Nov 22 2024 3 mins 1
Emma Grey is a writer, novelist and photographer. Her novel the Last Love Note was a global bestseller. Her new novel is Pictures of You.
At sixteen years old Evie Hudson feels too young to be married, let alone a widow. And that’s the problem, Evie’s not sixteen but the accident that killed her husband Oliver also stole her memory.
Now she believes she’s a teenager. Thrown back to a time when she felt safe.
But safe from what?
Evie’s lost her memory, which throws up more than a few problems. The last thing she remembers is her parents cautioning her against getting into cars with strangers and talking to people on the internet. Now she somehow has to figure out Uber?!
A week after awakening in a hospital a stranger to herself, Evie is freaking out that none of her so-called family seem to like her and her real parents haven’t tried to contact her.
Evie flees her husband’s funeral and jumps straight into Uber waiting outside.
Only problem, that’s no Uber and this guy seems to know a lot about Evie’s past.
Pictures of You is a pacy and thought provoking thriller that races the reader to discover how Evie wound up so isolated in her own life.
I’m going to give you the spoiler free review here but that means I’m only really touching on the opening chapters of the novel.
Suffice to say though that when you buy your ticket you can expect an edgy mix of drama, social commentary and a mystery to solve just for good measure.
The narrative alternates between Evie’s contemporary battle to remember who she is and flashes back to her life at sixteen. The life she thinks she has returned to.
We meet an idealistic and driven young woman who knows exactly where she’s going in life. The contrast couldn’t be more stark between adolescent Evie and the isolated, desperate woman struggling to understand what’s happening to her.
Pictures of You asks important questions about love and how far it’s meant to go whilst still remaining healthy. Evie believes in a Romantic vision of love but the book challenges the idea that our romantic notions should be trusted.
Eagle eyed listeners might have noticed that this is one of a few novels we’ve discussed this year that involve a character with memory loss. This device thrusts the reader into the protagonist's shoes as the act of reading mirrors the slow unraveling of a story that could very well mean life or death.
Evie’s story hits the beats of hope and loss in satisfying ways that keep us going till the bitter end. Will we like the Evie who emerges when her memory returns?
That’s the joy of storytelling. By taking the ride with her, whoever emerges by the end we will hopefully have greater understanding and compassion for her journey.
