The Forgetting Time: A Novel

This is one of the better books I've read recently. Interesting premise about consciousness existing after physical death, which makes for a good story, but the author has also done a tremendous job with defining each of the characters. I wouldn't call this a "feel good" book - there are a lot of sad bits for every character. But the pacing is excellent, and this is a book that is hard to put down. I suspect that I will think about this book a lot in coming months\years.

After reading all the great reviews, and interested in the different story focus on the possibility of reincarnation, I bought this book. While well-written, it fell somewhat below my expectations. The first half of the book really drags. It is not an enjoyable read. The characters are all distressed to the point of almost lacking the ability to cope with life. The mother (understandingly) is struggling with a very difficult 4 year old who insists he has another "mommy", has phobias about water and bathing, and in general displays potential mental issues. On the other hand, he can describe, in vivid detail, events, people, and places that took place or existed before he was born. A scientist becomes involved who has focused his career on these kinds of cases (reincarnation), and the book cites several examples from other published works ("Life after Life" as the most common source). But his attempts to document his findings (i.e. publish) are not going well, and he's hoping that this case will turn the tide in his career. But he is constantly morose - so basically we are reading about two very depressed people with a troubled and frustrating child. Not pleasant reading. At about the two-thirds point they are able to discover the "real" mommy that the child speaks of, find out where she lives, and go to see her. Her husband thinks they're whacko, and the "real mom" has similar, but more sympathetic feelings. The story does improve from that point on as the past mommy begins to think this may in fact a reincarnated version of her dead son, given his remarkable ability to recognize, describe, and recall true events from their son's life - even to the point of knowing and finding the person who killed him. It was sort of a "meh" book for me. While I don't doubt there are documented cases of children recalling, with accuracy, past lives as someone else, there is not enough work or scientific method to confirm that reincarnation is in fact real, and if so why is it only in very rare circumstances, and thirdly, why do I really care? The story has an OK, but not great closing. I finished it, but it was more struggle than a page turner.

This book describes something that ALL of us think about throughout our lives. It is not just a story, but a door into a subject you just won't forget. Written well too. Reincarnation. . . is it real? Can there be life after this life? Much has been written about stories taken from very young children, mostly out of the U.S., documented, and later verified as truth. How could a small child know these things unless they actually had first hand experience. And short snips of these reported incidents are included along the way of reading Sharon Guskin's novel. How can that not jar us into questioning what is real and what imagined. The protagonist we read about here is a little boy of four, living in New York with his single parent mother. What sense can she make of the odd aversions, out of context information beyond his years, and horrific nightmares this young child keeps referring to and experiencing. Medical intervention and teachers can only sidestep the tumult evidenced. Help arrives in the form of a psychiatrist who had spent his career, and a good piece of his reputation, interviewing and studying these reincarnation stories and the children reporting them. Now he is dying of a disease for which there is no treatment. Noah, at four, and his mother who just can't give up because there are no answers for her or help for her son - finds her way to the good doctor. He is up against little time before his aphasia renders him non verbal and dying, and Noah becomes his last chance for an American example to further substantiate his last book. The book that gives him a hope of a lifetime's research being taken credible. This book has motivated me to read further on the subject and I appreciated her references to her own sources. Dr. Robin Bentel, Marin County, Ca

Death is a subject we all have to face up to, but what if its not the end of our journey? What if or memories live on in other lives, even when our bodies die?Sharon Guskin has written a tender, beautiful and deeply touching story about rebirth and memory. It’s a memorizing tale of young four year old Noah, who from the time he can talk, asks his mother to take him home. Despite constant reassurance that that he is home, Noah is haunted by memories of a previous life and has talents no one can explain. To find resolution, Noah, his mother and doctor, must all go on a cathartic journey of discovery. It takes them to a family whose young son Thomas disappeared years before. Is Noah, Thomas? Does Noah have within him elements of Thomas’s memories and life? Can he provide them with answers to Thomas’s disappearance? Importantly, can they provide Noah with the ability to forget the memories that haunt him?It is a profound story about the meaning of life and the power memory has in shaping who we are. It asks us all the question, what if what we did in our lives mattered, because it shaped who be became in this life and the one after that.In a society where death is feared, The Forgetting Time is a book that has a lot to teach us about life and death. It’s a book that calls out to you, asks you to read it and fills you not only with questions, but also a sense of wonder and peace. Resolution to all the fears that haunt us. Young Noah connects one life with those that went before. He is a channel for a soul made up of memory and experience.Life may not end with the death of our bodies. Join Noah and all those who love him on an emotional and powerful journey to The Forgetting Time.

