Before I review this novella let me add a disclaimer: I rarely give 5-star reviews unless the novel is life-changing or simply so good there is no other option. Most novels deserve a 3-star review because in today's book market most novels are average. That means there are so many good authors it takes something special to stand-out.
That being said, "Remember" is a solid 4-star on the cusp of a 5. The author is extremely skilled on a technical basis (although he has adopted the modern convention of dropping the Oxford comma, which distracted me) and a wonderful storyteller.
The novel was gritty where it needed to be, yet soft and flowing at appropriate times. The combination of hard and gentle wove together into a story I couldn't put down.
I won't give away the plot but it was an intriguing love story mixed with noir elements of alcohol, sex, abuse, and drugs. A little mysticism was also mixed in from both Eastern and Western theology which I found compelling.
The author pulled themes and plot devices from several different genres and made them work to create a feeling of uniqueness while still giving the reader the comfort of knowing what to expect. That's not to say it was predictable but we all want our tropes to follow a formula we know. Jamali managed to accomplish that while still giving us a somewhat unique experience: bravo!
Why not give a novella I enjoyed so much a 5-star? Because what could have been an epic read was limited by a lack of detail, and a rapid pacing, that left questions and plot holes. Leaving a reader wanting more is an admirable talent unless it results in the reader saying to themselves, "The story could have been better if only..."
As an author that writes in a similar style, and genre, I understand how it happens. We write the stories as they come to us and our brains fill in the blanks that are not written. In so doing, we forget the reader isn't in our mind, and doesn't see all of the connections, and back stories, that have been built in our imaginations. Had a few, not all, of those details been included in this story it would have been one of my few 5-star reviews.
It could have been epic, but instead it's going down as just a really great read.
4-stars. Highly recommended.