The Memory Artists (Paperback, 1st St. Martin's Griffin ed)

Winner of the Canadian Authors Association Award for Best Novel Noel Burun has synesthesia and hypermnesia: he sees words in vibrant explosions of colors and shapes, which collide and commingle to form a memory so bitingly perfect that he can remember everything, from the 1001 stories of "The Arabian Nights" to the color of his bib as a toddler. But for all his mnemonic abilities, he is confronted every day with a reality that is as sad as it is ironic: his beloved mother, Stella, is stricken with Alzheimer's disease, her memory slowly slipping into the quicksands of oblivion. "The Memory Artists" follows Noel, helped by a motley cast of friends, on his quest to find a cure for his mother's affliction. The results are at the same time darkly funny, quirkily inventive, and very moving. Alternating between third-person narratives and the diaries of Noel and Stella, Jeffrey Moore weaves a story filled with fantastic characters and a touch of suspense that gets at the very heart of what it means to remember and forget, and that is a testament to the uplifting power of family and friendship.
Jeffrey Moore was educated at the University of Toronto and the Sorbonne. He works as a translator and also lectures at the University of Montreal. His first novel, "Prisoner in a Red-Rose Chain, "won the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Book in 2000. Jeff divides his time between Montreal and Val-Morin, Quebec. Winner of the Canadian Authors Association Award for Best NovelA "Daily Telegraph" Book of the Year Noel Burun has synesthesia and hypermnesia: he sees words in vibrant explosions of colors and shapes, which collide and commingle to form a memory so bitingly perfect that he can remember everything, from the 1001 stories of "The Arabian Nights" to the color of his bib as a toddler. But for all his mnemonic abilities, he is confronted every day with a reality that is as sad as it is ironic: his beloved mother, Stella, is stricken with Alzheimer's disease, her memory slowly slipping into the quicksands of oblivion. "The Memory Artists" follows Noel, helped by a motley cast of friends, on his quest to find a cure for his mother's affliction. The results are at the same time darkly funny, quirkily inventive, and very moving. Alternating between third-person narratives and the diaries of Noel and Stella, Jeffrey Moore weaves a story filled with fantastic characters and a touch of suspense that gets at the very heart of what it means to remember and forget, and that is a testament to the uplifting power of family and friendship. "Combines smartness with wisdom . . . Almost absurdly inventive."--David Mitchell, author of "Cloud Atlas"
"Rich and humane, a repository of culture worth remembering, and a moving elaboration on the simple truth that we should do good for others."--Colin McAdam, author of "Some Great Thing" "A model of inventiveness . . . very moving. Jeffrey Moore shows great skill in his depictions of people's feelings. The decadent affectations of Norval, the immaturity of JJ and the feminine insecurities of Samira are all drawn with elegance."--"London"" Times Literary Supplement" "Canadian novelist Jeffrey Moore's finely honed wit had me barking with laughter . . . engaging characters, and a fine balance of warmth, insight, and eviscerating humour."--"The Independent"
"An exceptionally fine example of crossword-puzzle postmodernism: a game to savour, a half-equation to be completed with utter delight. Yet the story is unforgettably human . . . exhilaratingly risky--leaves the reader spellbound."--"Scotland"" on Sunday" "Jeffrey Moore's ingenious new novel is, among other things, a romp through literary iconography . . . In its intelligence and ingeniousness it recalls Thomas Wharton's Salamander . . . It is mesmerizing . . . reading it is like immersing oneself in a warm bath of words and ideas. There are many rich nuggets buried in the text . . . The writing is accomplished and memorable."--Wayne Grady, "The Gazette"
"A metafictive puzzle box, a carefully structured collage of narrative voices . . . The novel is a delight . . . challenging, often beautiful, and frequently inspired narrative play."--"Straight "(Vancouver) "Beset by a neurological condition, Noel Burun has total recall, and words and voices appear to him as bursts of color. Ironically, his mother, Stella, is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and her worsening condition has made them virtual prisoners in their rambling Montreal home. Gradually, three eccentric friends--the Byronesque Norval, 'swoonworthy' Samira, and excitable JJ--all co-subjects with Noel in memory experiments conducted by the Wizard of Oz-like Dr. Vorta, move in with the Buruns. That frees Noel, a pharmacologist turned alchemist, to concentrate on finding a cure for his mother. Containing handwritten journal entries, Vorta's self-serving endnotes, newspaper clippings, and even sketches, this ingenious novel makes for mesmerizing reading. Even more entertaining than its inventive construction is its blazing humor as scabrous Norval, intent on bedding 26 females in alphabetical order in the name of performance art, engages in scathing banter with childlike JJ, who is overly fond of puns. Just as quickly, though, the novel turns poignant as Stella's journal entries movingly record her diminishing control of her faculties. The witty Moore explores every facet of memory--as both a burden and a blessing--in this delightful and inspired story."--Joanne Wilkinson, "Booklist" (starred review) "This exceptionally entertaining and clever second novel from the author of Red Rose Chain deftly explores the intricacies of human memory while drawing a touching portrait of human relationships. Moore manages that rare combination of postmodern hyperintelligence, emotional insightfulness, and cutting humor. Noel Burun is a 'hypermnesic synaesthete, ' or someone with a mind that connects a vast collection of fantastic colors to the voices he hears. He also possesses an extraordinary memory, one that enables him to recall almost instantly such obscure things as entire passages of Arabic poetry and complicated chemical formulas. Noel has decided to dedicate his entire life and mnemonic powers to the unlikely cause of finding a cure for Alzheimer's (his mother has it), in the process enlisting the help of three friends with their own memory issues: Norval, a modern-day Lord Byron and conniving Lothario; Samira, a former Hollywood actress with whom Noel is in love; and JJ, who deals with painful memories by regressing into a perpetual state of optimistic adolescence."--Kevin Greczek, Ewing, New Jersey, "Library Journal"
"Memory can be as much a curse as it is a blessing . . . Canadian author Moore here turns in a lovely Quebecois opus about people trapped by their memories, or lack thereof. Noel Burun is a hypermnesiac synesthete, meaning he sees words in colors. He also has a near-photographic memory for practically everything he's experienced since birth; his recall would impress Proust. And like Proust, Noel is lost in the loops of his nostalgia--a single word can send him on an interior rollercoaster of sensory overload: 'No