This is going to be an interesting review to write, mainly because I haven't actually finished the book yet! I have really mixed thoughts on this book and I can't wait to share them with you. Who knows, by the time this review is published I may have actually finished reading it!
I know it may seem like cheating to write a book review about a story I haven't finished, but I am going to give it my best try. I started this book towards the end of August and I just can't seem to get hooked to it. I thought I would really love it because I adored the BBC television adaptation starring Glenda Jackson, but I just can't find the desire to want to read it. However, in the past when I have found myself in this position I completely give up and donate the unwanted book to charity or pass it on to a friend. But, this time I have a need to finish it - I don't want to be beaten. I think this stems from the fact I know I liked the TV show, so there has to be something that eventually captivates me about the book.
The story follows the character of Maud, who is battling dementia. This is a really engaging, although sometimes tricky perspective to follow. The book jumps around and changes focus quite a bit just as Maud's thoughts do. Sometimes, I do wonder if the book loses its plot too much. Maud is concerned that her friend Elizabeth has gone missing. Something that is extremely triggering to her, as her elder sister went missing when Maud was a child. The story jumps between the two time frames quite a lot, when something makes Maud reminisce about her sister. I do find the story of her sisters disappearance much more interesting than Elizabeth's case and I kind of wish that was the main story. I think what is important, is that the book gives a true sense of what it is like knowing someone with dementia. It shows the struggle of the family watching the one they care about disappear too, mentally not physically. The whole book explores the various types of loss which is really interesting.
When I think about this book, the best way I can describe my feelings towards it is like a wave. At points, something in the story changes and you feel yourself getting transported along this amazing journey, being pushed around, the wave of interest travels forward at some speed and just before it is about to reach the shore it stops. Just like that. No crashing revelation. Just a trickle of water. And before you know it, you are pulled back out to sea waiting for that next wave to come and sweep you away. Don't get me wrong, the book has lots of moments of interest, just to me, they don't really seem to form into anything.
Personally, this is one of those weird instances where I prefer the TV show to the book. I would totally recommend watching that. My thoughts on the book are tricky, I do think it should be read but equally I don't think it is the most amazing book in the world.
Have you read Elizabeth Is Missing? Did you manage to read it properly, unlike me?! Let me know your thoughts and follow me on Instagram to join in the discussion?
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