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The Memory Trap
A novel about memory, music, friendship, family rifts and reconciliation, this is an intelligent, compelling read set in Melbourne.
Nina Jameson, an international consultant on memorial projects based in London, has been happily married to Daniel for twelve years. When her her life falls apart she accepts a job in her hometown of Melbourne. There she joins her sister, Zoe, embroiled in her own problems with Elliot, an American biographer of literary women. And she finds herself caught up in age-old conflicts of two friends from her past: the celebrated pianist Ramsay Blake and his younger brother, Sean.
All these people have been treading thin ice for far too long. Nina arrives home to find work, loves and entrenched obsessions under threat.
A rich and compelling story of marriage, music, the illusions of love and the deceits of memory, THE MEMORY TRAP's characters are real, flawed and touchingly human.
Nina Jameson, an international consultant on memorial projects based in London, has been happily married to Daniel for twelve years. When her her life falls apart she accepts a job in her hometown of Melbourne. There she joins her sister, Zoe, embroiled in her own problems with Elliot, an American biographer of literary women. And she finds herself caught up in age-old conflicts of two friends from her past: the celebrated pianist Ramsay Blake and his younger brother, Sean.
All these people have been treading thin ice for far too long. Nina arrives home to find work, loves and entrenched obsessions under threat.
A rich and compelling story of marriage, music, the illusions of love and the deceits of memory, THE MEMORY TRAP's characters are real, flawed and touchingly human.
281 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2013
12 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
About the author
Andrea Goldsmith
22 books39 followersAndrea Goldsmith is an Australian novelist. She started learning the piano as a young child, and music remains an abiding passion. She initially trained as a speech pathologist and worked for several years with children suffering from severe communication impairment until becoming a full-time writer in the late 1980s. During the 1990s she taught creative writing at Deakin University, and she continues to conduct workshops and mentor new novelists.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
June 15, 2014
‘Is it any good?’ asked The Spouse, when I told him I’d finished The Memory Trap this morning. He was friends with Andrea Goldsmith at university, and loves to hear about her books when I read them. A reader of non-fiction, he doesn’t read novels, but he’s always interested in the ones that trigger thoughtful discussion about issues and ideas, and last night, in the car en route to see a production of The King and I, we’d talked about a key theme in this book, the purpose and meaning behind public monuments and memorials…
‘It’s very good,’ I replied. ‘It’s one of those books that you’re really sorry to finish.’
I feel bereft, now that I’ve come to the end. The Memory Trap is a character-driven novel, and I’ve come to know and be very interested in its characters. They’re like people you meet when you travel, and you promise each other that you’ll keep in touch but of course you never do, yet you find yourself wondering about them long afterwards.
Around the world, vast amounts of money are spent on public monuments and memorials, and as I discovered from fellow-readers when I posted a Sensational Snippet from The Memory Trap, Goldsmith has invented a marvellous job for her central character: Nina Jameson is an international consultant on memorial projects. She is based in London where the novel begins, but her marriage has just failed, and at 40-something, she comes home to Melbourne when the TIF (Together in Freedom) memorial project comes along. She thinks it’s a project from hell – doomed to failure because its aims are so nebulous – but she feels drawn home and so she succumbs to the offer.
In Melbourne, she visits her sister Zoe. Zoe’s marriage to Elliot Wood is rotting beneath a thin crust of convention but as family Nina is privy to Elliot’s caustic spite that’s usually concealed beneath the public veneer. It makes the couple’s company painful, especially so when a trip down to the family beach-house turns out to be Zoe’s intrigue to meet up with Ramsay Blake, love of Zoe’s life since childhood. Ramsay is a virtuoso pianist with an international career, but his obsession with his music makes him narcisstic, selfish and purposefully helpless. His stepfather George Tiller is lured into his orbit and becomes his helpmeet, pushing aside all others including Ramsay’s brother Sean. Zoe has no hope of reciprocal love from Ramsay, but she pursues it all the same, rationalising his more-than-appalling behaviour towards her, and damaging her relationship with Elliot.
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2014/06/15/th...
‘It’s very good,’ I replied. ‘It’s one of those books that you’re really sorry to finish.’
I feel bereft, now that I’ve come to the end. The Memory Trap is a character-driven novel, and I’ve come to know and be very interested in its characters. They’re like people you meet when you travel, and you promise each other that you’ll keep in touch but of course you never do, yet you find yourself wondering about them long afterwards.
Around the world, vast amounts of money are spent on public monuments and memorials, and as I discovered from fellow-readers when I posted a Sensational Snippet from The Memory Trap, Goldsmith has invented a marvellous job for her central character: Nina Jameson is an international consultant on memorial projects. She is based in London where the novel begins, but her marriage has just failed, and at 40-something, she comes home to Melbourne when the TIF (Together in Freedom) memorial project comes along. She thinks it’s a project from hell – doomed to failure because its aims are so nebulous – but she feels drawn home and so she succumbs to the offer.
