Remember Me? A forgettable novel.

I confess. I enjoy reading chick lit now and then. I love to lose myself in books that are frivolous and just plain fluffy. I do have standards though. I look for the stuff that I will read again and again. One of my recent forays into the genre came in the form of the novel Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella. Its title belies the book's nature... it's easy for it to slip out of your mind.

Remember Me? is a novel exploring the question of how our memories shape us as human beings and what would happen if we suddenly lost several years’ worth of memories.

The plot centres around Lexi Smart, who wakes up in hospital to find she has retrograde amnesia as a result of a car accident. Basically, she doesn’t remember the last three years of her life. In typical dramatic fashion, Lexi’s life has changed radically in those three years. She’s now married, with a brilliant career and a formidable reputation. Not to mention that she’s gone from being a frizzy-haired, crooked-teeth couch potato to elegantly coiffed woman with shiny veneers and the kind of body that can only come from hours at the gym. Her new life seems perfect at first but the cracks soon start to show.

Her old friends hate her, her husband is a rich uptight workaholic, her younger sister has changed from a sweet kid into a horror teenager and to boot, Lexi’s not quite sure what to make of the handsome architect who tells her that they were having an affair before the accident.

This book is standard chick lit fare, with the usual “girl trying to overcome her issues with cute guy thrown in on the side” plotline. This novel delivers all the ingredients needed for a good chick lit read. It’s full of drama and light suspense, mildly witty characters and has some plot twists thrown in for good measure. Disappointingly though, Remember Me? seems to rely too much on the much-loved clichés of the genre. For instance, Lexi’s initial reaction towards her former love interest (who just happens to be tall, dark and handsome), is hatred and irritation. One hardly needs much imagination to know what trajectory the story will continue along. The novel’s few attempts at plot twists never quite capture the exact level of shock that you can’t help but imagine that you’re meant to feel as the reader.

Despite its predictability, this novel still delivers an enjoyable reading experience. Lexi Smart is a character that most women will relate to and has a down to earth perspective of the world. Readers will also find themselves liking Lexi’s younger sister, Amy, despite (or maybe because of) the fact that she is the epitome of a bratty and cunning teenager. Some of the scenarios are bound to make you laugh aloud with their unexpected hilarity. Actually, these scenes are the one instance where the novel succeeds in surprising the reader.

On a deeper level, Kinsella probes into marital problems and identity issues with sensitivity and sympathy. Heart-rending scenes will have you genuinely sympathising with Lexi as she struggles to make sense of her environs. Originally, we are led to believe that Lexi’s principal problem is that she’s got amnesia, but as the plot progresses we come to understand that even before the accident, Lexi was in a miserable situation. Lexi’s current issues are shown to largely result from bad decisions that she has made. This acknowledgement saves Remember Me? from being simply another superficial whinge about the hardships of twenty-something life.

Overall, this book is quite enjoyable, as long as you don’t expect too much from it. It’s far from an award-winning novel and will definitely have its critics for its general lack of depth. However, it is still a pleasant weekend read. Perfect for the days when you don’t want to have to use your brain.