Penguin, May 2012
Camille Noe Pagán's debut novel is about a health magazine editor who is obsessed with shedding ten pounds - that is, until her best friend, Julia, is hit by a taxi cab and suffers dramatic brain damage, which serves to put everything else into perspective.
Marissa Rogers is an editor at Svelte magazine, which is strikingly similar to Pagán's own background as a health and wellness journalist for publications such as Self and Women's Health. Pagán got the idea for the novel while writing an article on brain injury in young woman, which is identical to the article that Marissa attempts to write after Julia's accident.
As Marissa deals with her best friend acting like a twelve year old in the wake of the accident, Julia helps an old love finds his way back into Marissa's life, which has the potential to cause tension between her and her live-in-boyfriend, Dave. Marissa is left wondering what could have been. She has a decision to make between two men, and Julia is not making it any easier. She regularly reminds Marissa that although she is the one who asked Marissa to break up with Nathan years ago, the two of them are truly meant to be - and she has no problem telling this to Dave, either.
Marissa is used to having to compete with her gorgeous best friend for everything, but now she finds herself pitying Julia, and also getting frustrated by her fixations and forgetfulness. It is clear that the accident affected much more than Julia's head, and readers watch on as Marissa tries to repair the dynamics of a lifelong friendship that just does not seem to work anymore. She is torn between forgetting or forgiving, moving on or making up. And it does not help that Julia's injury has caused her to keep bringing up things from the past, which allow Marissa to see that she has been Julia's puppet from the beginning.
Camille Noe Pagán's debut novel is about a health magazine editor who is obsessed with shedding ten pounds - that is, until her best friend, Julia, is hit by a taxi cab and suffers dramatic brain damage, which serves to put everything else into perspective.
Marissa Rogers is an editor at Svelte magazine, which is strikingly similar to Pagán's own background as a health and wellness journalist for publications such as Self and Women's Health. Pagán got the idea for the novel while writing an article on brain injury in young woman, which is identical to the article that Marissa attempts to write after Julia's accident.
As Marissa deals with her best friend acting like a twelve year old in the wake of the accident, Julia helps an old love finds his way back into Marissa's life, which has the potential to cause tension between her and her live-in-boyfriend, Dave. Marissa is left wondering what could have been. She has a decision to make between two men, and Julia is not making it any easier. She regularly reminds Marissa that although she is the one who asked Marissa to break up with Nathan years ago, the two of them are truly meant to be - and she has no problem telling this to Dave, either.
Marissa is used to having to compete with her gorgeous best friend for everything, but now she finds herself pitying Julia, and also getting frustrated by her fixations and forgetfulness. It is clear that the accident affected much more than Julia's head, and readers watch on as Marissa tries to repair the dynamics of a lifelong friendship that just does not seem to work anymore. She is torn between forgetting or forgiving, moving on or making up. And it does not help that Julia's injury has caused her to keep bringing up things from the past, which allow Marissa to see that she has been Julia's puppet from the beginning.
There are also family problems, and Marissa has to juggle her mother, who is obsessed with her daughter's weight (as in, "Don't you think you should have a salad instead of that pizza?" in front of her boyfriend's parents), and her newly formed relationship with her sister, Sarah. On top of this, Marissa is becoming more and more unhappy at her job (one can only write about the newest diet fads so many times, she laments).
But soon after Julia's accident, right in the middle of Marissa's rut, a colleague sets her up with a volunteer position as a coach at an after-school running program. There, Marissa finds the confidence and courage to take her life into her own hands and find her true happiness.
By the time I was done wondering whether or not I was actually enjoying Camille Noe Pagán's The Art of Forgetting, it was over. It is extremely fast-paced, and this reviewer finished it in 24 hours. In the end, it is a tale about lasting friendship and learning to appreciate life. At the very least, it is a light, quick read that pulls on your heartstrings.
But soon after Julia's accident, right in the middle of Marissa's rut, a colleague sets her up with a volunteer position as a coach at an after-school running program. There, Marissa finds the confidence and courage to take her life into her own hands and find her true happiness.
By the time I was done wondering whether or not I was actually enjoying Camille Noe Pagán's The Art of Forgetting, it was over. It is extremely fast-paced, and this reviewer finished it in 24 hours. In the end, it is a tale about lasting friendship and learning to appreciate life. At the very least, it is a light, quick read that pulls on your heartstrings.
Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