This is genuinely one of those novels that make you stop and think. Four year old boy Noah appears to know things that he has never been taught and recall traumatic events he never experienced. He has recurring nightmares and refers to another mother. His real mother, Janie, is advised by a specialist that Noah is schizophrenic but she clings to the hope that Noah is not seriously ill. Perhaps there is another reason? In her despair Janie stumbles across Jerome Anderson, a once respected, but now derided academic, who has spent his later years, researching reincarnation. While Noah has memories that do not appear to be his, Anderson suffers with aphasia, a form of dementia that leads to the gradual loss of language. This is an excellent read, with sympathetic characters and a plot that is unusual but never implausible. Plot 4/5, Characterisation 5/5, Literary Merit 4/5, Readability 5/5. Overall 5/5.

An original concept is explored in this beautifully executed and very moving story about the possibility of reincarnation. Single mother Janie is increasingly worried about her four year old son, Noah. He has knowledge of things he shouldn't and couldn't possibly have - books he has never read, experiences he has never had. He suffers nightmares and is so terrified of water she cannot even bath him. And most distressing, he cries for his mother and begs to go home - even though she is there, and he is at home.In desperation, she turns to an elderly doctor who specialises in such cases. Doctor Anderson is racing against time as a form of dementia takes over his once sharp mind. He needs one more case to complete the popular science book that will be his last achievement. But it's not clear if he's really up to it, and the consequences could be terrible for mother and child if he gets it wrong.It's one of those books that is so well written you are absorbed and enjoying it from the very beginning. Whilst the concept is controversial at the very least, it's presented in a very credible way. This isn't a fantasy and neither is it trying to 'sell' or 'convert' people to the idea of reincarnation or life after death. It's just a very good story with a gripping plot and characters you will like and care about. Both Janie and Anderson are completely believable and likeable, and you desperately want there to be a good outcome for them and little Noah. There is also a murder mystery element that develops, which adds to the pace and tension and keeps the reader hooked.It's hard to put down, and a real tear jerker. I cried regularly throughout the final quarter. But it isn't maudlin or melodramatic, just dealing with very genuine emotions in a realistic and sensitive way. Whether or not you believe in reincarnation or the supernatural (I personally don't), it's a very good read and is thought provoking. Guskin has written this book very skilfully and I really look forwards to her next one - she is clearly a talented writer and I'd recommend this unusual novel to readers who enjoy literary fiction.

I'm not sure I'm a believer in reincarnation or the afterlife but the extracts from true case histories throughout the book made this story just about believable. I became quite fascinated by the characters ,which kept me reading, but I did find it a bit long winded at times, especially the epilogue which I feel should have been wound up more quickly once the main events were over. Very readable but I wouldn't describe it as 'unputdownable'. In fact, I often dozed off to sleep with my Kindle open on my chest.

I will never forget this book, what a thought provoking read. I am going to pass this book on for sure. What I like about this book is that it documents real life cases of Noah's experience. You don't need to suspend your disbelief at all, just an understanding that these stories do exist and what are the possible explanations, rather than conclusions... this book leaves a lot of food for thought, I can't wait for my friends to read it so that we can talk about this more. A different kind of book to my normal psychological thrillers but this was a gripping mystery nevertheless. This book left me a little bit sad too when I finished, I really enjoyed hanging out with Noah. Highly highly recommended.