Memory’s Fire

Whether you read this from the page or listen to the audiobook, Gray’s prose flows like lyrical poetry. I enjoyed going along on Alex’s journey and how he was able to gain something different from each relationship. With so many platitudes on the importance of forgiving oneself, I appreciated how this story illustrated how difficult that process can actually be. And even though I’m allergic to cats, I can’t help but want a Tiger of my own!

I love everything about this novel, so beautifully read by Eliot Fisher. I listened to it almost straight through. The language is lyrical and expressive, bringing strong images and memories to mind. It is obvious that E. A. Gray loves the people and the land of New Mexico and Colorado. Alex, Joaquin, Hersch, Mamia, Papito, and Tiger ("feline non grata") are all as familiar and real to me as the descriptions of the landscape--the dazzling sky and hills of my New Mexico home. There is also the landscape of imagination and memory. I was hooked immediately from the first sentence: "The mind is a spacious country through which we are granted free passage by way of memory and desire." There is humor and sadness and longing in this story; there is empathy for its characters; and there are perfect words. It is a wonderful novel and podcast.