In Melbourne, she visits her sister Zoe. Zoe’s marriage to Elliot Wood is rotting beneath a thin crust of convention but as family Nina is privy to Elliot’s caustic spite that’s usually concealed beneath the public veneer. It makes the couple’s company painful, especially so when a trip down to the family beach-house turns out to be Zoe’s intrigue to meet up with Ramsay Blake, love of Zoe’s life since childhood. Ramsay is a virtuoso pianist with an international career, but his obsession with his music makes him narcisstic, selfish and purposefully helpless. His stepfather George Tiller is lured into his orbit and becomes his helpmeet, pushing aside all others including Ramsay’s brother Sean. Zoe has no hope of reciprocal love from Ramsay, but she pursues it all the same, rationalising his more-than-appalling behaviour towards her, and damaging her relationship with Elliot.
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2014/06/15/th...
July 29, 2024
As I have probably mentioned before I am fascinated by memory and identity. (Currently watching The I Land on Netflix.) So when I came across this n0vel by an Australian author I haven’t read before I decided to read it, although it is contemporary fiction.
I was immediately intrigued by the main character Nina Jameson. She is an “international consultant on memorial projects”. It is a very unusual job and does tie in nicely with the theme of memory and relationships. When her seemingly solid marriage breaks down in London she flees back to Australia and family. Here she is after Daniel walks out. A beautifully wrought and evocative moment:
“Alone now in her silent house she might have been turned to stone for all she could feel. Outside the wind stripped the last leaves from the trees, rain turned to sleet, the day closed down. At some point she turned on the lights, some hours later she extinguished them. She remained seated on the couch in the dark, paralysed and numb. She remained locked in limbo, outside time, outside geography. She remained there until dawn, the dawn of a future she did not want.”
In Melbourne Nina discovers that her sister’s marriage to Elliot, an American writer of biographies, is “rotting beneath a thin crust of convention”. And that she is still obsessed with the narcissistic Ramsay, the sisters’ childhood friend along with his brother Sean. Ramsay is a famous pianist and treats everyone around him abominably. The novel steps back in time to when all four were children and details the fracture of Ramsay and Sean’s family when their father dies and their mother later marries a man who takes over the handling and direction of Ramsay’s career. Nina never liked Ramsay and at the first opportunity leaves for university in Sydney.
We then delve into Sean’s life and more on Ramsay. Around 125 pages we go back to 1989 and New York where Zoe first meets Elliot. I found this chapter interesting but in a way I can’t divine, it seems too late in the novel. My favourite part of the book is when Elliot has left the family home and meets Beth a First Australian as she tells him herself. I love their conversations and the way they relate to each other. Of course Ramsay hangs over all of them and wondering what will happen to all the characters keeps the reader involved to the very end. And it actually didn’t end how I expected.
Finally, there are just two things I want to mention. A reader not at all interested in monuments and how they are funded, designed and built might find the details overwhelming and I felt the last few pages were rushed. Otherwise, a very enjoyable and very different read.
I was immediately intrigued by the main character Nina Jameson. She is an “international consultant on memorial projects”. It is a very unusual job and does tie in nicely with the theme of memory and relationships. When her seemingly solid marriage breaks down in London she flees back to Australia and family. Here she is after Daniel walks out. A beautifully wrought and evocative moment:
“Alone now in her silent house she might have been turned to stone for all she could feel. Outside the wind stripped the last leaves from the trees, rain turned to sleet, the day closed down. At some point she turned on the lights, some hours later she extinguished them. She remained seated on the couch in the dark, paralysed and numb. She remained locked in limbo, outside time, outside geography. She remained there until dawn, the dawn of a future she did not want.”
In Melbourne Nina discovers that her sister’s marriage to Elliot, an American writer of biographies, is “rotting beneath a thin crust of convention”. And that she is still obsessed with the narcissistic Ramsay, the sisters’ childhood friend along with his brother Sean. Ramsay is a famous pianist and treats everyone around him abominably. The novel steps back in time to when all four were children and details the fracture of Ramsay and Sean’s family when their father dies and their mother later marries a man who takes over the handling and direction of Ramsay’s career. Nina never liked Ramsay and at the first opportunity leaves for university in Sydney.
We then delve into Sean’s life and more on Ramsay. Around 125 pages we go back to 1989 and New York where Zoe first meets Elliot. I found this chapter interesting but in a way I can’t divine, it seems too late in the novel. My favourite part of the book is when Elliot has left the family home and meets Beth a First Australian as she tells him herself. I love their conversations and the way they relate to each other. Of course Ramsay hangs over all of them and wondering what will happen to all the characters keeps the reader involved to the very end. And it actually didn’t end how I expected.
