruminating with loosely guided segments. I believe it had the bonus effect of better serving the subject matter's slippery nature. While this structure inevitably gave way to some arcs/chapters that resonated less, the overall thought-provoking consistency was stunning. Hyde is honestly aware of his own contradictions, and does not fight them.
By starting at the ancient and mythological roots of memory/forgetting, Hyde exposes the more negative connotations of forgetting as relatively modern- this proves a great foray into presently wrestling with it's meaning and applicability. Other sections I enjoyed: artist perspectives (because now I see/hear these ideas in all art), the complications of nation-making, and Hyde's analysis of actionable justice that "remembers enough to forget."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Hate crime
mikeerrico's review against another edition
4.0
A “thought experiment” that looks at the role of forgetting in our lives via a series of interconnected essays. In short: we pay for cloud storage and hard drives and digital archiving; the internet remembers and sells every move we make; but in many ways, forgetting is the more creative, clarifying, and forward-thinking choice. The essays give the whole piece a kind of staccato feel, but overall, I think the experiment worked incredibly well. Hyde makes forgetting cool again.
jozbill's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I really enjoyed the unusual format of this book. I also loved the wide range of information that was touched on.
mikeerrico's review against another edition
4.0
A “thought experiment” that looks at the role of forgetting in our lives via a series of interconnected essays. In short: we pay for cloud storage and hard drives and digital archiving; the internet remembers and sells every move we make; but in many ways, forgetting is the more creative, clarifying, and forward-thinking choice. The essays give the whole piece a kind of staccato feel, but overall, I think the experiment worked incredibly well. Hyde makes forgetting cool again.
henhenthehen's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
3.0
It was a fun read. Sometimes it was repetitive and sometimes the stories were hard to understand. I liked when there were quotes and symbolism about forgetting and the importance of it. I learned some information I did not know before. It was an interesting perspective on the importance of forgetting and not forgetting.
partypete's review
5.0
not really sure about the lukewarm takes, I thought this was excellent. The format is certainly unusual for a work of nonfiction - it sort of imitates (to me) David Markson’s “This Is Not a Novel” series, and the format itself is a practice of memory and forgetting. Some of the takes were definitely more interesting than others, but it’s an incredible new way of writing, this probably means I have to go and read The Gift now.
One of my great regrets in reading this is not taking Prof Hyde’s creative nonfiction class in college. Stupid Pete!
One of my great regrets in reading this is not taking Prof Hyde’s creative nonfiction class in college. Stupid Pete!
laurenmorrell's review
4.0
reflections on the idea of knowing yourself and then forgetting yourself. I enjoyed as a book to flip through and read segments of, didn’t read front to back like a typical book. enjoyed not doing so.
favorite parts: connection between authenticity and memory / forgetting, the value of getting to know yourself by gaining distance and... letting go of the pressure to perfectly know yourself.
favorite parts: connection between authenticity and memory / forgetting, the value of getting to know yourself by gaining distance and... letting go of the pressure to perfectly know yourself.