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The Memory Man by Lisa Appignanesi
When Bruno Lind, a neuroscientist and memory expert, returns to Vienna, the city of his birth, more awaits him than he had expected. Propelled by dreams, a chance name overhead in a hotel lobby, and the urgings of his daughter, Lind becomes the detective of his own unexplored life, retracing the experiences of World War II, refugee camps, and migration that he has long been unable to communicate. Journeying to Poland and to points farther east, to lost families and forgotten loves, this vivid novel of time, place, and memory reveals a world where some can't remember and others can't forget.
Paperback
First published September 1, 2005
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About the author
Lisa Appignanesi
59 books96 followersaka Jessica Ayre
Elżbieta Borensztejn was born on 4 January 1946 in Łódź, Poland, the daughter of Hena and Aaron Borensztejn with Jewish origin. Following her birth, her parents moved to Paris, France, and in 1951 they emigrating to Canada. She grew up in the province of Quebec - first in a small Laurentian town, subsequently in Montreal.
She graduated from McGill University with a B.A. degree in 1966 and her M.A. the following year. During 1970-71 she was a staff writer for the Centre for Community Research in New York City and is a former University of Essex lecturer in European Studies. She was a founding member and editorial director of the Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative. Through the eighties she was a Deputy Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, UK, for whom she also edited the seminal Documents Series and established ICA television and the video Writers in Conversation series.
She produced several made for television films and had written a number of books before devoting herself to writing fulltime in 1990. In recognition of her contribution to literature, Lisa Appignanesi has been honoured with a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government. In 2004, she became Deputy President of English PEN and has run its highly successful 'Free Expression is No Offence Campaign' against the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill. In 2008 she became President of English PEN. She writes for The Guardian, The Independent and has made several series for BBC Radio 4, as well as frequently appearing as a cultural commentator.
In 1967, she married Richard Appignanesi, another writer, with whom she had one son in 1975, Josh Appignanesi, a film director. They divorced in 1984. With her life partner John Forrester, she had a daugther, Katrina Forrester, a Research Fellow in the history of modern political thought at St John's College, Cambridge. She lives in London.
Elżbieta Borensztejn was born on 4 January 1946 in Łódź, Poland, the daughter of Hena and Aaron Borensztejn with Jewish origin. Following her birth, her parents moved to Paris, France, and in 1951 they emigrating to Canada. She grew up in the province of Quebec - first in a small Laurentian town, subsequently in Montreal.
She graduated from McGill University with a B.A. degree in 1966 and her M.A. the following year. During 1970-71 she was a staff writer for the Centre for Community Research in New York City and is a former University of Essex lecturer in European Studies. She was a founding member and editorial director of the Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative. Through the eighties she was a Deputy Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, UK, for whom she also edited the seminal Documents Series and established ICA television and the video Writers in Conversation series.
She produced several made for television films and had written a number of books before devoting herself to writing fulltime in 1990. In recognition of her contribution to literature, Lisa Appignanesi has been honoured with a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government. In 2004, she became Deputy President of English PEN and has run its highly successful 'Free Expression is No Offence Campaign' against the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill. In 2008 she became President of English PEN. She writes for The Guardian, The Independent and has made several series for BBC Radio 4, as well as frequently appearing as a cultural commentator.
In 1967, she married Richard Appignanesi, another writer, with whom she had one son in 1975, Josh Appignanesi, a film director. They divorced in 1984. With her life partner John Forrester, she had a daugther, Katrina Forrester, a Research Fellow in the history of modern political thought at St John's College, Cambridge. She lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 16, 2014
I'm not sure I know how to describe this book. It is immensely touching and heart wrenching, and it never descends into melodrama. The characters are real, totally believable, the plot brilliant. It is a book about different types of loss, but also about different types of hope. It's about what we forget and why; and what we remember and why. It's a touch book to reward because of the subject matter of memory and loss, but it is a book that should be read because of that.
Just read it.
Just read it.
February 23, 2019
While this book was touching and terrorizing, it was compelling. Hard to read at points, but I loved all the intertwined storylines. Heart wrenching and in some cases soothing at the humanity of it all.
August 1, 2010
I couldn't get into it as there were spelling mistakes in the edition I read and they were distracting.
June 28, 2023
This book has an interesting story line. Like all Holocaust litterature, it is full of amazing coincidences, close brushes with death, bad people and incredibly good people. All to be expected.
But Appignanesi doesn't really pull it off in my opinion. The main character, Bruno, is the only one who truly makes sense. The characters around him are poorly drawn, and often caricatures. Every time his daughter called him "Pops," I cringed.
Timelines are also a big problem. It's unclear when Bruno was born, and how old he was at the end of the war. Yes, child survivors did grow up very fast, but he seems much older than my calculations would have put him at. And when is the modern part of the story taking place? For it to make sense, it would have to be in the 1990s, but then the author mentions the Twin Towers falling. Arg.
And finally, the editing was pitiful. The book was full of spelling mistakes and words that either shouldn't have been there at all or were missing.
I read this book on vacation. I will put in it a little free library as soon as I find one to house it.
But Appignanesi doesn't really pull it off in my opinion. The main character, Bruno, is the only one who truly makes sense. The characters around him are poorly drawn, and often caricatures. Every time his daughter called him "Pops," I cringed.
Timelines are also a big problem. It's unclear when Bruno was born, and how old he was at the end of the war. Yes, child survivors did grow up very fast, but he seems much older than my calculations would have put him at. And when is the modern part of the story taking place? For it to make sense, it would have to be in the 1990s, but then the author mentions the Twin Towers falling. Arg.
And finally, the editing was pitiful. The book was full of spelling mistakes and words that either shouldn't have been there at all or were missing.
I read this book on vacation. I will put in it a little free library as soon as I find one to house it.
October 30, 2025
Well-written, but aside from the "hook"--a Jewish survivor of WWII becomes an expert in the neuro-physiology of memory, but his own memories lay buried in pain and denial--there is not too much that distinguishes this novel from other Holocaust tales. I found the revelation about the importance of the Tarski name to be rather far-fetched, even for fiction, though the adoption tale of the protagonist's daughter was a nice touch, and I found myself hoping that perhaps another novel might be devoted to her very interesting character.
May 11, 2020
Not bad; a little tedious at times.
September 29, 2025
Loved this book. Memories of life in Poland during WW2. Poignant, beautifully written. Thoroughly recommend. .
October 25, 2015
A surprising book and very moving at times. Told in both 'our' present and in a WW2 past, the story of a Jewish man, himself an expert on memory, who delves into his wartime experiences with both troubling and revealing results. I enjoyed the focus on family ties and the emotions separation and tragedy can bring about. Taken from the back of my edition: "Drawing on [Lisa Appignanesi's] intimate knowledge of Central Europe, she has created a compelling fiction which is also an exploration of mind and memory."
July 3, 2008
i am loving this. such a good random find at the library.
October 31, 2011
I could not put this down..... It was so real...
I keep thinking of the poor people who actually lived through these times....
...and died in these times.....
I keep thinking of the poor people who actually lived through these times....
...and died in these times.....
January 13, 2014
Couldn't get into character's head. Disappointing
May 5, 2015
Goodreads rating 69
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews