Confessions of a Memory Eater

By Pagan Kennedy

Book Overview

"Complicated, cool and vulnerable at the same time...you can't help falling for Pagan Kennedy's characters."--Stephen Dubner, The New York Times

Once a brilliant historian with a promising academic future, Win Duncan is at a crossroads in his career when he is mysteriously summoned by Litminov, a wild but brilliant chemist from his college days. Litminov has made millions since, and has bought a pharmaceutical company solely to develop MEM, an experimental drug that gives one the ability to recall life's best memories with crystal clarity.

Duncan becomes a beta tester and loses himself to the most delicious moments of his past--those precious few years with his mother who died tragically when he was just a child; ecstatic sex with his wife when they first fell in love--until he discovers the dark side effects of a drug that turns the past into pornography and renders the present useless.

A proven master of underground lit, beat fiction and narrative non-fiction, Pagan Kennedy takes on America's obsession with the idealized past with freshness, wit, and an uncanny ability to measure the pulse of post-modern culture.

Pagan Kennedy is the author of seven books. The most recent, Black Livingstone, was a New York Times Notable Book and a winner of the Massachusetts Book Award. Her novel Spinsters won a Barnes & Noble Discover Award and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, Britain's most prestigious literary award. Her articles appear regularly in The New York Times Magazine, The Nation, Spin, and Salon.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972898484
• ISBN13: 9780972898485
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Leapfrog Press
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.7" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Haunting and immediately engaging

By the end of the very first page I was completely captivated by the premise. The lead character, Win Duncan, is a tragic hero that travels a journey of addiction which is completely relateable due to the very nature of the addictive substance - who wouldn't be tempted to travel one more time into the very best memories of their lives. Pagan Kennedy is a fascinating writer. I think that we will be hearing a lot more from this talent.

My first meeting with Pagan Kennedy

I just finished this book (bought for me by my wife). The more I got into it, the more involved I became. I was quickly caught up by the premise but also deeply involved with the lives of Win and Edie as they floundered through their careers and marriage. Neither of them were particularly sympathetc or likeable but they were believable and a little sad. Not to give any hint abou the ending but I saw it as Win starting the same ill-fated journey again. Hopefully, my wife will buy me Kenndy's next fiction effort.

How is this lady not a huge star?

Seriously, this is the fourth of her books I have read and I did it in one sitting. De Quincy gets a much needed update, the story itself is such a cool idea. Her last book, Black Livingstone, is just as good as this one, and it is non-fiction! Confessions of a Memory Eater is as good as her novel The Exes which was funny and bold at the same time. I'm telling you, there are probably not three other American woman writers who have written this many good books. Kennedy writes urgent books with complete characters. Save the Joyce Carol Oates for when you retire.

A stunning story of heartbreak and redemption

Kennedy's characters remind us of ourselves, finding their way to the other side of loss and longing. In these dark times of war, her novel reminds us that thoughtfulness and human connection, above all, can save us. CONFESSIONS is a fun read and an engaging story about the past and present. So engaged was I in Win's journey, I couldn't put the book down until I had finished! Definitely a book with--and about--substance(s).

Another great Pagan Kennedy book!

I just found out about Pagan Kennedy's new book when I read the great review it received in Entertainment Weekly. The review was right, Confessions of a Memory Eater is a real page turner that is actually about something of substance. It is about more than just our memory alone but really about how we view and understand our lives, the expectations of our younger selves and the reality of where we are later in life. The story of Win Duncan's drug experience is really the story of so many of us who reach that age where we look back and say, "what happened? what went wrong? what went right? and if only I could sleep with that woman again!" And with all that, it's just a great read, I actually did read part of it on the beach, perfect summer book. Kennedy is simply one of the best contemporary American writers. I highly recommend it and wish more people were reading work from writers like her rather than a lot of the formulaic fiction churned out year after year.