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Bethany C. Morrow

MEM Paperback – March 19, 2019

by Bethany C. Morrow (Author)

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“Bethany C. Morrow achieves the nearly impossible feat of creating truly new speculative fiction; reading it feels like discovery.” ― BuzzFeed In Jazz Age Montreal, an underground Vault imprisons living memories. Known as Mems, theses physical clones of other people are doomed to experience a single memory over and over―one that belongs not to them, but to the memory’s original Source. Lacking thoughts or personality of their own, Mems expire inside the Vault, where they are monitored by scientists known as Bankers. That is, except for one 19-year-old Mem―Dolores Extract n. 1―who shocks the world with the capacity to make her own memories. With the help of the doctor who created her, Dolores is released from captivity and establishes an independent life in the glittering city. She is a beautiful enigma, celebrated by a public obsessed with this dangerous procedure. When she is suddenly summoned back to the Vault, she must confront the Bankers and her own Source to discover the ultimate truth: is she human, or not?

Print length

188 pages
Language

English
Publisher

The Unnamed Press
Publication date

March 19, 2019
Dimensions

5 x 0.4 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

1944700862
ISBN-13

978-1944700867
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"With her dizzying concept, richly imagined narrator, ornate setting, and first-rate storytelling, Morrow offers an epiphany for readers of speculative fiction with echoes of ideas explored in films like Blade Runner and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The defiant story of an impossible enigma who only yearns to be a real girl." —Kirkus Reviews

"Morrow’s debut is ambitious and insightful, raising questions about memory, trauma, and humanity. The novel is at its best when it presents Elsie at her most human, forcing the real ones around her to reckon with what her personhood means for theirs." —Publishers Weekly

“MEM is a haunting instant classic of the Flowers for Algernon ilk; spare, beautiful, and intensely powerful. This book was unputdownable.” ―BookRiot

“MEM is an unusual first novel set in an alternate past that brings a powerful vision to bear on the horrors (and opportunities) of trying to establish your own identity in a world that makes no space for you… Morrow drives her premise to a memorable conclusion about who shapes whom in the endless laboratory experiment of being alive.” –Los Angeles Times

“MEM is a short, satisfying work made poignant by Elsie’s voice… Elsie holds up a mirror to her human counterparts, and the reader as well.” –The Washington Post

“A new classic, an extraordinary work of careful craftsmanship and intense compression. Bethany C. Morrow has written a jewel of a book: a tiny object refracting light in all directions.” –Locus Magazine

Review

"An extraordinary and utterly compelling novel that deftly explores questions of memory, identity, and humanity while also introducing one of my favourite characters in a long time. I loved everything about MEM." ―Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble
“The moment I opened Bethany C. Morrow’s thrilling and unsettling MEM, I could not stop turning the pages. Dolores Extract #1―a "Mem"―defies the rules of her world in a harrowing quest for autonomy and understanding. Her journey generates a deeply powerful inquiry into memory, trauma, ownership, and freedom―into the very essence of what it means to be human. This gorgeously written novel is one of the most enthralling and original debuts I’ve read in years.” ―Laura van den Berg, author of Find Me
"In the world of Bethany C. Morrow's imaginative and gloriously written first novel, MEM, a memory might have a life of her own. This novel imagines an alternate past where memories can be extracted and turned to flesh, a premise that unfolds with intrigue and wisdom from this writer's fertile imagination. Don't miss this exciting debut that will change the way you think about memories." ―Tananarive Due, American Book Award and British Fantasy Award winner
“MEM is a mind bending exploration of what it means to be human. In this tight, gripping novel doctors have the ability to extract people's traumatic memories. These memories become people, sort of... Or maybe not. And what happens to the people who abuse the procedure? How do our memories shape our lives? MEM is a great read, especially for those interested in the ethics and strange reality of how new technologies impact the human condition.” -Chris Morrow, Northshire Bookstore (Manchester Center, VT) “Staged in an alternate possibility of the last century, MEM is the story of what could happen if we found a way to remove our bad memories and store them in a surrogate. Of course these surrogates would be kept in a vault and only brought out for special occasions, maybe to impress your friends at a cocktail party. But what if one of them – let’s call her Dolores Extract #1 – did not conform to the “rules” of the process. What if instead of only having one memory to live out over and over and over again, like a bad dream, waiting to waste away to nothing and then die, she was discovered to be able to make her own new memories. What then? Well, she might be removed from the vault and allowed to live a life, of sorts, under the watchful eye of the program’s staff. This is a searing tale of consequences. Of unexpected results to a science some might think has gone off the rails. But it’s also an insightful look into what makes us who we are and what happens when we can dispose of parts of ourselves we no longer want around to haunt us. I guarantee this is a book that will dig its way into your own memories and may well keep you up at night with thoughts you just can’t turn off. What a page-turner!” -Linda Bond, Auntie’s Bookstore (Spokane, WA)

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Unnamed Press; Reprint edition (March 19, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 188 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1944700862
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1944700867
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.4 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,443,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #240 in Black & African American Science Fiction (Books)
- #554 in Black & African American Fantasy Fiction (Books)
- #1,740 in Steampunk Fiction

Customer Reviews:
100 ratings

About the author

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Bethany C. Morrow

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Bethany C Morrow is an author of speculative literary fiction, and a recovering expatriate. A California native, she has lived in Bangor (Wales, UK), Montreal (Quebec, Canada), and now resides just over the border in the US northeast.

Customer reviews

5 star		60%
4 star		21%
3 star		12%
2 star		5%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Joanne Merriam

Doesn’t reach its potential

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2019

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This is a beautifully-written book with an original setting and concept that just didn’t gel for me.

