Recursion

Crouch, Blake. Recursion. New York: Crown 2019. Print

First Sentences:

Barry Sutton pulls over into the fire lane at the main entrance of the Poe Building, an Art Deco tower glowing white in the illumination of its exterior sconces

Description:

An odd situation has befallen the world in Blake Crouch's novel Recursion. People are suffering from False Memory Syndrome (FMS), a condition where they suddenly remember living a completely different life right up to the present moment: new families, kids, jobs, neighborhoods, etc. These alternate history memories are seen by each person in black and white, almost like a dream, but seem unnervingly real. They still find themselves living their completely different, yet explainable life and, for some people, this dichotomy is too much and a rash of suicides occurs worldwide. 

There are so few things in our existence we can count on to give us the sense of permanence, of the ground beneath our feet. People fail us. Our bodies fail us. We fail ourselves...But what do you cling to, moment to moment, if memories can simply change. What, then, is real?

Two people are deeply involved in FMS and its causes: Barry Sutton, a New York City cop investigating the suicides, and Helena Smith, a neuroscientist working on experiments to preserve memories. She envisions creating a memory recorder so her mother and other Alzheimer's patients might someday preserve memories and then have these precious memories re-installed into their damaged brains so the the patients might experience them once again.   

But when Helena finds a deep-pocketed investor with a visionary agenda, her experiments expand vastly and lead to interesting results. Her invention can potentially alter the course of history well beyond restoring a few memories. But is the change her invention offers for the better or worse? After all, what could go wrong with re-experiencing one's own past? It is up to Helena and Barry to team up to unwind the complexity of time, memory, and human nature and restore the world to normalcy.

It is a challenging premise that memories are essential to the concept of time and reality, and that by altering an individual's memories, time and history can be completely altered. Mind-bending, I know, but oh so compelling and interesting in premise and repercussions.

That's all you get from me. The rest of the surprises you'll have to find for yourself. To give any more away would spoil the incredible directions the plot carries you. Very highly recommended.

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveller's Wife.   

Newlyweds Clare and Henry struggle to preserve their love and relationship despite Henry's severe case of Chrono-Displacement Disorder which causes him to time travel at unexpected times. Beautifully written.