Finally, there are just two things I want to mention. A reader not at all interested in monuments and how they are funded, designed and built might find the details overwhelming and I felt the last few pages were rushed. Otherwise, a very enjoyable and very different read.
December 26, 2013
Got about half way through, and realized I didn't care about any of the characters. Yawn. Moving on to the next one.
March 17, 2014
‘Later he will still wonder how it is possible to see someone, actually select from the surroundings, how you can possible know that this woman is important, that you are, in fact, facing your future.’
I love this sentence from ‘The Memory Trap’ almost as much as I hate the word resonate. But I am about to use it, I am and I hate myself for it. But his sentence really resonates for me, as it did for Elliott. He used it to describe his meeting with Zoe, all those years ago in Central Park, New York. He could, though, equally have used it on meeting Beth, whilst walking his dog beside Merri Creek, Melbourne, decades on. He is on sabbatical from Zoe, his brittle, fragile now wife – a woman who, for all of their marriage, has been patently in love with another man. Beth is a koori woman and is at the opposite end of the spectrum to his distant, disengaged spouse. It never takes much to change the projection of a life, a meeting with a stranger by a creek or, as in the case of your scribe, a photo arriving in an envelope. In a novel, jam- packed with intriguing relationships, the one Elliott forms with Beth, later in the book, is the one I relished the most. That creekside encounter is possibly the coming together of two fractured souls, but in its nature it is something not often written of. The man is an American in his fifties and their conversation between strangers leads to one night of sex. Beth is in her sixties, recently bereaved and still grieving. Elliott also grieves for his marriage dominated by another man, the seemingly Helfgottian savant, Ramsey. Beth is soft, luscious and exotic with her dark skin – so earthbound compared with his flighty, distracted Zoe. Although their sex finishes almost as soon as it started, Elliott and Beth spend all future nights entwined in each others arms and sharing a love that needs no words, no demonstration – and it is beautiful.
It is very hard to let go of the couples in this book – they are all flawed, but I wanted so much to continue on with them after I finally turned the last page on their journeys - journeys which, I felt, were so incomplete. I suspect Goldsmith is not the type of author prone to sequels, but this needy reader would sure celebrate one to this gem.
It is like a giant maze – the relationships that gather on Goldsmith’s pages. There’s Zoe – Elliott – Beth; then Zoe – Ramsey – George (the pianist’s stepfather); Ramsey - Sean (his gay brother); then, well you get the drift. Firstly, though, ‘The Memory Trap’ has the marriage of Nina (Zoe’s sister) and hubby Daniel as its main focus, but as it progresses the novel deftly broadens out to minutely examine the aforementioned and more. Early in the piece Daniel gets a fit of the ‘Peter Pans’, leaves Nina for a younger substitute, causing his wife to flee London, accepting a job in her former home town – Yarra City. Her occupation is the facilitation of memorial projects, giving the author ample leeway to riff on the nature of recognising the past. She loves riffing, this author, but it’s never a distraction – her topics all fit seamlessly into the context. And the provenances of her characters sure gives ample opportunity on all manner of subjects.
Speaking of characters, my favourite leaves it till towards the end to emerge from the thumbnail sketch Goldsmith initially gives her. Hayley, daughter to Zoe and Elliott, is a feisty sixteen year old, turning out to be more adult than the adults as she commences a journey of her own. So truncated was her emergence that, as a thread on which to piggyback a future – hint, hint – addition to Goldsmith’s oeuvre, she would be ideal.
Surely Goldsmith is one of our nation’s premier accessible wordsmiths, up there with Winton, Miller and Carroll. I loved her last, ‘Reunion’, and I loved this. Sadly the author lost her long term partner in life, poet Dorothy Porter, back in 2008. I trust the author has found a happy place to be in her life and continues to produce her literary diamonds for eons to come – maybe one being a sequel to this. In conclusion, I can only repeat, ‘If you have ever loved and lost – read it’
I love this sentence from ‘The Memory Trap’ almost as much as I hate the word resonate. But I am about to use it, I am and I hate myself for it. But his sentence really resonates for me, as it did for Elliott. He used it to describe his meeting with Zoe, all those years ago in Central Park, New York. He could, though, equally have used it on meeting Beth, whilst walking his dog beside Merri Creek, Melbourne, decades on. He is on sabbatical from Zoe, his brittle, fragile now wife – a woman who, for all of their marriage, has been patently in love with another man. Beth is a koori woman and is at the opposite end of the spectrum to his distant, disengaged spouse. It never takes much to change the projection of a life, a meeting with a stranger by a creek or, as in the case of your scribe, a photo arriving in an envelope. In a novel, jam- packed with intriguing relationships, the one Elliott forms with Beth, later in the book, is the one I relished the most. That creekside encounter is possibly the coming together of two fractured souls, but in its nature it is something not often written of. The man is an American in his fifties and their conversation between strangers leads to one night of sex. Beth is in her sixties, recently bereaved and still grieving. Elliott also grieves for his marriage dominated by another man, the seemingly Helfgottian savant, Ramsey. Beth is soft, luscious and exotic with her dark skin – so earthbound compared with his flighty, distracted Zoe. Although their sex finishes almost as soon as it started, Elliott and Beth spend all future nights entwined in each others arms and sharing a love that needs no words, no demonstration – and it is beautiful.
It is very hard to let go of the couples in this book – they are all flawed, but I wanted so much to continue on with them after I finally turned the last page on their journeys - journeys which, I felt, were so incomplete. I suspect Goldsmith is not the type of author prone to sequels, but this needy reader would sure celebrate one to this gem.
It is like a giant maze – the relationships that gather on Goldsmith’s pages. There’s Zoe – Elliott – Beth; then Zoe – Ramsey – George (the pianist’s stepfather); Ramsey - Sean (his gay brother); then, well you get the drift. Firstly, though, ‘The Memory Trap’ has the marriage of Nina (Zoe’s sister) and hubby Daniel as its main focus, but as it progresses the novel deftly broadens out to minutely examine the aforementioned and more. Early in the piece Daniel gets a fit of the ‘Peter Pans’, leaves Nina for a younger substitute, causing his wife to flee London, accepting a job in her former home town – Yarra City. Her occupation is the facilitation of memorial projects, giving the author ample leeway to riff on the nature of recognising the past. She loves riffing, this author, but it’s never a distraction – her topics all fit seamlessly into the context. And the provenances of her characters sure gives ample opportunity on all manner of subjects.
Speaking of characters, my favourite leaves it till towards the end to emerge from the thumbnail sketch Goldsmith initially gives her. Hayley, daughter to Zoe and Elliott, is a feisty sixteen year old, turning out to be more adult than the adults as she commences a journey of her own. So truncated was her emergence that, as a thread on which to piggyback a future – hint, hint – addition to Goldsmith’s oeuvre, she would be ideal.
Surely Goldsmith is one of our nation’s premier accessible wordsmiths, up there with Winton, Miller and Carroll. I loved her last, ‘Reunion’, and I loved this. Sadly the author lost her long term partner in life, poet Dorothy Porter, back in 2008. I trust the author has found a happy place to be in her life and continues to produce her literary diamonds for eons to come – maybe one being a sequel to this. In conclusion, I can only repeat, ‘If you have ever loved and lost – read it’
May 16, 2013
I was drawn into this book right from the beginning. By page 16 I was firmly hooked. Nina is the second wife of Daniel. I liked the interaction between them when he tells her he is leaving as has been having an affair for months. He says, “I’m sorry Nina, I really am. I didn't plan this.’
‘But neither did you stop it,’ she replies. That really says it all.
I liked the way the imagery of the way everyday occurrences without him was like ‘falling through thin ice. ‘And I loved the image of the snow turning the shrubs into ’giant cauliflowers.’ This is a beautifully written novel. I also liked that Nina’s anguish at Daniel’s defection is not interminably described, but left to the reader at times to fill in the blanks. Nina decides, life in London is too hard without Daniel and goes back to Melbourne to consult on a memorial project. Melbourne is where she lived when young and where her sister Zoe, her husband and two teenage children live. This also means she meets up again with Ramsay, a famous pianist and his brother Sean who she lived next door to as a child.
In the way of memory the story dips in and out between the present and the past. As it does the reader comes to understand more of each of the characters and what has shaped them. The reader experiences each character’s emotions thoughts and feelings. It is a novel about marriage and loss, about love and obsession, remembrance and resentment and of letting the past shape you or moving on with life.
Even though at times I heartily disagreed with some aspects, for example the reaction to Ramsey’s violent actions in New York, and the comments about selfless love, I couldn’t help but keep reading. Elliot, Zoe's husband and a biographer of literary women, comes across initially as cold and verbally abusive to Zoe when we first meet him but as we discover more we see what makes him behave as he does. We see how a corrosive love or obsession can affects a person’s life and those of family around them. These are complex people that show not just the selfishness at times of genius but the selfishness of humanity.
‘But neither did you stop it,’ she replies. That really says it all.
