I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Told from the perspective of 32-year-old Melody, it gradually explores her childhood, which she had entirely forgotten until an unexpected trigger brings back some random memories.

Confusing at first, in sympathy with Melody's own confusion. Then slowly a moving, poignant picture builds up of an intelligent, thoughtful little girl whose life is filled with change and trauma.

Perhaps the end is a tad too neat and tidy; perhaps there are a few too many expletives that don't add anything. But overall I thought this an excellent book which I could barely put down once I'd started. It's women's fiction in genre but with a lot of depth.

Highly recommended.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-truth-about-melody-browne-by-li... ( )

Chick lit, Contemporary fiction, Longon, adoption, amnesia, dysfuntional families, relationships, hippies, communes ( )

Best for:
People who like their mysteries best when they don’t start with a murder.

In a nutshell:
After going on a first date to a hypnotism show, Melody starts to remember things from her childhood.

Worth quoting:
N/A

Why I chose it:
I’ve enjoyed her books this year, and I find the audio versions are great for longer runs.

What it left me feeling:
Not much

Review:
This book is not bad. It feels different that Jewell’s other work, but it still has that telltale jumping back and forth through time. However, everything is from Melody’s perspective, instead of having multiple chapters from other perspectives.

Melody’s first childhood memory is of her father rescuing her from a fire when she was nine. Skipping ahead, she is 33 with a nearly 18-year-old son. What happen in between? And what happened before? Melody doesn’t date much, but agrees to go out with Ben, who takes her to a hypnotism show where she is called up to be a volunteer. She passes out, and from then on starts having these very vivid memories from when she was very young - 4, 5 and 6. Memories that don’t involve her parents.

What they do involve are a whole other life, which starts with two parents (different form the ones she had at age nine), and a baby sister who dies within a couple of days of birth. Much of the book looks at how grief impacts everyone it touches, and how parents deal with the death of a child.

Jewell challenges herself in that she is spending much of the book writing from the point of view of a very small child. What would that child think? How would they view things? And how can Jewell write it so we see what Melody does but also understand much more than she does?

As I said, this book is a bit different, but it is interesting.

Recommend to a Friend / Keep / Donate it / Toss it:
Donate it ( )

Melody Browne has no memory of her life before the fire that destroyed her home and her belongings when she was 9 years old. When her possessions were destroyed, she forgot about her life before the fire.
When she meets a man on a bus, and he asks her out, they go to a hypnotist show. Melody things on stage and from that point on when she starts remembering things about her childhood. The rest of the book is Melody trying to re-capture the memories of her childhood and coming to terms with her life prior to the fire.
This is an interesting book about life and the people in it, and how our memories help us to hold onto the things that make us who we are, and what might happen if our memories are somehow erased. This book was quite different from the other Lisa Jewell books I have read. ( )

Even though Lisa Jewell is one of my favorite writers, this book wasn't even on my radar until a few weeks ago. (Note to self: Look up an author's catalog on Goodreads instead of assuming your well-stocked library has every book) The Truth About Melody Browne was first published in 2009. This book is more of a regular fiction read when compared to her more recent novels. However, a good portion of the story is unraveling the mystery of Melody's childhood. It's worth a read if you are a fan of the author.

When Melody Browne was 9 years old, her family's home burned down and it left her with no memories prior to the tragedy. She is now in her early 30s and a single mother living in London. While attending a hypnotist show, Melody faints onstage. And that jumpstarts her desire to learn more about her past. The story alternates between the present day and key moments in Melody's life when she was a child.

Melody is a character I felt very protective of and I'm sure that is in large part due to the fact you see her as a child for half of the story. The young Melody is the driving force but adult Melody is interesting too. Her kid, who she singlehandedly raised, will be leaving the nest soon and so she is at a point in which she will need to redefine her life because she is no longer needed in the day to day mothering role. And so you have this typical storyline of a woman trying to find her place in life along with this slightly bizarre, soap opera amnesia plot but yet they both work well together.

I did have some mixed feelings about the last few chapters of the book. In general, the current day storyline wasn't as fully developed as Melody's childhood. And in the end it felt like the author was rushing to wrap everything up.

Overall, a good read for me. Even though this is an early work from the author, the writing talent I have come to love was present throughout. I've said this before in my reviews of her books, she's a solid storyteller.

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with a copy of this book! All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion. ( )