I've always liked a reason to read something that I wouldn't normally, and my "amnesia" research is giving me that opportunity. I used to satisfy the urge by having Library Challenges with my daughter, where, for example, we'd go through the alphabet by authors and weren't allowed to skip a letter out even if there was nothing that looked appealing. And so on with some much more inventive challenges. Now she has 3 small children and no time for that kind of game, which is a little sad.I've just had a brainwave - the grandchildren aren't literate yet, but we can still start playing library games. Yes!Anyway, that's all completely irrelevant. I got this book from the library from the title alone and enjoyed it. It has nothing to offer for my research because the Amnesia Clinic was an imaginary construct between 2 15-year-old lads, and everything that was posited about amnesia was within that same imaginary world.What this book is about is 2 lads in Quito, Ecuador who attend the International School together and have been close friends for the last 2 years. Anti is an English boy whose father is a journalist and whose mother researches and writes about indigenous/colonialist relations (or something like that - I didn't pay that too much attention). Anti has asthma (this is relevant), and he has always enjoyed playing imaginative games with his father (I like how they sit together, hear a sound, and then make up wonderful possibilities about that sound).Fabián is an orphan who lives with his wealthy uncle. His father was a Mestizo (part Indian, part European (in this case, Spanish)) and his mother of 'pure' Spanish descent. Fabián is charming, good-looking, possibly the most popular boy at school, and a spinner-of-yarns-extraordinaire. But he is also troubled by memories of his parents and their death . . . or is his mother still alive?
I have read James Scudamore before and loved his writing. I have found his pace and excitement very engaging but I feel like The Amnesia Clinic just missed the mark. While the story itself was an interesting narrative, it felt obvious what was going to happen through the tale (until the end) and it wasn't as fast-paced as I would have liked. The ending did surprise me and I did "enjoy" it but I felt that, up until that point, everything else was expected and the book trundled along in the direction I felt it would. That being said, I did enjoy it, it was an easy read and fairly enjoyable - just not as engaging when compared with Scudamore's other novels.
What do You think about The Amnesia Clinic (2007)?
Anti and Fabian are unlikely friends in Quito, Ecuador who share a love for outlandish storytelling and yearn to "discover" something remarkable. While they talk about everything, one subject goes unmentioned--the deaths of Fabian's parents. One night, after too much tequila, Favian spins the tale of his parents' demise. Anti, sympathetic, yet disbelieving, crafts a false newspaper story to demonstrate his support for Fabian and the fictions that help him get through this tragedy. However, Fabian reads the clipping and also notes the bogus story next to it, one for an Amnesia Clinic serving victims of accidents or kidnappings with no memories of who they are. Fabian is certain his mother, whose body was never recovered, is staying in the Amnesia Clinic. The boys set off on a journey that will reveal more about their friendship and future than either can imagine.Special appeal for teens: The relationship between the two friends; the natural dialogue and the wild tale telling; the search for family will all draw in teen readers.I enjoyed this book for its compelling story, natural and likeable characters, realistic portrayals of the adults in the teens's lives, and the sense of wonder and familiarity the boys experience with their shared world and with each other.
—Kaite Stover
