MISTER MEMORY

Mister Memory takes us to “brutish, dark, and violent” Paris in 1899, and pitches Inspector Petit, a young bereaved policeman, against Marcel Deprés, a guileless mental freak. He’s a man with a perfect memory who appears to have murdered his cabaret dancer wife. The first half of Mister Memory is rich in atmosphere and alive with character, while the second half bursts with multi-layered plots and suspense. Why is Mister Memory locked up in an asylum and not facing the guillotine? What does his brain hold that could threaten the most powerful citizens of Paris? Mister Memory immediately brings to mind Patrick Süskind’s Perfume, and doesn’t suffer at all from the comparison. And while it’s important to remember, Sedgwick also teaches us that sometimes it’s vital to forget.