What Alice Forgot

By: Liane Moriarty

Narrated by: Tamara Lovatt-Smith

Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

From the number one New York Times best-selling author of The Husband's Secret and Big Little Lies

A “cheerfully engaging”(Kirkus Reviews) novel for anyone who’s ever asked herself, “How did I get here?”

Alice Love is 29, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child. So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! She HATES the gym) and is whisked off to the hospital, where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over - she’s getting divorced, she has three kids, and she’s actually 39 years old.

Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes. Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over....

©2011 Liane Moriarty (P)2011 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Funny and knowing...[about] what we choose to remember, and fight to forget." (O Magazine)

"The gripping story of a woman who wakes up with a bump on her head and no knowledge of the past ten years...an acutely observed romantic comedy that is both thought-provoking and funny." (Marie Claire, UK)

"The affecting tale of Alice’s chance for a ten-year do-over." (The New York Times)

Clever and Fresh, but Painful

This book gave me pause. It made me stop and think about spouses taking each other for granted in the day to day and the long term effect that can have on a marriage. Am I guilty? Though the plot for What Alice Forgot is highly unlikely, Moriarty weaves the tale convincingly and left me tearful in several places. It is painful (but well done) following Alice post injury as she discovers that her marriage has fallen apart, yet she is in the happy mindset of her marriage from 10 years prior. Clever and fresh, What Alice Forgot is a satisfying, well written book.

Love, love, love this book!

Liane Moriarty is my new favorite author. After listening to, The Husbands Secret, I decided to try another of her books and I enjoyed this one even more. The concept of waking up and thinking you are 10 yrs younger was fascinating to me. It made me examine my own life and think about what my 10 or 20 or 30 yrs. younger self would think of me now. I like the way the author builds suspense and keeps us guessing. She is great at building realistic characters and tells the story from many viewpoints. It's also interesting how one of the main characters is deceased. The narration was great. I highly recommend this book and my book club is reading it this month, so far the reviews are great!

Oh my this book is good

Liane Moriarty is one heck of a story teller. And Tamara Lovatt-Smith was an engaging narrator. This dynamite combo made for a funny and touching narrative to which I could not stop listening, sleep be damned! If a detail was missed or a character mis-placed, I rewound back until I heard it all, every word. So well constructed through dreams, thoughts, flash backs and of course present dialogue, the novel is a joy, even to finish! You actually don't yearn for more. She's parceled out a perfect portion of literature. Not easy to do, making me ardently admire her skill.

Having just heard a true story of a woman who had been in a coma after a car accident, who upon waking found she'd lost the last two years' memories, listening to Moriarty's book I felt she very realistically portrayed what goes on in a mind wracked by amnesia. Both the real car accident woman I read about and fictional Alice had to reckon with the woman they'd become from the perspective of their younger selves. And both came to similar conclusions about their lives and whom they wanted to be. And both felt, in the end the amnesia was a rare gift. Found this intriguing; this tale can't help but make you ponder what you might feel faced with a similar situation. Not a bad life exercise?

In What Alice Forgot, Alice comes to after a fall, in her 40 year old body, but with the mind and character of herself at 30. Utterly fascinating how Moriarty has Alice cope with such a situation. Also dealt with, in the novel, from many viewpoints, how women ruled by biological clocks have to maneuver through marriage changes after children, the myriad of job complications and the heartbreak of infertility, older couplings, female relationships and their far reaching impacts on our lives and much more.

These issues are dealt with touching empathy and frankness. Moriarty wove us through a web of many characters of all ages and brought us to a delicious end. No easy task. Bravo Liane. 5 stars for sure.

Delightful listen!

I spent about three days immersed in Alice's story. It's all about amnesia, marriage, divorce, infertility, having children--life! Basically, it is what I call a "relationship book." No monsters, no non-stop action, no murders. However, there certainly was a slowly unfolding mystery. The story held me spellbound, and I never lost interest.

I was particularly charmed by the narrator, Tamara Lovatt-Smith. Her delightful Australian accent, along with a perfect take on Alice's personality, made me love listening to this story. Her voice remained in my head the next day after I had finished my listen.

If I had a minor quibble, it would be that Ms. Lovatt-Smith should learn how to do different voices to make the narration a little easier for listeners. I am sure this will come in time.

The next time I get the craving for a "relationship" book, I will certainly turn to Liane Moriarty. And hopefully, to Ms. Lovatt-Smith.

Interesting and Fun

This is a great Australian story, funny and interesting. Ideas are presented about a woman's life, relationships and choices. The writing is fairly simple but enjoyable and engaging. In fact, after listening to this book, I went on to listen to the author's other two available books.

Moriarty gives me another: WOW!

Where does What Alice Forgot rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

For light reading, this book and others by Moriarty are great.

What did you like best about this story?

I really valued the marriage difficulties and successes in this book. It's so true, and if you're in a marriage that has had its fair share of shakes you're bound to really get into the storyline.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration is very "interesting." Narrator Lovatt-Smith is very distinctive. She can be slow and sultry or quick with the wit of a line. However, her voice is flat to me. She doesn’t do enough to represent each character, imo. I did like how she acted out each child’s voice in this novel. That was a bit of a thrill, but the rest of the characters were rather flat.

If you could take any character from What Alice Forgot out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would take Mrs. Moriarty, the author, out! We could share a bottle of wine and she could tell me the plot of her next book because I can't wait for number four :)

Any additional comments?

This story is FANTASTIC! What Alice Forgot is my second novel by Moriarty and I listened to it in just four days! Like with the first, The Husband’s Secret, the setting is in Australia. I love the backdrop; it’s so much fun to hear the references made to American culture. For instance, you’ll see lines about Bill Clinton and Brad Pitt weaved into the plot. And, in the other hand, you get lines like “the child cradled her mother’s leg like a koala.” So much fun!! Also, Moriarty’s style is so fascinating. She has women pegged! And I don’t say that lightly. She bounces around from their words to their thoughts exploring all aspects of dialog. This is really hard to do and I have seen it get very sticky in other books but never with her. She is an expert at not only exploring all viewpoints of dialog but she also tells simultaneous stories that parallel the protagonist. Just genius! I was turned on to Moriarty by a reviewer and I hope I too can encourage a listen too. I doubt you’ll regret it.

Excellent book!

Would you listen to What Alice Forgot again? Why?

Probably not, there are too many books out there that I want to read. Although, I loved this book, if I read it again, I would know what was coming, which is not fun for me.

Have you listened to any of Tamara Lovatt-Smith’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but, I have read Liane Moriarty's books before. I have enjoyed most of them.

Story was decent but disliked the simplistic ending

The story was interesting at times barring the silliness of Alice never going back to the doctors and everyone around her assuming she would get her memory back at any time and leaving her to take care of children she doesn't remember.

I also disliked Nick and found it a bit unbelievable someone who behaved that way would have someone swooning after him.

The narrator doesn't do a great job changing voices between the 3 story tellers so you really have to pay attention to the transitions.

The ending was really unsatisfying. I preferred Big Little Lies for having a good sense of closure and ending.

Touching and insightful

This is one of those books that’s not going where you think, I loved it! Very touching and insightful view into a family’s life, there’d have to be some part of the storyline that just about anyone with a family could relate to. Spend the credit!

Compelling yet light hearted

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Perfect book for listening because it's written like someone's diary. the story is interesting and well written. It will keep you listening!