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Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction
Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern — book cover

Thanks for the Memories

by Cecelia Ahern
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Overview

How is it possible to know someone you've never met?

With her marriage already in pieces, Joyce Conway nearly lost everything else. But she survived the terrible accident that left her hospitalized—and now, inxplicably, she can remember faces she has never seen, cobblestone Parisian streets she's never visited. A sudden, overwhelming sense of déjà vu has Joyce feeling as if her life is not her own.

Justin Hitchcock's decision to donate blood was the first thing to come straight from his heart in a long time. He chased his ex-wife and daughter from Chicago to London—and now, restless and lonely, he lectures to bored college students in Dublin. But everything is about to change with the arrival of a basket of muffins with a thank-you note enclosed—the first in a series of anonymous presents that will launch Justin into the heart of a mystery...and alter two lives forever.

"Love and déjà vu feature in this wacky fairy tale about a woman 'transfused' with a stranger's memories. The romance is just what you'd expect from the popular author of P.S. I Love You" —Good Housekeeping

"[A] must-read book....Leads readers on a journey of the heart." —Complete Woman

Synopsis

How is it possible to know someone you've never met?

With her marriage already in pieces, Joyce Conway nearly lost everything else. But she survived the terrible accident that left her hospitalized and now, inxplicably, she can remember faces she has never seen, cobblestone Parisian streets she's never visited. A sudden, overwhelming sense of déjà vu has Joyce feeling as if her life is not her own.

Justin Hitchcock's decision to donate blood was the first thing to come straight from his heart in a long time. He chased his ex-wife and daughter from Chicago to London and now, restless and lonely, he lectures to bored college students in Dublin. But everything is about to change with the arrival of a basket of muffins with a thank-you note enclosed the first in a series of anonymous presents that will launch Justin into the heart of a mystery...and alter two lives forever.

"Love and déjà vu feature in this wacky fairy tale about a woman 'transfused' with a stranger's memories. The romance is just what you'd expect from the popular author of P.S. I Love You" Good Housekeeping

"[A] must-read book....Leads readers on a journey of the heart." Complete Woman

Publishers Weekly

Contrivance and a multitude of sitcom mixups drive Ahern's fifth novel. When Joyce Conway gets a blood transfusion after a tragic accident that caused her to miscarry, she strangely picks up the memories of her donor. Upon release from the hospital, she moves in with her father to try to cope with her impending divorce and the loss of her baby, but ends up instead on a wild goose chase after feeling a connection with a mysterious, smoldering stranger in a hair salon. Their relationship is obvious to the reader immediately, which makes the following several hundred pages a less than satisfying exercise in delaying the inevitable. Fans of Ahern's earlier work won't be disappointed with the fairy tale-like feeling, but readers not already in the fold might not stick around to the obvious conclusion. (Apr.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author, Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern is the author of the international bestsellers P.S. I Love You; Love, Rosie; If You Could See Me Now; There's No Place Like Here; and The Gift. The daughter of Ireland's former prime minister, she lives in Dublin.

Reviews

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Contrivance and a multitude of sitcom mixups drive Ahern's fifth novel. When Joyce Conway gets a blood transfusion after a tragic accident that caused her to miscarry, she strangely picks up the memories of her donor. Upon release from the hospital, she moves in with her father to try to cope with her impending divorce and the loss of her baby, but ends up instead on a wild goose chase after feeling a connection with a mysterious, smoldering stranger in a hair salon. Their relationship is obvious to the reader immediately, which makes the following several hundred pages a less than satisfying exercise in delaying the inevitable. Fans of Ahern's earlier work won't be disappointed with the fairy tale-like feeling, but readers not already in the fold might not stick around to the obvious conclusion. (Apr.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Library Journal

After falling and suffering a miscarriage, Joyce moves back in with her aging father when her marriage dissolves. Suddenly, she starts having the strangest daydreams, finds herself able to speak Latin, and spouts academic facts regarding architecture and Irish history. Justin, a visiting professor at Dublin's Trinity College, wants to feel important-he imagines saving someone's life and having that person forever in his debt. After giving blood one afternoon, he keeps running into a mysterious woman wherever he goes and can't understand why he's attracted to her. Turns out, his donation went to Joyce during her hospital stay, and now the two are inexplicably linked. The secondary characters of Justin's family and Joyce's amusing father help to keep this tale grounded. Ahern (P.S. I Love You) has a knack for getting to the heart of human emotions-Joyce's emotional pain is palpable, as is Justin's longing for meaning in his life. The author started out writing chick lit before venturing into decidedly fairy-tale terrain. This title manages to blend the two elements smoothly. For all fiction collections.
—Rebecca Vnuk

Kirkus Reviews

Bestselling Irish author Ahern (There's No Place Like Here, 2008, etc.) is at it again with a tale of deja vu via blood transfusions. The novel opens with Joyce lying at the bottom of her stairs and bleeding, barely conscious but knowing the worst-this fall has cost her her pregnancy. When she wakes in the hospital her dear old dad is there, though husband Conor is away on business and his less-than-prompt return bodes ill for the relationship-in fact, Joyce dispatches with her loveless marriage soon after returning to her childhood home. Loss of her baby (devastating as she's been trying for years) and imminent divorce (less devastating as Conor, away most of the year on business, will hardly be missed) is not the only upheaval in Joyce's life. She's just not quite the same person-she now eats meat, speaks fluent Italian, has a vast knowledge of European art and architecture and, creepiest of all, has someone else's memories. Little does she know that a month prior, dashing American Justin Hitchcock (you guessed it-visiting lecturer at Trinity College on European art and architecture) donated a pint of his blood, which she received at the emergency room. Over time, the two bump into each other at a hair salon; he sees her on television; he sees her riding a tour bus in London; she sees him at the ballet. At each sighting and ensuing missed opportunity, they feel an inexplicable connection, a kind of love at first sight. Though the reader is certainly expected to root for their romance, the essential relationship of the novel is between Joyce and her aged father. Not only are the two together for most of the novel, their relationship is tender and funny and far more authentic than therather odd premise of Joyce and Justin's destiny. Ahern's nice comic timing and affectionate portrayal of a father and daughter saves this from becoming just another (slightly weird) chick-lit romance.

Marie Claire

"Ahern cleverly uses the same mystical flirtations that made her P.S. I Love You a big-screen rom-com."

Complete Woman

"Cecelia Ahern follows the success of her novel P.S. I Love You with another must-read book. Thanks for the Memories leads readers on a journey of the heart in this profound story."

Good Housekeeping

"Love and déjà vu feature in this wacky fairy tale about a woman ‘transfused’ with a stranger’s memories. The romance is just what you’d expect from the popular author of P.S. I Love You."

Redbook Magazine

"The what-if questions that arise [in Thanks for the Memories] give us full permission to believe in magic."

Booklist

"Ahern devotees will enjoy the magical connection that springs up between Joyce and Justin, and will keep turning the pages to find out if the two can make their way to a happy ending together."

Book Details

Published
February 1, 2010
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Pages
376
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780061706240

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