Play Book Tag discussion

Peng Shepherd's debut novel The Book of M is a compelling, sprawling book that leaves questions dangling and the mind in a whirl. It is dystopian, apocalyptic with bits of magical realism thrown into the boot . It moves from the perspectives of Orly a shadowed man, Max his shadowless wife, the amnesiac and Mahnazed Ahmandi a shadowed woman.


Why had it turned out to be that shadows were the parts of bodies where memories were stored?

One person in India lost his shadow and then more and more, until there was a world wide epidemic of shadowless. The loss of shadows accompanied the slow loss of memories with the pull of magic.

Shepherd presents us with a novel that is a puzzle and a quest. I was compelled to join the journey. It is a strange trip, but I can't help thinking about it.

I found a couple of author interviews for anyone interested in the book. In the first interview, I found it interesting that Shepherd says she likes big sprawling books like Stephen King's The Stand, because parts of The Book of M reminded me of The Stand.

https://mylifemybooksmyescape.wordpre...

The second interview gives a bit more detail about the book:

http://www.writersbone.com/interviews...

Thanks BnB! Great to have the links. What an intriguing concept for a book

KateNZ wrote: "Thanks BnB! Great to have the links. What an intriguing concept for a book"

I love to read author's interviews and I wanted to find out a bit more about what Shepherd was thinking when she wrote the book. I thought her process of writing was interesting.

It is. I think it is one that will stay with me for a while.

The whole memory loss thing parallels Alzheimer's . I think of my mom who lost her memory bit by bit.

Wow, that could be really distressing. But as Shepherd says, memory is such an interesting thing to explore

Thanks for this review. You an I often agree on books and I’ve been contemplating this book (whether or not to read it) for some time.

Jen wrote: "Thanks for this review. You an I often agree on books and I’ve been contemplating this book (whether or not to read it) for some time."

I'd love it if you read it as I think it is a book meant for discussion.

I was torn between this one and Red Clocks for dystopian, but I chose this one. I expect to still read Red Clocks but not sure if I will get it in this month.

KateNZ wrote: "Wow, that could be really distressing. But as Shepherd says, memory is such an interesting thing to explore"

People were not happy to lose their shadows, but of course after the first few, they knew what it meant. People with Alzheimer's often aren't' aware of what is happening. My mom often told me "I'm so confused."

The story of Max and Orly in the book is quite powerful. I think that the characters are pretty well drawn.