Set in the art deco world of upper class 1920s Montreal, Mem follows Dolores Extract #1, a traumatic memory extracted from a fragile society girl who, unlike all the other extracted memories in the steampunkesque Vault, can create her own memories. While the other mems relive their originating memories over and over again, Dolores Extract #1 is permitted to leave the Vault and live on her own as a person in her own apartment. What makes her different is a mystery. Her legal status as the property of Dolores forms the backbone of the conflict in the novel.

The novel is a delightful, frothy read. I may have expected too much from it, but with this premise, I was expecting something more thought-provoking and insightful. Instead the book provides a tidy ending with a resolution to why she’s different from the other mems (I found the reason itself, which I won’t spoil here, very satisfying) and then a tidy resolution to all the other plot issues which I found just too pat and rushed, without the emotional resonance of the rest of the book.

2 people found this helpful

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Thebookbella

What it is to be human.

Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2018

Verified Purchase

This was profoundly beautiful!!! 😍😍😍

A historical speculative fiction novel set in Montreal in the early 1900s. Dolores Extract #1 is a Mem who's been created by the memory of 19 year old girl named Dolores. At once they realize that Dolore Extract #1 is unique in comparison to other mems.

There are times when the line between what she is remembering from her past is blurred with the present, which can makes things bit confusing. I feel this was used by the author to mimic the stream of consciousness that so often allows our past memories to be woven into our present experience. So as confusing as it sometimes is, it was done with regard to showing the realness of our main character.

This is a story about what it means to be human, and how our memories create this resonance of emotion that cannot just be wiped away by forgetting.

It was so short though, and while it was fittingly short, I wish for just a bit more as this book has left me with a craving

4 people found this helpful

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Janicot

Intriguing idea

Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2018

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I'm giving this book three stars because of its imaginative premise that memories can take on a life of their own. However, the story never really gets off the ground. The writer's purpose in setting the action in the 1920s remains mysterious to me; the setting plays no real part in the development and creates a distance that's exacerbated by the overblown prose ("Had they not already evaporated in the still air, my words would have turned tail and hurried back to me"), characters who come across as actors in a period melodrama, and a superschmaltz ending cribbed from Dr Who. A shame, because the idea has real potential.

5 people found this helpful

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K

An unexpected gift; it was a treat to read such an original book

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2019

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I wouldn't have come across this book in my usual reading experience; I usually don't read sci-fi or speculative fiction but Mem was recommended by a friend and I'm trying to broaden my horizons so I bought it a few months ago and started it yesterday because it looked like a quick read and I wasn't wanting to commit to much.
I LOVED THIS BOOK. I loved everything about it and flew through the book until I fell asleep last night, thought about it all day and just finished and want to shout from the rooftops how much I enjoyed this experience.
Mem is amazing. It's set in the 1920's Montreal (something I know literally nothing about) and I love that the main character has dark skin which is referenced but not the focus - such a refreshing change from the habit where characters of colour are often clearly described as such with light skin being the default. The main character is a Mem, the end result of a traumatic memory removed from a "source" who is capable of independent thought and action, against all knowledge of the developing technology.
I loved reading about Elsie's perspective and growth and learning about the peripheral characters as the book evolved. At no point could I guess what was happening next and I still want more. I notice that other reviewers commented that the language was contrived but I felt like it was careful and each word was there for a reason. I imagine that when I re-read this book I will notice a lot more that I missed in my eagerness to find out how the story would progress.
This was such a pleasant surprise, I will recommend this book to everyone (and it's motivated my first amazon book review).

3 people found this helpful

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laura

fascinating concept in a tightly written novel

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2018

Verified Purchase

What experiences make us who we are? And who do we become if we remove the memories of those experiences? For those who are concerned this is another take of "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" fear not. This take on the process of removing old memories delves into who we are as a society, who we are as people, and who we are to others outside that society, all with the backdrop of the glittering 1920s and 30s. It's a stunning feat to explore societal failings and personal triumphs and morals so explicitly within so short a novel, and to do it with prose that never feels rushed. Indeed, though the page count is shorter, this novel allows the reader to breathe with the memories, rather than rushed and crammed together. I don't want to give any spoilers away so I'll leave my review at that. This was a delightful find, and I'm so glad I picked it up on a whim. It's a memory I certainly want to preserve.

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Bethany Robison

Cool, Thought Provoking Historical Sci-FI

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2018

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This is a cool, thought provoking sci-fi. I tend to read before I go to sleep, and I wish I'd read this book when my mind was fresh and alert. Need to reread to catch all of the nuance I missed. This reminded me of a historical fiction episode of Black Mirror. It's not a long book, but it is packed full and not as fast of a read as I expected it to be. Can't wait to see more from this author.

2 people found this helpful

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Maika

I devoured this beautiful novel

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2019

Verified Purchase

Speculative science fiction about identity and memory set in Jazz Age Montreal. What’s not to love? I’m fascinated by memory, by how we remember, how memory is intimately connected to all our senses, how the act of remembering itself alters our memories, and I devoured this beautiful novel.

One person found this helpful

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Sam C

Thought provoking

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2021

Verified Purchase

This book is such a lovely thought provoking piece of work. It's easy to forget it's a fictional story as you slip into the perspective of the Dolores Extract #1. It shook me and left me questioning.

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Top reviews from other countries

Hope

If you want a book to make you think, this is the book for you!

Reviewed in Canada on June 22, 2018

Verified Purchase

A quick read, I couldn't put it down. If you like fiction that makes you think, then this is the book for you.
Fantastic writing from a brilliant new author, I can't wait t see what she comes out with next!

One person found this helpful

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