I liked the way the imagery of the way everyday occurrences without him was like ‘falling through thin ice. ‘And I loved the image of the snow turning the shrubs into ’giant cauliflowers.’ This is a beautifully written novel. I also liked that Nina’s anguish at Daniel’s defection is not interminably described, but left to the reader at times to fill in the blanks. Nina decides, life in London is too hard without Daniel and goes back to Melbourne to consult on a memorial project. Melbourne is where she lived when young and where her sister Zoe, her husband and two teenage children live. This also means she meets up again with Ramsay, a famous pianist and his brother Sean who she lived next door to as a child.
In the way of memory the story dips in and out between the present and the past. As it does the reader comes to understand more of each of the characters and what has shaped them. The reader experiences each character’s emotions thoughts and feelings. It is a novel about marriage and loss, about love and obsession, remembrance and resentment and of letting the past shape you or moving on with life.
Even though at times I heartily disagreed with some aspects, for example the reaction to Ramsey’s violent actions in New York, and the comments about selfless love, I couldn’t help but keep reading. Elliot, Zoe's husband and a biographer of literary women, comes across initially as cold and verbally abusive to Zoe when we first meet him but as we discover more we see what makes him behave as he does. We see how a corrosive love or obsession can affects a person’s life and those of family around them. These are complex people that show not just the selfishness at times of genius but the selfishness of humanity.
June 22, 2017
I feel a little conflicted about this book. There were elements of it that I really liked, especially the Elliot/Beth scenario and it was great the way she explored different types of relationships and different types of love and loss. The focus on memory/imagination/monuments was potentially fascinating but, in reality, I found it rather dry, as I did many other elements of this book. The style adopted to examine these issues kept the more emotional/humane aspect experienced by the array of characters at a distance, preventing me from really being able to engage with them on a humane level, and left me with the feeling that it was more an academic exercise rather than a story.
February 18, 2014
Not long ago I ditched all the emails I had from an old relationship. I made myself do it without opening the folder. The hoarder gene is strong in me – but so too is a desire to keep touch with the past through objects. A colleague told me that she was only able to throw away things which had belonged to her mother (useless things) after she’d photographed them. And I think this digital age adds another element – as technology changes, some mementos become lost to us. Two short stories I wrote are stored on an old Apple Mac. I think I have hard copies somewhere- but maybe not.
This book is about a few things – the ways in which people cling to a past representation of something or someone, and the ways in which people try to remember events of significance. Like all of Goldsmith’s work, there is a strong intellectual vein – she is interested in ideas as well as people. The lead character Nina is a ‘Monuments consultant’ – she’s the person you call in when someone important dies and a committee wants to create a monument – or when something like 9/11 happens. I liked this aspect of the novel – Nina is called in to work with a group in Melbourne (the Together in Freedom (TIF) coalition) who want to build a different kind of memorial; not one to a war or a great politician but ‘a monument to promote religious tolerance, unity in diversity, individual courage, and freedom for all’.
She’s got reservations about this and, like a good consultant, she works with this group to talk them out of the idea. I was kind of inwardly smiling reading this section, remembering being drawn into a similar group once who wanted to bring students from different religious affiliations together to build mutual understandings (it was post 9/11). What they were aiming for was very worthy but when I suggested that they should also target kids in government schools without any perceived religious affiliation, they all reeled back in disdain. It was a great unifier. I would have liked more of this group and Nina’s interaction than played out in the plot.
I was interested in what she wrote about monuments – the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, the Sibelius Park and Monument, the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation with its moving poem by Desnos, the very strange and creepy Boy Scout Memorial in Washington. I also liked the exploration of the ways in which we can become stuck on someone, or our image of someone, and unable to move on or to see that the attachment is doing us no good. I think this is a very common condition. And for other characters, they memorialise a dead lover by preserving their lives in aspic – it’s like parents who retain a dead child’s bedroom exactly as it was when they were alive. I understand this desire.
So there were things to like, and things that didn’t work so well with this novel. The title made me think of gully traps - houses don't tend to have them any more - my personal and metaphorical collection of 'monuments' and might be more like a gully trap than anything elegant. Old tea leaves,gristle and a certain dankness...
This book is about a few things – the ways in which people cling to a past representation of something or someone, and the ways in which people try to remember events of significance. Like all of Goldsmith’s work, there is a strong intellectual vein – she is interested in ideas as well as people. The lead character Nina is a ‘Monuments consultant’ – she’s the person you call in when someone important dies and a committee wants to create a monument – or when something like 9/11 happens. I liked this aspect of the novel – Nina is called in to work with a group in Melbourne (the Together in Freedom (TIF) coalition) who want to build a different kind of memorial; not one to a war or a great politician but ‘a monument to promote religious tolerance, unity in diversity, individual courage, and freedom for all’.
