A review by dlberglund
Unbecoming by Jenny Downham
4.0
Tells the stories of Katie, her mother Caroline, and her grandmother Mary, and the secrets they all hold. Katie has been told to keep that past closed, and that she had no grandparents...until the day the hospital calls to have them pick up Mary, the estranged grandmother. Mary is clearly suffering from a form of dementia that is painful to watch and understand. While Caroline is eager to get Mary into a different living arrangement (and rebury the past), Katie is drawn to Mary's fire and her circling stories, trying to piece together all of the things that happened long ago.
It was painful to read about Mary's declining memory and sense of time, particularly how easy it was for Caroline to misunderstand her or become frustrated with her. Anyone who has watched someone go through the painful process of losing names, words, and linear memories will likely see pieces of this in Unbecoming.
My only piece of criticism: Narratively, the book does come around to the secrets and frustrations of all three of these women (and their former selves), but the narrative voice was omniscient and overreaching. There were too many jangling sentences of perspective from random characters, and not enough heart from Caroline.
It was painful to read about Mary's declining memory and sense of time, particularly how easy it was for Caroline to misunderstand her or become frustrated with her. Anyone who has watched someone go through the painful process of losing names, words, and linear memories will likely see pieces of this in Unbecoming.
My only piece of criticism: Narratively, the book does come around to the secrets and frustrations of all three of these women (and their former selves), but the narrative voice was omniscient and overreaching. There were too many jangling sentences of perspective from random characters, and not enough heart from Caroline.