The Art of Forgetting by Peter Palmieri (Book Review)

About the Book

A contemporary medical suspense with an engaging romantic element, set in the western suburbs of Chicago. A brilliant author trapped by his crippling amnesia. The only one who can free him, a doctor plagued by his past. When dark forces threatens to quash Dr. Lloyd Copeland's controversial cure, his career and his life, he discovers that falling in love is the ultimate complication. Dr. Lloyd Copeland is a young neurologist who is tormented by the conviction that he has inherited the severe, early-onset dementia that has plagued his family for generations - the very disease which spurred his father to take his own life when Lloyd was just a child. Withdrawn to a life of emotional detachment, he looks for solace in hollow sexual trysts as a way to escape his throbbing loneliness. Still, he clings to the hope that the highly controversial treatment for memory loss he has devised may stem his genetic destiny and free him from his family's curse. But when odd mishaps take place in his laboratory, his research is blocked by a hospital review board headed by Erin Kennedy: a beautiful medical ethicist with a link to his troubled childhood. The fight to salvage his reputation and recover the hope for his own cure brings him face to face with sordid secrets that rock his very self-identity. And to make matters worse, he finds himself falling irretrievably in love with the very woman who seems intent on thwarting his efforts. The Art of Forgetting weaves the suspense of a Tess Gerritsen novel with the heartfelt contemplation of Abraham Verghese. The result is a memorable story that will keep you thinking long after you read the last page.

My Review (4 / 5 Stars)

Rivetting. What a great story.

There's this doctor, a neuroscientist, in truth. He's afflicted with a family curse: every man in his family for generations has succumbed to the effects of Alzheimer's Disease. Because of this, he's made it his life's work to try to find a cure, but he's also foresworn himself to love, because after seeing what his mother went through when his father committed suicide, he never wants to put a woman through that pain.

When he gets caught in some sticky legal situations with his research, though, it's up to him to try and find out what's going on. Is he being deliberately blocked and, if so, why and by whom?

The pacing is just perfect, and the stakes are nice and high. The copy needs some work, but it's very well researched. If you enjoy a good medical drama, you're sure to enjoy this book.

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