She’s got reservations about this and, like a good consultant, she works with this group to talk them out of the idea. I was kind of inwardly smiling reading this section, remembering being drawn into a similar group once who wanted to bring students from different religious affiliations together to build mutual understandings (it was post 9/11). What they were aiming for was very worthy but when I suggested that they should also target kids in government schools without any perceived religious affiliation, they all reeled back in disdain. It was a great unifier. I would have liked more of this group and Nina’s interaction than played out in the plot.
I was interested in what she wrote about monuments – the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, the Sibelius Park and Monument, the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation with its moving poem by Desnos, the very strange and creepy Boy Scout Memorial in Washington. I also liked the exploration of the ways in which we can become stuck on someone, or our image of someone, and unable to move on or to see that the attachment is doing us no good. I think this is a very common condition. And for other characters, they memorialise a dead lover by preserving their lives in aspic – it’s like parents who retain a dead child’s bedroom exactly as it was when they were alive. I understand this desire.
So there were things to like, and things that didn’t work so well with this novel. The title made me think of gully traps - houses don't tend to have them any more - my personal and metaphorical collection of 'monuments' and might be more like a gully trap than anything elegant. Old tea leaves,gristle and a certain dankness...
August 29, 2013
After her husband leaves her for another woman Nina returns to her hometown of Melbourne on a commission to explore the building of a monument to peace. There she is drawn back into the complex of relationships between family and friends. As the story unfolds we learn about her sister Zoe's dysfunctional marriage, Zoe's obsession with the pianist Ramsay and the conflict between Ramsay and his brother Sean. Complex characters in beautiful settings are juxtaposed with discussions about the role of memorials. What is their purpose: to keep memories alive or to provoke reflection. As the novel moves back and forward in time and between London, New York and Melbourne the story sometimes becomes disjointed and the concluding chapters are too obviously tidying up loose ends, but despite these issues I found the book very rewarding.
November 5, 2015
Thought this was a pretentious bore - it's essentially a trashy chick lit but with faux intellectual flourishes. Plus the end made me so grumpy.
October 23, 2016
This is a complex novel about how memory can sustain or undermine people's decisions and future.
On one level it's a story of relationships. Sisters Nina and Zoe grow up in Melbourne next to brothers Ramsay and Sean. Ramsay is a precociusly talented pianist who grows up to be a concert performer but remains unable to relate to anything or anyone beyond his musical world. Zoe is almost addicted to Ramsay, despite having sought refuge in marriage to Elliot. Nina has had a late marriage which has failed. The story moves backwards and forwards in time and place (London, Melbourne, New York) and perspectives shift between many different characters. This confused me at times but the characters and ideas drew me on.
On another level this is about the value and the pitfalls of memory and memorials. Nina is a 'memorialiser' - she is employed to take memorial projects through from their conception to their completion. Through this strand, Goldsmith introduces us to many monuments around the world and had me going to the internet to find out more about them and think about memorials that have moved me: the AIDS memorial quilt, the bronze shoes by the Danube in Budapest (for the Jews that were shot and drowned in the river) and some of the monuments along Anzac Parade in Canberra.
Although I found the writing a little uneven at times, this novel absorbed me in its ideas and its flawed but entirely human characters. It has given me much to think about - a rich reading experience.
On one level it's a story of relationships. Sisters Nina and Zoe grow up in Melbourne next to brothers Ramsay and Sean. Ramsay is a precociusly talented pianist who grows up to be a concert performer but remains unable to relate to anything or anyone beyond his musical world. Zoe is almost addicted to Ramsay, despite having sought refuge in marriage to Elliot. Nina has had a late marriage which has failed. The story moves backwards and forwards in time and place (London, Melbourne, New York) and perspectives shift between many different characters. This confused me at times but the characters and ideas drew me on.
On another level this is about the value and the pitfalls of memory and memorials. Nina is a 'memorialiser' - she is employed to take memorial projects through from their conception to their completion. Through this strand, Goldsmith introduces us to many monuments around the world and had me going to the internet to find out more about them and think about memorials that have moved me: the AIDS memorial quilt, the bronze shoes by the Danube in Budapest (for the Jews that were shot and drowned in the river) and some of the monuments along Anzac Parade in Canberra.
Although I found the writing a little uneven at times, this novel absorbed me in its ideas and its flawed but entirely human characters. It has given me much to think about - a rich reading experience.
September 8, 2016
I enjoyed this novel, especially the study of the idealised love of Zoe for the flawed Ramsey. His self-obsession is only equalled by Zoe's obsession for him, to the exclusion of her husband, children and other family and friends. The book draws in many other topics, music, poetry, biography, and particularly the study of monuments, what works and why. At times it feels like non-fiction, such is the depth of discussion. Overall a satisfying and somewhat unusual novel.
