What Alice Forgot
- First published 2009
- English
Alice Love is twenty-nine, madly in love with her husband, and pregnant with their first child. At least, that's what she believes. After a fall at the gym, she wakes up to discover she is actually a thirty-nine-year-old mother of three in the middle of a bitter divorce. A decade of her life has vanished from her memory, and the woman she has become is a stranger to her: a fitness-obsessed, impeccably dressed person with strained relationships and a life she doesn't recognize or want.
As Alice pieces together the last ten years from conversations, emails, and her own bewildering actions, she must navigate a world where she is an outsider in her own life. She has to figure out why her sister barely speaks to her and what could have possibly happened to turn the love of her life into a man she's about to divorce. Forced to re-examine the choices she can't remember making, Alice must decide if forgetting is a terrible curse or an unexpected chance to start over and reclaim the life, and the love, she thought she had lost forever.
As Alice pieces together the last ten years from conversations, emails, and her own bewildering actions, she must navigate a world where she is an outsider in her own life. She has to figure out why her sister barely speaks to her and what could have possibly happened to turn the love of her life into a man she's about to divorce. Forced to re-examine the choices she can't remember making, Alice must decide if forgetting is a terrible curse or an unexpected chance to start over and reclaim the life, and the love, she thought she had lost forever.
What readers say
4.07
529K ratings across the web 8 in 10 readers loved it
What Alice Forgot is widely praised for its incredibly engaging and thought-provoking premise, where a woman loses ten years of her memory and must re-evaluate her life from a past perspective. Reviewers frequently highlight how the story encourages readers to reflect on their own personal growth, choices, and how relationships evolve over time. Many found the characters, including Alice, her husband, sister, and grandmother, to be complex, relatable, and multi-layered, despite their flaws. The writing style is often described as effortlessly readable, humorous, and witty, drawing readers into a narrative that skillfully balances heartwarming moments with emotional depth, exploring themes of family dynamics, love, loss, and the complexities of human connection. The unique structure, incorporating different perspectives through letters and journal entries, also added to the richness of the storytelling for many.
However, some readers found the book to be overly long and repetitive, suggesting that the narrative could have been more concise, with several hundred pages deemed unnecessary filler. Criticism was also directed at certain aspects of characterization, with some finding Alice's "younger" self occasionally irritating or unrealistic, and her "older" self perceived as harsh or one-dimensional by a few. Specific subplots and interludes, such as the sister's journal entries or certain secondary character arcs, were sometimes viewed as uninteresting or distracting from the main story. A few reviewers felt the book lacked significant external conflict, leaning heavily into internal domestic drama, and some found the overall plot to be "pedestrian" or even "boring," failing to deliver the "aha" moments they anticipated.
Overall, What Alice Forgot is largely considered a fantastic and emotionally resonant work of women's fiction that balances humor with poignant insights into life's changes. It is highly recommended for readers who enjoy character-driven stories of self-discovery, family relationships, and personal reflection. Those who appreciate Liane Moriarty's signature blend of wit, warmth, and depth, or authors who explore everyday life with a thought-provoking twist, will likely find this book deeply satisfying. It particularly appeals to those open to contemplating how their past selves would view their present lives and the journey of personal evolution.
However, some readers found the book to be overly long and repetitive, suggesting that the narrative could have been more concise, with several hundred pages deemed unnecessary filler. Criticism was also directed at certain aspects of characterization, with some finding Alice's "younger" self occasionally irritating or unrealistic, and her "older" self perceived as harsh or one-dimensional by a few. Specific subplots and interludes, such as the sister's journal entries or certain secondary character arcs, were sometimes viewed as uninteresting or distracting from the main story. A few reviewers felt the book lacked significant external conflict, leaning heavily into internal domestic drama, and some found the overall plot to be "pedestrian" or even "boring," failing to deliver the "aha" moments they anticipated.
Overall, What Alice Forgot is largely considered a fantastic and emotionally resonant work of women's fiction that balances humor with poignant insights into life's changes. It is highly recommended for readers who enjoy character-driven stories of self-discovery, family relationships, and personal reflection. Those who appreciate Liane Moriarty's signature blend of wit, warmth, and depth, or authors who explore everyday life with a thought-provoking twist, will likely find this book deeply satisfying. It particularly appeals to those open to contemplating how their past selves would view their present lives and the journey of personal evolution.
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Details & editions
- This edition
- Bolinda Audio, 2010
- ISBN
- 9781742674001
- Language
- English
Original edition What Alice Forgot Originally published in 2009 · English · Pan Australia
