Publisher: Mantle
Release: 11th February 2016
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Source: Copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Synopsis:
"Noah is four and wants to go home. The only trouble is he's already there.
Janie's son is her world, and it breaks her heart that he has nightmares. That he's terrified of water. That he sometimes pushes her away and screams that he wants his real mother. That it's getting worse and worse and no one seems to be able to help.
In desperation, she turns to someone who might have an answer - but it may not be one she's ready to hear. It may also mean losing the one thing she loves more than anything. Noah."
Review
The Forgetting Time is like nothing I’ve ever read before. It’s a book that doesn’t fit into one set genre and is completely and utterly unique. It’s an explosive debut that has opened my mind to a subject that I knew next to nothing about, as this is a book that looks at the possibility of reincarnation.
Noah is an incredibly troubled four year old. He’s terrified of water to the point where he won’t wash and he cries at his mother Janie that he wants to go home, he wants his real mother. But he is home and Janie is his mother.
Noah’s disturbing behaviour comes to a head when Noah starts talking about guns at school. The school give Janie an ultimatum: get Noah professional help or social services will be contacted.
Desperate for help Janie’s search leads her to Dr Anderson – a man who’s seen cases like Noah’s before, but Dr Anderson’s diagnosis is not a simple one to get on board with because Dr Anderson believes that Noah could be the reincarnation of a murdered child from years before.
Janie doesn’t know what to believe but she will do anything if it means helping her son and so Janie, Noah and Dr Anderson embark on a journey that will lead them to answer humanities biggest question, is there life after death?
I think that your enjoyment of this book really depends on how open minded you’re willing to be on the topic of reincarnation. It’s not something I believed in going into this book but I went in with an open mind and ended up being absolutely fascinated by the possibilities, so much so that I ended up researching the subject online.
In between chapters there are extracts from the non-fiction book “Life Before Life by Dr. Jim B. Tucker” that document real life cases of possible reincarnation. They were such interesting true accounts that echoed Noah’s situation and really brought the fictional aspect of this book to life.
Reincarnation aside, The Forgetting Time is a hugely enjoyable mystery that will leave you not sure what to believe. It’s also a touching story about the love a mother has for her child and how far she’s willing to go to help him. There are themes of love, family and relationships – most notably the relationship we have with ourselves as individuals and what makes us who we are.
I was completely enthralled by The Forgetting Time and still think about it now weeks after reading. It’s an impressive debut that gets you thinking outside of the box. Sharon Guskin is an author to watch.