September 6, 2014
This book is about the impact of the past; how we process memory. However each of the characters in this book seem to be defined by a single event, and for a ridiculous amount of time. For the minor characters this is their relationship with musical prodigy who demands their devotion.
Really?
I would have thought that twenty years would have allowed them to move on, see him for who he is and find other interests. The main character's heartache over the departure of her husband with his new lover, is more realistic. But this book doesnt really deal with how she might forgive or forget a catastrophic event like that. Characters in this book lack complexity, and while its themes are interesting, it is ultimately flat, too neat and very disappointing.
Really?
I would have thought that twenty years would have allowed them to move on, see him for who he is and find other interests. The main character's heartache over the departure of her husband with his new lover, is more realistic. But this book doesnt really deal with how she might forgive or forget a catastrophic event like that. Characters in this book lack complexity, and while its themes are interesting, it is ultimately flat, too neat and very disappointing.
March 21, 2015
A fantastic read. At the beginning of the book we are introduced to Nina, the central character. Her relationship has fallen apart and she is drawn home to Australia due to her work as a monuments consultant.
In the course of the book we are drawn into the lives of her sister, husband and the two sons who the sister's lived next door to growing up.
Slowly the story unfolds the complexity of relationships between them which have been entangled over many years with different repercussions.
The characters were interesting and well drawn. And I particularly enjoyed the unfolding of the relationship between Nina's sister and her husband.
It was well constructed and drew me in. I would highly recommend it.
In the course of the book we are drawn into the lives of her sister, husband and the two sons who the sister's lived next door to growing up.
Slowly the story unfolds the complexity of relationships between them which have been entangled over many years with different repercussions.
The characters were interesting and well drawn. And I particularly enjoyed the unfolding of the relationship between Nina's sister and her husband.
It was well constructed and drew me in. I would highly recommend it.
September 14, 2018
Interesting ideas about memory and what should be remembered but didn’t feel quite finished. The ending felt hasty. Ramsay was so well created as the selfish genius who sucked everyone else’s life into his and the depiction of Elliott’s and Zoe’s marriage was painful. Beautifully drawn characters and engaging story.
July 27, 2019
"Perhaps you hang on to the past even if it's painful because it means you don't have to be responsible for the future...It's easier to cling to a lost past than throw yourself on life's uncertain winds." Goldsmith's flawed, vulnerable characters certainly find themselves trapped in the memories of lost relationships, initially uncertain of the direction their lives can now travel. The stories behind these breakdowns were not the most engaging for me, perhaps because her characters were not particularly likeable, though well drawn, and because several of the relationships were dysfunctional in the first place.
What was engaging, however, was the exploration of memory itself and, tied to that through the consultant work of the main character, Nina, a study of the function of memorials and monuments in our modern society. Had the novel dwelt more with this focus, the novel would have been more literary.
What was engaging, however, was the exploration of memory itself and, tied to that through the consultant work of the main character, Nina, a study of the function of memorials and monuments in our modern society. Had the novel dwelt more with this focus, the novel would have been more literary.
February 12, 2025
This reflective story of a group of academic thinkers, friendship forged in the heady days of University and the first freedoms of being out of home and able to explore ‘real life’, is a beautiful study of human life.
The deep dive into memory and forgetting is particular and astutely rendered. The philosophical approach lamenting the advent of computers and the loss of focus. The cerebral contemplation of the creation of intellect and then, devastatingly, its decline.
I make it sound as though this is heavy going to read and that would be misleading. This is an engrossing story for lovers of stories that tell of life.
The deep dive into memory and forgetting is particular and astutely rendered. The philosophical approach lamenting the advent of computers and the loss of focus. The cerebral contemplation of the creation of intellect and then, devastatingly, its decline.
I make it sound as though this is heavy going to read and that would be misleading. This is an engrossing story for lovers of stories that tell of life.
August 17, 2023
I really enjoyed this book club read, I liked the way the reader naturally forms an initial picture of the characters, but then comes to understand them much better as the book unfolds. Nina's job is interesting and I enjoyed her thoughts and discussions about memorials. I also liked that much of the book is set in Melbourne, in places that are somewhat familiar, and in range if I wish to visit them. I will be reading more from this author.
March 9, 2025
At first I wasn’t sure whether this book had a point. It seems to jump around between characters and timelines too much. But then as each character’s story develops and entwines with the other characters the book gains a momentum.
I also spent some time looking up the monuments mentioned in Nina’s work - some interesting monuments to historical events are found around the world that I didn’t know of until today.
I also spent some time looking up the monuments mentioned in Nina’s work - some interesting monuments to historical events are found around the world that I didn’t know of until today.
