All Is Not Forgotten

All is Not Forgotten – Wendy Walker 

Originality: ♥♥♥♥♥

Quality of Writing: ♥♥♥♥♥

Plot: ♥♥♥♥

Setting: ♥♥♥♥

Character: ♥♥♥♥♥

Overall: ♥♥♥♥♥

All is not Forgotten is altogether a rather gritty read which follows an investigation into the brutal rape of a teenage girl. Told from the point of view of the girl’s psychiatrist, the story meanders through each of the characters involved in the girl’s life and how their dynamics affect the search to find the truth. An important aspect of the novel is that the girl had been given a drug after the attack to help her forget the rape, but as the title suggests, all is not actually forgotten. Her physical scars still remain and she is still with the knowledge that she was raped, just not the actual memory of it happening. The narrator finds it in his greatest moral importance that she must remember how she felt that night during the attack otherwise she will never be able to get over it. As horrible as it sounds, he is right. She will never learn how to put it behind her and accept what happened until she can match her feelings with the correct memory.  

I have never read anything this intricate and mind-numbing for a long time. It is very graphic in its descriptions but also very well written, every detail is important and every detail is written with such skill. It’s one of those books that leave you feeling empty after, but in a satisfied kind of way. It will be interesting to see how it will be portrayed when it comes out on the big screen – I hope the atmosphere and the importance of the narrator remains! This is definitely one to have on your reading list – I assure you, it will not disappoint. Five stars.  

(In addition to my review, I would like to say that this book reminded me of After The Crash by Michael Bussi (in terms of narration), and The End of Everything by Megan Abott (in terms of overall atmosphere) - It's just a thought whilst I was reading it. )