Pubblicato in Italia con il titolo Non Tutto Si Dimentica. Dopo che la giovane Jenny è stata brutalmente violentata, gli viene somministrata una droga per fargli dimenticare questo violento evento. Ma dimenticare non fa sentire meglio Jenny che decide di andare da uno psichiatra per recuperare i ricordi di quella fatidica notte.
During a high school party, 15-year-old Jenny Kramer is brutally raped by a man. At the hospital, she is treated with a drug that erases any memory of that night and it seems to work as Jenny goes back to school and to her life as if nothing ever happened. But even if the mind forgets, the body still remembers and Jenny’s body gives her signals that take her on a dark path. As the police can’t find the man who assaulted her, Jenny decides to go to a psychiatric to retrieve her memories and to start to heal slowly.
This suspenseful and original novel had me glued to the page from the beginning. It starts right away with Jenny’s assailment and I found some of the descriptions a bit disturbing. There are also many twists that will make you gasp in surprise, especially the final big truth.
The story is told by an unknown narrator who after a few pages it is revealed to be Jenny’s psychiatrist (small spoiler alert!). And it is the psychiatric who is at the center of the story as he becomes more and more involved and entangled in Jenny’s life, her family, and the investigation.
This is not only a novel about trauma and memory but also a novel about family. The author describes not only how Jenny was affected by her assault but also her parents. Her mother Charlotte tries to act as if nothing ever happened, while her father Tom is so obsessed in finding her assailant that it almost destroys him.
I love how the author, Wendy Walker, explores the family issues and psychology behind her characters. All Is Not Forgotten is her debut novel and in her second novel, Emma in the Night, which is out now in the US, Wendy Walker once again explores the link between family history and psychology. About jealousy, obsession, and dysfunctional families, Emma in the Night is the story of two sisters, Emma and Cass, who suddenly disappeared one night. Three years later, only Cass returns and, throughout the novel, she narrates the reasons that led to that fatidic night.
Dark, unpredictable, and disturbing, All Is Not Forgotten (and also Emma in the Night) is a must-read and there is talk of a movie adaptation that will be produced by Reese Whiterspoon.