September 13, 2018
This book has me completely torn in trying to review it. On one hand, I loved the thoughts this novel provoked in regards to love and loss, the memories we hold and how we memorialize our memories. However, on the other hand, I struggled with understanding some of the characters and at times the plot.
But the best book I've read, but still invoked a lot of thought
But the best book I've read, but still invoked a lot of thought
April 28, 2019
I enjoyed this exploration of love, loss and memory. The different types of love that the characters experience and the way things evolve was believable and real. I found the memorial discussions quite thought provoking. Through the story lines, there is much to ponder, and I will find myself coming back to think about the issues raised in this book.
August 13, 2025
A book that says a lot about memory and the past, but the main characters have learnt nothing from the past, they carry around an immense amount of baggage and seem to wallow in their childhood memories. Some of the characters were just awful and their appeal seemed misguided. I finished the book but by the last page I’d had enough of these insufferable people.
March 16, 2021
Dnf , I've tried to read this book twice and it seems to begin ok but then goes off on a tangent that doesn't lure me to invest any further.
August 22, 2022
I enjoyed this book *until* the very last sentence. I didn’t like the final ending
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2025
Perhaps 3.5
October 20, 2017
I wanted to read a few books about Melbs since I used to live there. This was one of the first ones I read. I didn't get very far, unfortunately. I could not relate to any of the characters, especially not the pianist neighbor. What did the main character see in him anyway?
October 28, 2020
Woman's devotion to talented pianist - felt too farfetched.
May 16, 2013
Impressive. This author has a very philosophical style, without driving you crazy like Lionel Shriver does. "Fantasies and obsessions deserve a full cognitive landscape; allow the smallest space and reason might creep in." Sometimes we remember what we want to remember, and imagination is usually a subset of memory. A once positive memory when returned to, can be viewed in a different light with hindsight and newer knowledge. "So many things - ancient trees, books, memories, monuments - give the impression they'll endure. But they don't. And a marriage? You want it to be solid, you want it to be secure. But it lumbers into the future on the back of its past; a past of castles, a past of straw....Perhaps you hang on to the past even if it's painful because you don't have to be responsible for the future. Resentment, envy, jealousy, all these occupy a lot of space, no room to think, no opportunity to evaluate or reconsider. It's easier to cling to a lost past than throw yourself on life's uncertain winds."
September 9, 2013
A book full of complex, flawed and driven characters. They are more talented, more dramatic, bigger than we are, but at the same time utterly recognisable. For all their exceptional qualities, they feel love and pain the way we do. I particularly liked the way Goldsmith doesn’t exactly describe how Nina, completely unprepared for her betrayal by her husband Daniel, goes through her grief. Instead, the author points out that we already know what grief is like, and Nina’s is no different from our own. I loved the big ideas, the whole subject of memory – public and private – and of genius. The wonderful musical references made me determined to go back and make myself a list of every piece mentioned. I also loved the style of this book, the language, the long and winding road from the beginning of a sentence to the end. I felt as though I was feasting on something expensive, and rare to the point of being endangered in a world of fast food.
April 2, 2016
This was an odd book. It was very difficult to feel sympathy for the characters. Nina, an expat returns to Australia to advise on a memorial project. This leads to lots of philosophical discussion about memory and memorials which I found rather tedious. Then there is her relationship with her erstwhile husband Daniel, the love of her life who has just traded her in on a younger model.
Meanwhile in Australia, her sister Zoe is unhappily married but obsessed with her childhood sweetheart and musical prodigy Ramsay. Who is somewhere on the autism spectrum. He treats her like shit unless it suits him and is oblivious to her feelings. The wierd bunch of unappealing characters is completed by Zoe's husband Eliot who has an affair with a random Koorie woman that he picks up in the park. If it were not for bookclub, I don't think I would have bothered.
Meanwhile in Australia, her sister Zoe is unhappily married but obsessed with her childhood sweetheart and musical prodigy Ramsay. Who is somewhere on the autism spectrum. He treats her like shit unless it suits him and is oblivious to her feelings. The wierd bunch of unappealing characters is completed by Zoe's husband Eliot who has an affair with a random Koorie woman that he picks up in the park. If it were not for bookclub, I don't think I would have bothered.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2014
Enjoyable, a good relationship study (even though some of the characters were annoying). Refreshing in that it was actually somewhat unpredictable --- liked that her job was a 'monument' expert - hadn't really thought of that as a business before. Her impressions of returning to Australia after living overseas were interesting. Some good lines "She searched for useless facts on line; she spent hours on Facebook; she read blogs - trivial, interesting, proselytising, it didn't matter; she set up home in YouTube, anything to use up time and stifle thought." " Sometimes the message to be taken from not doing something is that you never really wanted to do it in the first place." "I probably would have suggested I drive even if it was your car - I'm a shocking passenger".
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