Book Review: Remember Me?

I try to read books for fun and not for work throughout the year, but summer is when I really get the chance to get through multiple books in a short amount of time since I’ve got more down time. So after my first book of the summer, The Crimson Petal and the White, which was a massive book, I wanted a light, easy read. I decided to go with a Sophie Kinsella book and read Remember Me?

The book was a really easy and quick read. Although it was not a book that I loved so much that I’m telling you you need to read it, I still found it enjoyable. So what is the book about? The novel starts with Lexi in her 20s out in London one night with her friends. After a night of drinking, Lexi is trying to get a cab for her and her friends to go home all while it is downpouring. Far from content with how her life is going at the moment, she decides to run after a cab instead of waiting for one to stop for her. While running, she slips and falls. Lexi wakes up in the hospital, groggy, and unsure of what just happened. She realizes she must have hit her head when she slipped in the rain. But wait! It’s actually been 3 years since that night!

So has Lexi been in a coma for the past 3 years? Nope. She just can’t remember anything that has happened in her life in the past 3 years. She has amnesia and the last thing she remembers is that night out on the town with her friends. But she quickly learns a lot has changed since that night. Her job is completely different, she has new friends, and she may or may not be married now. The novel takes you along with Lexi to figure out what happened and how her life changed so much.

Throughout the book, I really wanted to know what happened to Lexi to make her change so much. At times, I was exasperated with her for not questioning things that seemed odd or questionable.

Some of the characters around Lexi are just comically ridiculous. She can’t remember the past 3 years of her life and it seems like quite a few of the characters are having a hard time dealing with this. And I don’t mean they’re having a hard time coping with it – I mean they keep forgetting that she does not remember! At one point, her new best friend comes to her apartment and Lexi tells her that she doesn’t know where her clothes are (since she doesn’t know this apartment at all). Her friend replies, ” ‘You don’t know where your clothes are?’ Tears suddenly spring to her huge blue eyes and she fans her face. ‘I’m sorry,’ she gulps. ‘But it’s just come home to me how horrific and scary this must be for you. To have forgotten your entire wardrobe.’ She takes a deep breath, composing herself, then squeezes my hand.”

The book is very light and not at all serious, but I think if you really want to think deeply about the plot, you could say that the book really makes you think that what you think you want in life isn’t always what’s going to make you happy. You might not be happy with how life is going for you right now and wish for more money or to be prettier but who’s to say that those things will actually fulfill you. You could come in to money or get plastic surgery and still not be truly happy.

2 sections in the book that kind of reiterated this for me happened later on in the book when Lexi comes to understand her current life situation better.

“You know, when I woke up, I thought I’d landed the dream life,” I say slowly. “I thought I was Cinderella. I was better than Cinderella. I thought I must be the happiest girl in the world..”

Then a little bit later on, Jon (you’ll have to read to find out who he is!), says to her:

“You once said to me, if you could go back in time and do everything differently, you would.” Jon’s voice is softer than before. “With everything. Yourself…your job…Eric…Everything looks different when the gloss is gone.”

I really love that line “Everything looks different when the gloss is gone”. It’s that whole idea of looks can be deceiving. Even if you haven’t experienced amnesia like Lexi, this can be relatable to many of us. The grass is always greener on the other side, but who knows if that side is really that much better, right? We’re all guilty of lusting over other people’s seemingly perfect Instagram lives, but then we also remember that we curate our own feeds and show what we want to show. “Everything looks different when the gloss is gone”. Such a meaningful quote, I can’t get over it!

Final thoughts on the book – I enjoyed it and it was an easy summer read. It’s not an amazing, must-read book, but if you’re looking for something light or a beach read then this is definitely worth your time!