Proust memorably took a bite of a madeleine and was transported to the past. For me, a whiff of cigar smoke brings back memories of Christmas gatherings at my great-grandparents' house, and the smell of freshly cut grass takes me back to grade school when we were counting the spring days until the end of the school year. Contrails in the sky remind me of one of my earliest memories which may or may not have actually happened - memories can be tricky: an airplane was skywriting "CocaCola". We all have songs that remind us of significant events, first loves, travels to other countries. The senses are intertwined with memory.
Here are some novels that explore the place of memories, non-fiction books that dissect the functioning of memory, and a movie that deals with the dangers of amnesia. And don't forget about memoirs.
The giver / Lowry, Lois. J F LOW: "In Lois Lowry’s Newbery Medal–winning classic, twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind his fragile community.
The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community." - provided by the publisher
Underground airlines / Winters, Ben H., F WIN: "It is the present-day, and the world is as we know it: smartphones, social networking and Happy Meals. Save for one thing: the Civil War never occurred. A gifted young Black man calling himself Victor has struck a bargain with federal law enforcement, working as a bounty hunter for the US Marshall Service. He's got plenty of work. In this version of America, slavery continues in four states called ""the Hard Four."" On the trail of a runaway known as Jackdaw, Victor arrives in Indianapolis knowing that something isn't right--with the case file, with his work, and with the country itself. A mystery to himself, Victor suppresses his memories of his childhood on a plantation, and works to infiltrate the local cell of an abolitionist movement called the Underground Airlines. Tracking Jackdaw through the back rooms of churches, empty parking garages, hotels, and medical offices, Victor believes he's hot on the trail. But his strange, increasingly uncanny pursuit is complicated by a boss who won't reveal the extraordinary stakes of Jackdaw's case, as well as by a heartbreaking young woman and her child who may be Victor's salvation. Victor himself may be the biggest obstacle of all--though his true self remains buried, it threatens to surface. Underground Airlines is a ground-breaking novel, a wickedly imaginative thriller, and a story of an America that is more like our own than we'd like to believe""-- Provided by publisher.
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge / Fox, Mem, E FOX: A little boy tries to understand the meaning of "memory" in order to help an elderly friend.
Memento DVD F MEM: A man juggles searching for his wife's murderer and keeping his short-term memory loss from stopping him in this suspenseful film.
Here are some memoirs that are new to Plymouth Library:
Crazy brave : a memoir / Harjo, Joy, B HAR
A promised land / Obama, Barack, B OBA
Markings / Hammarskjold, Dag, 341.23092 HAM
The sun does shine : how I found life and freedom on death row / Hinton, Anthony Ray, B HIN
The education of an idealist : a memoir / Power, Samantha, B POW
And more books on the topic of memory:
100 simple things you can do to prevent Alzheimer's and age-related memory loss / Carper, Jean. 616.831 CAR
Can't remember what I forgot: the good news from the front lines of memory research Halpern, Sue 616.85 HAL
Moonwalking with Einstein : the art and science of remembering everything / Foer, Joshua. 153.14 FOE
The seven sins of memory : how the mind forgets and remembers / Schacter, Daniel L. 153.12 SCH